North Dakota property deeds
Deed rules are state law, and North Dakota's differ from its neighbors in ways that decide whether your document records or comes back. Here is the whole picture: which deeds exist here, how they have to be signed, what the recorder wants on the page, and what it costs.
- Recording office
- County Recorder
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- $20 up to 6 pages
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
Deeds North Dakota recognizes
| Deed | What it does | Available? |
|---|---|---|
| Quitclaim deed | Transfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title. | Yes |
| General warranty deed | Transfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows. | Yes |
| Special warranty deed | Transfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it. | Yes |
| Transfer on death deed | Names who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive. | Yes |
| Lady Bird Deed | An enhanced life estate deed: you keep total control for life, and the property passes automatically at death. | No |
| Life estate deed | You keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you. | Yes, less common |
| Gift deed | Transfers property to someone as an outright gift, for no payment. | Yes, less common |
North Dakota does not recognize lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.
How a deed has to be signed in North Dakota
North Dakota requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required.
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. |
| Witnesses | None |
| Preparer statement | Required when the legal description is metes and bounds. The deed must name who drafted the description, or say it was copied from a previously recorded instrument (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03.1). Deedly prints this line on every North Dakota deed. |
| Grantee address on the deed | Each grantee's post-office address, and street address if they live inside a city, must appear on the deed (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-05). Deedly prints the address entered for each one. |
| Prior deed reference | Optional |
| Spousal joinder | Both spouses must join to convey a homestead (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05). |
North Dakota document formatting rules
A safe layout for North Dakota is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 3-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the county recorder's stamp, 1-inch margins elsewhere, and no type smaller than 11 point. That is the profile Deedly formats every North Dakota document to. Writing into the recorder's stamp area is the most common formatting rejection there is.
- Type must be at least as large as 10-point Calibri, unless the form was issued by a government agency (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-05). Ten-point type in a serif face like Deedly's reads smaller than 10-point Calibri, so Deedly sets nothing under 11 point.
North Dakota transfer tax and recording fees
North Dakota has no state real estate transfer tax. The state constitution bars any state or local tax on the transfer of real property (N.D. Const. art. X, § 27).
The grantee's statement and the auditor's certificate go on the deed
North Dakota has no separate transfer form, but two things must be on the deed before the recorder will take it. The grantee, or the grantee's agent, signs a statement printed on the deed giving the full consideration paid or the exemption that applies (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02.2); Deedly prints it. And the county auditor certifies on the deed that the transfer is entered and that all property taxes and special assessments on the land are paid, so pay anything owing first (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02). A transfer on death deed needs neither (N.D.C.C. § 30.1-32.1-06(5)).
Recording fees run $20 for up to 6 pages. Set by state law and the same in every county (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-05): $20 for a document of one to six pages, $65 for seven to twenty-five pages, plus $3 for each page after twenty-five. A document without one-inch margins costs $10 more.
See how North Dakota's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.
How to hold title in North Dakota
- Sole ownership. One person owns everything.
- Tenancy in common. Separate, divisible shares with no survivorship. A deceased owner's share goes to their heirs.
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Equal shares; the survivor takes the whole property automatically.
Where to record a deed in North Dakota
Deeds are recorded with the County Recorder in the county where the property is located. North Dakota has 53 counties. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.
Cass · Burleigh · Grand Forks · Ward · Williams. all North Dakota recording offices
Why deeds get rejected in North Dakota, and rules that catch people out
- The grantee, or the grantee's agent, must sign a statement on the deed giving the full price paid or the exemption that applies (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02.2). Transfer on death deeds are exempt.
- The county auditor must certify on the deed that the transfer is entered and that all property taxes and special assessments are paid before the recorder will accept it (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02).
- Each grantee's post-office address, and street address if inside a city, must appear on the deed (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-05).
- A metes and bounds description needs a line naming who drafted it, or saying it came from a previously recorded instrument (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03.1).
- Both spouses must sign and acknowledge a deed of a married person's homestead (N.D.C.C. § 47-18-05).
- North Dakota has no real estate transfer tax (N.D. Const. art. X, § 27).
From $29. Every North Dakota rule above is applied automatically, and you read the finished document before you pay.
Common questions
You sign a deed, have it notarized, and record it with the County Recorder in the county where the property sits. Which deed depends on what you're doing: a quitclaim for family transfers and adding or removing a name, a warranty deed for a sale, and a transfer-on-death deed for probate avoidance.
No. North Dakota does not require an attorney to prepare or record a deed. Use one when ownership is disputed, when the owner has died and the estate has not been probated, when the estate is large enough to owe tax, or when Medicaid planning is involved.
$20 for up to 6 pages. North Dakota has no state transfer tax. Any property taxes and special assessments due on the land must be paid before a deed can be recorded, except a transfer on death deed (N.D.C.C. §§ 11-18-02, 30.1-32.1-06(5)).
Yes. The statute is N.D. Cent. Code ch. 30.1-32.1. North Dakota calls it a transfer on death deed. It must be recorded before the owner's death to be effective.
Keep reading
- North Dakota quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- North Dakota general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- North Dakota special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- North Dakota transfer on death deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- North Dakota recording officesWhere to file in each county, with fees and contact details.
- Compare all 51 jurisdictionsWitness rules, transfer taxes, and recording fees side by side.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.