North Dakota transfer on death deed
A transfer on death deed lets you name who inherits your North Dakota property without probate, while you keep full control, including the power to sell or mortgage it without anyone's signature. Here is exactly what North Dakota requires, what it costs, and where to file it.
- 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
What a transfer on death deed does in North Dakota
A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate. Your beneficiaries then record the documents your state requires to show them as the owners; in a few states that filing has a deadline, or is what completes the transfer.
In North Dakota the governing statute is N.D. Cent. Code ch. 30.1-32.1.
The North Dakota law behind this deed
Start with N.D. Cent. Code ch. 30.1-32.1 if you want to read the statute's own language. The table below lists the main statutes behind the rules on this page.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Transfer on death deeds specifically | N.D. Cent. Code ch. 30.1-32.1 |
| Conveyances generally | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-10-01 |
| Recording with the County Recorder | N.D. Cent. Code §§ 11-18-02, 11-18-02.2 and 11-18-05, and ch. 47-19 |
| Homestead and spousal consent | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05 |
When North Dakota property owners use a transfer on death deed
- Leave a house to your children without probate
- Keep real estate out of a will contest
- Get probate avoidance without paying for a full living trust
- Name a backup beneficiary in case your first choice dies first
- Revoke or change an earlier beneficiary designation
What North Dakota requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules county recorders enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What North Dakota says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | County Recorder |
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. Signing in front of the notary is the safest practice. |
| Witnesses | None required. A notarial acknowledgment is enough. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. |
| Grantee's address | 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. |
| Return address | Include a 'when recorded, return to' block so the original comes back to you. Deedly always prints one. |
| 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. |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | 8.5 × 11 in, 3-inch clear space at the top of page one, 1-inch margins elsewhere, nothing under 11pt. This is the profile Deedly applies. |
| Statement of consideration and auditor's certificate | None. A transfer on death deed needs no statement of consideration and no county auditor's certificate (N.D.C.C. § 30.1-32.1-06(5)). |
| Timing | Must be recorded before the owner's death. Recording it afterwards has no effect. |
A spouse may have to sign even if they are not an owner
Both spouses must join to convey a homestead (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05).
How to complete and record it in North Dakota
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the County Recorder can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for North Dakota deeds.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
- Record it with the County RecorderFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Tell your beneficiaries where it isAfter your death they record proof of it, such as a certified death certificate or an affidavit of death, with the County Recorder so the land records show them as the owners.
What it costs in North Dakota
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | $20 for up to 6 pages |
| Transfer tax | None in this state |
| Notary | North Dakota caps the notary fee at $5 per notarial act, plus a travel or remote-technology fee only if agreed in advance (N.D.C.C. § 44-06.1-28). |
| Deedly | $49, one time (launch price, regular $69) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
North Dakota has no transfer tax, and a transfer on death deed or its revocation needs no statement of consideration and no county auditor's certificate (N.D.C.C. §§ 11-18-03(7), 30.1-32.1-06(5)). The recording fee is the only cost.
Where to record it in North Dakota
North Dakota deeds are recorded with the County Recorder in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 53 counties in North Dakota.
Many North Dakota recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.
Recording offices we cover in North Dakota: Cass, Burleigh, Grand Forks, Ward, Williams. See all North Dakota recording offices.
What a transfer on death deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- Only 34 states plus DC recognize it. Recording one in a state that does not accept it accomplishes nothing.
- It does not clear the mortgage. Your beneficiary takes the property subject to any loan, lien, or judgment against it.
- It doesn't protect the property from your creditors, and in many states it doesn't shield the property from Medicaid estate recovery.
- The beneficiary receives no ownership interest until you die. They cannot be added as a co-owner this way.
- If a beneficiary dies before you, what happens to their share depends on state law: in some states it passes to the other beneficiaries or to the beneficiary's descendants, in others it fails. Naming an alternate, where your state's form allows one, avoids the question.
Quirks of North Dakota law 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).
$49, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with North Dakota's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. North Dakota has no requirement that an attorney prepare a deed. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization, and recording with the County Recorder. Deedly produces all of that for $49, versus roughly $150–$700 for an attorney to draft the same document. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect $20 for up to 6 pages. North Dakota has no transfer tax, and a transfer on death deed or its revocation needs no statement of consideration and no county auditor's certificate (N.D.C.C. §§ 11-18-03(7), 30.1-32.1-06(5)). The recording fee is the only cost. 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.
No. North Dakota requires only that the grantor's signature be acknowledged before a notary public. Forms that show witness lines are usually generic templates borrowed from another state.
With the County Recorder in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. North Dakota has 53 counties. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies.
Yes. Transfer on death deeds are revocable during your lifetime. You can record a revocation, record a new one naming different beneficiaries, or simply sell the property. You don't need your beneficiary's permission for any of it.
Yes, for this property. On your death the property passes directly to the people you named, outside probate. They then record proof of your death with the County Recorder so the public record shows the change. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and it doesn't protect the property from your creditors.
Often, yes. Both spouses must join to convey a homestead (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05). That surprises people, because the spouse is not becoming an owner. They are releasing rights the law gives them automatically. Deedly adds a joinder block for the signature when it applies.
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 life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for North DakotaRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- North Dakota recording officesWhere to file in each county.
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.