How Do I Get Appointed as Executor in North Dakota?

In North Dakota, the District Court appoints the personal representative and the Clerk of District Court / the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; an informal (registrar) track is available.

State

Document Type

Getting appointed in North Dakota

Personal Representative (executor if testate, administrator if intestate)

The form that opens the estate

Form 2

Application for Informal Probate of Will and Appointment of a Personal Representative · Attorney-drafted pleading · View source

Start this petition for North Dakota — the builder fills it with your answers. You review, sign, and file it with the court.

Where you file

District Court (each judicial district)

What the court issues (with a will)

Letters Testamentary

issued by Clerk of District Court / the court

Letters are an output — the court issues them after granting the petition.

At a glance

UPC adoptedInformal trackE-filing (self-represented)Self-represented filingLocal/county forms

E-filing runs through the Odyssey system and is optional for self-represented litigants, who may file on paper. Those who choose to e-file must register for Odyssey. Informal probate requires no court appearance or hearing.

Bond

Required before Letters: No
Waivable by will: Yes

Other official forms

Informal application: Form 2 (testate) / Form 17 (intestate)View source
Letters form: Form 4 (Letters Testamentary) / Form 19 (Letters of Administration)View source

What to file with the petition

Certified copy of the death certificate (guidebook lists it under documents you "may also need to file", not the always-required set)
Original will (and any codicils), when testate (N.D.C.C. ch. 30.1-14)
Proposed Statement of Informal Probate of Will and Appointment of a Personal Representative (Form 3, testate) / Statement of Informal Appointment of a Personal Representative – Intestacy (Form 18, intestate) — the applicant fills these in and files them unsigned; the judge signs
Proposed Letters Testamentary (Form 4, testate) / Letters of Administration (Form 19, intestate), filed WITH the application for the judge to sign
Waiver of Right of Appointment (Form 9) from any person with higher or equal priority of appointment
Notice and Information to Heirs & Devisees (Form 5), mailed within 30 days of appointment
$160 filing fee (or Filing Fee Waiver Request)
Bond only if demanded by an interested person, required by the will, or ordered by the court (N.D.C.C. 30.1-17-03)

Small-estate alternative

Bypasses full Letters: Yes
Form: Form 1View source
Form name: Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent

State-specific notes

North Dakota amended the UPC term "registrar" out of Title 30.1; informal proceedings are conducted by "the court" (Clerk of District Court). THE THREE-YEAR LIMIT IS THE GATE BETWEEN THE TWO TRACKS: "No informal probate or appointment proceeding or formal testacy or appointment proceeding... may be commenced more than three years after the decedent's death" (N.D.C.C. 30.1-12-08), subject to the section's own exceptions. Informal probate is available only when fewer than 3 years have passed since death, the will's validity is undisputed, and all persons of equal-or-higher appointment priority agree on the appointee (N.D.C.C. ch. 30.1-13 priority; ch. 30.1-14). Venue is "the county where the decedent was domiciled at the time of death" (N.D.C.C. 30.1-13-01(1)(a)). Forms for the informal track are fillable; the APPOINTMENT forms (Form 2 / Form 17, and the proposed Forms 3/4 and 18/19 that accompany them) are published only inside the single "Informal Administration of an Estate" guidebook PDF rather than as separate files, while the Form 1 collection affidavit is additionally posted standalone on the affidavit self-help page. Filing fee is $160 ("you're required to pay the $160.00 filing fee to the North Dakota Clerk of District Court"), waivable via the court's Filing Fee Waiver Request.

General information about how a personal representative is appointed, not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions. Data verified Aug 24, 2026

North Dakota has no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the District Court. Clerk of District Court / the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration after the court grants the petition.

Along with the petition, North Dakota generally requires: Certified copy of the death certificate (guidebook lists it under documents you "may also need to file", not the always-required set); Original will (and any codicils), when testate (N.D.C.C. ch. 30.1-14); Proposed Statement of Informal Probate of Will and Appointment of a Personal Representative (Form 3, testate) / Statement of Informal Appointment of a Personal Representative – Intestacy (Form 18, intestate) — the applicant fills these in and files them unsigned; the judge signs. The court's own checklist runs longer for particular cases.

North Dakota does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one.

North Dakota permits a self-represented person to open an estate. E-filing is open to self-represented filers. The North Dakota self-file probate assessment sets self-filing against attorney costs.

Yes. A revocable living trust passes its assets to the beneficiaries without a court appointment in North Dakota: no petition, no Letters, no bond. A revocable trust built with SimplyTrust takes about fifteen minutes.

Getting Appointed in North Dakota

Authority to act for the estate comes from Letters issued in North Dakota by Clerk of District Court / the court, on appointment by the District Court. The document is Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will). North Dakota has adopted the Uniform Probate Code.

North Dakota publishes no single statewide fill-in petition; the opening document is prepared to statute and filed with the court. The filing fee is $160. North Dakota offers an informal (registrar) appointment track for qualifying estates.

North Dakota does not require a bond by default before Letters issue, though the court can order one where it is needed to protect creditors or heirs.

For smaller estates, North Dakota offers a small-estate procedure for estates under $100,000 that can transfer assets without a full appointment or Letters (Form 1). The North Dakota self-file probate assessment compares self-filing and attorney costs.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated September 8, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from North Dakota statutes and official state code. How we research.

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