Recorder

Per NDCC 11-18-05.1a and NDCC 11-18-05.1b:

• $20.00 for documents with 1 to 6 pages
• $65.00 for documents with 7 to 25 pages
• $3.00 per page for any additional page over 25
• A one-inch margin must be provided on one side of each page or a $10.00 margin fee will be assessed.
• Related document numbers: first 10 are free; additional document numbers are $3.00 each.
• First 10 sections listed are free; each additional section is $1.00.
• Font size: Per NDCC 11-18-05.1a(2), printed, written, or typed words must be legible and, unless issued by a government agency, must have a font size equal to or larger than 10-point Calibri.
• All documents must have a 3-inch (7.62 cm) margin across the top of the first page for recording information. If not provided, the recorder will add a page and levy an additional page charge.

Submitters may add a cover page with the document title at least three inches from the top — this counts as the first page and ensures an accurate page count.

If a recorder adds a page and a 6-page document becomes 7 pages, the $65.00 fee applies. If added to a 25+ page document, the $3.00 per-page fee applies.

Plats: Subdivision Plat size requirement is 22″ × 34″. Two signed originals required. Plats must be black and white — no shading or color. Font must be no smaller than size 10. Fee: Lots 1–20 is $20; over 20 lots is $50.

Surveys and Auditor's Lots: Must be no larger than 8½″ × 14″. Font no smaller than size 10. Must include full notary acknowledgment of the Surveyor's signature.

Maps: Per NDCC 43-19.1-30, documents with any map or drawing attached must have a surveyor's seal and signature.

Per NDCC 11-18-02.2, only one of two statements for consideration will be accepted on a deed. Type the appropriate statement in full on your deed.

If you choose Option 2, insert the letter of the applicable exemption in the blank:

• A. Property owned or used by public utilities
• B. Property classified as personal property
• C. A sale where the grantor and grantee are of the same family or corporate affiliate
• D. A sale resulting from settlement of an estate
• E. All forced sales, mortgage foreclosures, and tax sales
• F. All sales to or from religious, charitable, or nonprofit organizations
• G. All sales when there is an indicated change of use by the new owners
• H. All transfers of ownership for which a quitclaim deed is given
• I. Sales of property not assessable by law
• J. Agricultural lands of less than eighty acres (32.37 hectares)

• Document must be an original or certified copy
• All dates filled in
• Adequate county legal description
• All signatures must be original handwritten
• Acknowledgements:
  • Acknowledgments for all signatures
  • Notary seal(s) — ND notary seal must be surrounded by a border
  • State, county, and date of acknowledgement filled in
  • Names of all individuals signing appear in the acknowledgement
  • Expiration date of notary's commission
  • ND notary's place of notarization was in North Dakota

• Statement of full consideration (not required on deeds covering mineral interest only)
• Auditor's transfer stamp and seal (not required on deeds covering mineral interest only). All real estate taxes must be paid before any deed can be recorded.
• Post Office address for Grantee(s)
• Name and address of drafter of legal description on deeds or contracts for deed executed on or after 01/01/2000 that contain a metes and bounds legal description (NDCC 47-19), in the form of: "This legal description was prepared by (name) (address)." or "The legal description was obtained from a previously recorded document."

• Post Office address of the mortgagee(s)
• Post Office address of the Assignee(s) on assignments of mortgages

The Secretary of State website for UCC/CNS can be accessed at sos.nd.gov/central-indexing-ucc. Fixture filings will be recorded with the Recorder's office with an adequate legal description, debtor name, and secured party for the same fees listed above. National forms will be accepted. It is your responsibility to file the UCC portion with the Secretary of State's website.

North Dakota Recorders Information Network (NDRIN) - A group of North Dakota counties have joined together to extend the application of the 1999 disaster-proofing FEMA grant and provide access to real estate records via the Internet. These records have previously been available only through books and microfilm in the Recorder's Offices in the county courthouses. The service allows users to log onto the web-site to search, view and print records, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from the counties publishing data to the network. Potential customers interested in subscribing to NDRIN can do so online at ndrin.com.

Land Record Manager: The Recorder's office keeps a record of each patent, deed, mortgage, bill of sale, and any document related to these transactions, ensuring a permanent record of property ownership and an accurate account of financial responsibilities.

Customers: The Recorder's office works with a wide customer base, including those who document legal instruments, create or extend abstracts, conduct land appraisals, locate property lines, draw plats, search ancestry, historical data, heirships, mineral leases, and many other interests.

County officials are not permitted by law to prepare legal papers for others. If such service is needed, please see a licensed attorney.

Recorder's Duties (NDCC 11-18-01):

• Keep a full and true record, in proper books and other storage media provided for that purpose, of each patent, deed, mortgage, bill of sale, security agreement, judgment, decree, lien, certificate of sale, and other instrument required to be filed or admitted to record, if the person offering the instrument for filing or recording pays to the Recorder’s the fees provided be law for the filing or recording.
• Endorse upon each instrument the date and hour and minute of the day of filing or recording.
• When recorded or filed, endorse the document number, date, and hour and minute when it was recorded or filed.

Other Duties:

• Safekeeping of all maps, plats, and auditor lots
• Responsible for off-site storage
• Will deposits
• File burial permits
• Responsible for storage of election ballots
• File Corner Recordations

NDCC 30.1-11.01
Custody and deposit of Wills

Deposit of will in testator’s lifetime. The testator or the testator’s agent may deposit a will with a recorder for safekeeping. The will must be sealed and kept confidential. During the testator’s lifetime, a deposited will must be delivered only to the testator or to a person authorized in writing signed by the testator to receive the will. A conservator may be allowed to examine a deposited will of a protected testator under procedures designed to maintain the confidential character of the document to the extent possible, and to ensure that it will be resealed and kept on deposit after the examination.

Depositing a Will: The testator or the testator’s agent may deposit a will in the Recorders Office upon payment of a $10.00 filing fee. You will be asked to note on the outside of the sealed envelope your personal representative or person authorized to obtain your will from our custody.

Wills are kept on file in a locked area with no access to anyone other than a staff member of the County Recorders Office.

Safekeeping, Examination, and Withdrawal of a will during Testators Lifetime: The County Recorder may disclose the fact that the testator has deposited a will for safekeeping to members of the general public who request the information, as this is public information, but may not disclose the contents of the will.

A recorder may, at the request of the testator or the person designated in writing by the testator, deliver to the testator the deposited will and permit the testator to review the will in a private part of the recorder’s office. The testator may return the will under seal to the recorder for deposit without the will leaving the recorder’s office.

If the testator or person designated in writing by the testator requests to withdraw their will leaves the recorder’s office with the will and wishes to redeposit the will later, a filing fee of $10.00 will be charged to refile the will.

A Personal Representative named may not receive the will without specific written authorization from the testator during testator’s lifetime.

Requiring proof of identification from persons claiming to be authorized to examine the will and requiring the person examining the will to sign a receipt not only reasonably protects the recorder’s office but also helps to provide proof for a prosecution if the person is acting falsely.

During the testator’s lifetime, a deposited will must be delivered only to the testator or to a person authorized in writing signed by the testator to receive the will.

A testator may withdraw their will from deposit at any time upon signing a receipt.

Releasing Will after Death of Testator: Proof of death must also be established prior to release of a will. This can be done by providing a copy of the death certificate or an obituary.

The recorder may permit a person who is authorized in a writing signed by the testator to receive the will or to examine the will. If there is no designation in writing regarding delivery to a person after death, then the will may only be delivered to the appropriate court.

If an attorney requests the will a letter indicating they are representing the family, date of death of the testator and copy of the death certificate should be provided. The will at that time may be released to the Courts only.

Requiring proof of identification from persons claiming to be authorized to receive the will and requiring the person receiving the will to sign a receipt not only protect the recorder’s office but also helps to provide proof for a prosecution if the person is acting falsely.