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Free · general informationNorth Dakota
What to do when someone dies in North Dakota
The first things North Dakota’s own law asks for after a death, quoted word for word, then the pages for everything that follows, in the order it usually comes. Nothing here decides what a particular family must do. That belongs to the office named, the court, or an attorney in North Dakota.
Every fact dated, in the official words
Each state’s own law
Every quotation checked October 24, 2026
Your planner for North Dakota is ready.US$39 once, printed at home.
Pages taken from the planner, by email: who to phone first, and a blank records sheet.
Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.
§1Filing the death record: who files it, how soon, and the medical certification
Registering the death comes first. These are North Dakota’s own words on who files the record, and how soon.
A death record for each death that occurs in this state must be filed with the state registrar in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth by the department of health and human services using the electronic death registration system.
The funeral director shall obtain the facts of death from the next of kin or the best qualified individual or source available and must file the facts of death information using the electronic death registration system within three days after assuming custody of the dead body.
The medical certification must be completed and filed using the electronic death registration system within ten days after death
North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 23-02.1-19
§2What the person holding the will must do, and the liability for not doing it
The will has its own rules. These are North Dakota’s own words on who brings it to the court after a death, and what the court does with it.
After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate, and if none is known, to an appropriate court.
A person who willfully fails to deliver a will is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages that may be sustained by the failure.
North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-11-02
§3A will deposited with a recorder for safekeeping, and what happens at the death
A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with a recorder for safekeeping. The will must be sealed and kept confidential.
Upon being informed of the testator's death, the recorder shall notify any person designated to receive the will and deliver it to that person on request or the recorder may deliver the will to the appropriate court.
North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-11-01
§4Opening a safe deposit box to look for a will, and what may be taken out
Upon being furnished with satisfactory proof of death of a sole lessee or the last surviving co-lessee of a safe deposit box, the safe deposit company may open the box for an individual who appears in person and furnishes an affidavit stating the following:
No contents of a box other than a will and a document required to facilitate the lessee's wishes regarding body, funeral, or burial arrangements may be removed pursuant to this section.
North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-23-05
The estate: probate in North Dakota, its route for a smaller estate, what falls to whoever is settling it, and the accounts that pass outside the will.
A death record for each death that occurs in this state must be filed with the state registrar in accordance with the rules and regulations set forth by the department of health and human services using the electronic death registration system.
The funeral director shall obtain the facts of death from the next of kin or the best qualified individual or source available and must file the facts of death information using the electronic death registration system within three days after assuming custody of the dead body.
The medical certification must be completed and filed using the electronic death registration system within ten days after death
North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 23-02.1-19
After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate, and if none is known, to an appropriate court.
A person who willfully fails to deliver a will is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages that may be sustained by the failure.
North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-11-02
A will may be deposited by the testator or the testator's agent with a recorder for safekeeping. The will must be sealed and kept confidential.
Upon being informed of the testator's death, the recorder shall notify any person designated to receive the will and deliver it to that person on request or the recorder may deliver the will to the appropriate court.
North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-11-01
Upon being furnished with satisfactory proof of death of a sole lessee or the last surviving co-lessee of a safe deposit box, the safe deposit company may open the box for an individual who appears in person and furnishes an affidavit stating the following:
No contents of a box other than a will and a document required to facilitate the lessee's wishes regarding body, funeral, or burial arrangements may be removed pursuant to this section.
North Dakota · general information · checked October 24, 2026 · NDCC 30.1-23-05
