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North Dakota estate administration

North Dakota probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines

Small-estate limit: $100,000

This guide explains probate in North Dakota: North Dakota is a Uniform Probate Code state. Personal property of a decedent whose estate (net of liens and encumbrances) does not exceed $100,000 can be collected by affidavit under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01, thirty days after death, with no court filing. Probate proceedings are filed in the District Court, where the statewide civil filing fee is $160 under N.D.C.C. § 27-05.2-03. Personal representatives receive reasonable compensation under § 30.1-18-19.

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.

Answer first

North Dakota simplified probate route

North Dakota allows collection of a decedent's personal property by affidavit under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01 when "the value of the entire estate subject to distribution or succession under chapters 30.1-01 through 30.1-23, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars", thirty days have elapsed since death, and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted.

Collection of personal property by affidavit (N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01)
1. Where and when
Private by design: entries stay in this browser.
2. What they left

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

Asset 1

Asset 2

Your working estimate

North Dakota estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted
Court chargeSet locallyN.D.C.C. § 27-05.2-03(1)(a) directs the clerk of the district court to charge, in civil cases, "For filing a case for decision that is not under subdivision b or e, one hundred sixty dollars." A formal or informal probate proceeding is a case commenced for decision in district court, so the opening fee is $160. The statute lists the fee by case type rather than naming 'probate'; the § 30.1-23-01 affidavit route requires no court filing.
Scheduled executor compensationMore information needed2 asset entries have no value entered.N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19 entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for the personal representative's services." There is no statutory percentage schedule. A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

What the reviewed rules establish

Simplified route

$100,000

North Dakota allows collection of a decedent's personal property by affidavit under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01 when "the value of the entire estate subject to distribution or succession under chapters 30.1-01 through 30.1-23, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars", thirty days have elapsed since death, and no application or petition for appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted.

Eligibility and caveats

Court cost

$160

N.D.C.C. § 27-05.2-03(1)(a) directs the clerk of the district court to charge, in civil cases, "For filing a case for decision that is not under subdivision b or e, one hundred sixty dollars." A formal or informal probate proceeding is a case commenced for decision in district court, so the opening fee is $160. The statute lists the fee by case type rather than naming 'probate'; the § 30.1-23-01 affidavit route requires no court filing.

Filing-cost detail

Executor compensation

Court-reviewed

N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19 entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for the personal representative's services." There is no statutory percentage schedule. A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead.

Compensation detail

Creditor deadline

Multiple triggers

North Dakota runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a three-month bar from the date of first publication and mailing of notice to creditors (§ 30.1-19-03(1)(a), notice under § 30.1-19-01); and an outer bar of three years after death where no notice to creditors has been given (§ 30.1-19-03(1)(b)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.

N.D.C.C. § 30.1-19-03(1) (North Dakota Legislative Branch (Century Code); reviewed August 9, 2026)

Timeline and creditor details

Statutes read in full for North Dakota

These are the North Dakota provisions read end to end on the enacting state’s own site, rather than summarised from a secondary source. The middle column is what reading each one actually established for North Dakota — not a restatement of the topic — and the last column records the date the wording was read, so a later amendment can be spotted by comparing dates.

CitationWhat reading it establishedRead on
N.D.C.C. § 27-05.2-03Which North Dakota filing fee a probate attracts depends on what is being filed — court and filing cost note2026-09-17
N.D.C.C. § 30.1-19-03 (UPC 3-803)North Dakota runs a three-month window, but only once notice is both published and mailed — creditor deadline note2026-09-17
N.D.C.C. §§ 30.1-23-01, 30.1-23-03, 30.1-23-04North Dakota has two small-estate routes, and only one of them is a dollar figure — small estate route note2026-09-17
N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19 (UPC 3-719)North Dakota adopted the uniform fee rule and did not add factors to it — representative pay note2026-09-17

North Dakota decision map

The four facts that change the North Dakota route

Use this map before opening a form or entering a number. It keeps the North Dakota amount test, time gate, court cost, and creditor record separate so one easy figure does not stand in for the whole administration.

QuestionRecorded North Dakota answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Collection of personal property by affidavit (N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$100,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?30 days after death; North Dakota runs multiple independently-triggered claim deadlines that cannot honestly collapse into one number: a three-month bar from the date of first publication and mailing of notice to creditors (§ 30.1-19-03(1)(a), notice under § 30.1-19-01); and an outer bar of three years after death where no notice to creditors has been given (§ 30.1-19-03(1)(b)). Publishing a single figure would mislead.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?$160 is the recorded statewide amount.Ask the District Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19 entitles a personal representative to "reasonable compensation for the personal representative's services." There is no statutory percentage schedule. A will may fix compensation, but the personal representative may renounce that provision before qualifying and take reasonable compensation instead. The relevant base is the estate accounting.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Arithmetic illustration

See the North Dakota amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded North Dakota ceiling is $100,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the North Dakota figure and $125,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what North Dakota counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the North Dakota ceilingWhat it does not decide
$75,000Below $100,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$125,000Above $100,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Start with the row that is still unknown, then take that question to the named court or source.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Probate in North Dakota is handled by the District Court. The court system publishes statewide informal-probate self-help resources and a district-court fee page. The operative filing fee is set statewide by N.D.C.C. § 27-05.2-03; the § 30.1-23-01 affidavit is a private demand instrument, not a court filing.

The North Dakota Century Code chapter PDFs at ndlegis.gov embed subset fonts that do not extract to machine-readable text; the section bodies are therefore sourced from the North Dakota Legislative Branch's official Century Code JSON API (ndlegis.gov/api/data/century_code.json), which serves the same codified text as clean strings.

Source trail

Records used by this North Dakota map

  • N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01 (3-1201) — Collection of personal property by affidavit; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19 (3-719) — Compensation of personal representative; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • N.D.C.C. § 27-05.2-03(1)(a)N.D.C.C. § 27-05.2-03 — Fees to be charged by the clerk of the district court; reviewed August 9, 2026
  • N.D.C.C. § 30.1-19-03(1)N.D.C.C. § 30.1-19-03 (3-803) — Limitations on presentation of claims; reviewed August 9, 2026

Limits and unresolved costs

  • Attorney fees, bond premiums, publication, certified copies, tax work, and asset-sale costs are not included unless expressly shown.
  • Asset title, beneficiary designations, creditor claims, and will terms can change the route.
Use this as a starting point.

This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

Continue

What North Dakota courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court material

  • Probate in North Dakota is handled by the District Court. The court system publishes statewide informal-probate self-help resources and a district-court fee page. The operative filing fee is set statewide by N.D.C.C. § 27-05.2-03; the § 30.1-23-01 affidavit is a private demand instrument, not a court filing.
  • The North Dakota Century Code chapter PDFs at ndlegis.gov embed subset fonts that do not extract to machine-readable text; the section bodies are therefore sourced from the North Dakota Legislative Branch's official Century Code JSON API (ndlegis.gov/api/data/century_code.json), which serves the same codified text as clean strings.

Primary sources

Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.