North Dakota Administrative Code

1. Feathers that are molted or those feathers from birds held in captivity that die may be retained and exchanged by licensees only for imping (replacing a damaged feather with a molted feather) purposes. Feathers may not be bought, sold, or bartered between licensees. Feathers n…

Violation of any rule not designated as having a noncriminal penalty is considered a criminal violation as established in North Dakota Century Code title 20.1. History: Effective January 1, 2013. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-02-04(22), 20.1-02-05(22), 20.1-14-03 Law Implemented: …

If the applicant is not the owner of the land, a copy of any lease of lands contained in the shooting preserve area must be filed with the application. History: Amended effective December 1, 1982. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-12-08 Law Implemented: NDCC 20.1-12-02

No shooting preserve operating permit shall be issued for any area less than one mile [1.61 kilometers] from the exterior boundaries of a planned or approved state or federal wildlife area, public hunting ground or refuge which is managed in whole or in part for game birds indige…

The application must be made at least sixty days before the desired effective date of the permit, and may be made by the applicant, the applicant's agent, or the applicant's attorney in such a form as the director may prescribe. If leased land is used in the shooting preserve, th…

Repealed effective December 1, 1982. 1

Except for permitted shooting preserves operating prior to January 1, 2009, no individual, corporation, or business association may operate or own any interest in one or more shooting preserves with a comprised total of more than six hundred forty acres. History: Effective April …

A minimum of one hundred birds of each species permitted to be hunted on the shooting preserve shall be released during the shooting preserve season. Fewer birds may be released upon written permission of the director. History: Amended effective December 1, 1982; April 1, 2006; A…

Repealed effective April 1, 2006.

Repealed effective December 1, 1982.

All game birds shall be of high quality stock, fully feathered, and not less than twelve weeks of age at time of stocking. They shall not be debeaked more than a quarter-inch [6.35 millimeters], and not less than two weeks prior to release. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-12-08 Law …

Repealed effective September 1, 1987.

Repealed effective December 1, 1982.

If a species of wild upland game bird other than those allowed by the shooting preserve operator's permit is taken by any hunter out of season, or by a hunter not in possession of a proper small game stamp when in season as proclaimed by the governor's proclamation, a violation o…

Repealed effective April 1, 2006.

The shooting preserve operator shall submit a report of the operator's operations thirty days after each shooting preserve season. The report shall be made on forms furnished by the game and fish director. History: Amended effective December 1, 1982; April 1, 2006. General Author…

Game birds which are surplus to the needs of the shooting preserve may be sold by the operator under the operator's game propagator's permit. Carcasses of birds to be disposed of must be tagged with a tag as required in North Dakota Century Code section 20.1-09-05. The tag shall …

Repealed effective December 1, 1982.

Any person who violates any section of this chapter is guilty of a noncriminal offense and shall pay a fifty dollar fee. History: Effective April 1, 1986. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-02-05(24) Law Implemented: NDCC 20.1-02-05(24)

The shooting preserve operator shall maintain records of bird releases to include date, number, and species; clients; the number of birds harvested both wild and released per client; number of wild birds kept per client; the total number of wild birds harvested; and the combined …

trophy heads. Any North American wild sheep horns or trophy heads, which have not been previously tagged or plugged, must be delivered to the North Dakota game and fish department's central office in Bismarck, North Dakota. The game and fish department will provide a department-a…

No person may possess North American wild sheep horns or the trophy head from which the identifying tag or plug has been removed. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a noncriminal offense and shall pay a two hundred fifty dollar fee. History: Effective June 1, 1992.…

Before printing or distributing any raffle tickets, any organization that receives any license in accordance with North Dakota Century Code chapter 20.1-05.1-02, shall submit to the director an application on forms provided by the department. This application form must be receive…

organizations; special allocation hunting license authorization. 1. In addition to the allocation provided by subsection 2 of North Dakota Century Code section 20.1-05.1-01, the director shall issue two additional spring wild turkey licenses and permits to hunt wild turkeys to in…

Any organization that receives a license in accordance with North Dakota Century Code sections 20.1-04-07.1, 20.1-05.1-01, and 20.1-05.1-02 shall provide the director a detailed accounting statement, completed on a standardized form provided by the department, by December thirty-…

Any organization that receives a license in accordance with North Dakota Century Code section 20.1-05.1-02 shall provide the director a performance report, completed on a standardized form provided by the department, by December thirty-first of the license season. At a minimum, t…

All licenses must be publicly displayed on the business premises. Business names must be displayed on both sides of any vehicle used to transport live bait. Any bait vendor who violates this section is guilty of a noncriminal offense and shall pay a one hundred dollar fee. Histor…

Refer to the current fishing proclamation for legal live aquatic bait definitions. History: Effective April 1, 2008; amended effective October 1, 2010; January 1, 2018, April 1, 2024. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-06-14 Law Implemented: NDCC 20.1-06-14

A licensee may possess only legal live aquatic bait. Other species caught while seining or trapping must be returned to the water immediately. History: Effective April 1, 2008; amended effective October 1, 2010; January 1, 2018. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-06-14 Law Implemented:…

Retail or wholesale bait vendor licenses are issued for a calendar year to one person only. An individual may be issued only one wholesale license per calendar year. The holder of a retail bait vendor license may sell legal live aquatic bait at retail only, at one specified selli…

A licensed wholesale bait vendor may employ the assistance of up to six other persons to capture or sell and transport legal live aquatic bait in the manner approved by the director. Assistants can only be listed on one valid licensed wholesale bait vendor application per calenda…

A retail or wholesale license is required for the possession of more than the limits described in the current fishing proclamation of legal live aquatic bait. History: Effective April 1, 2008; amended effective October 1, 2010; January 1, 2018. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-06-14 …

Persons commercializing in or transporting legal live aquatic bait shall use equipment capable of maintaining such live bait in a healthy and lively condition at all times, except for rainbow smelt which must be killed immediately after capture. Each species of legal live aquatic…

Only the following legal live aquatic bait may be imported into the state and only with a permit issued by the director and in the manner approved by the director: white suckers, creek chubs, and leeches. It is illegal to import all other live aquatic bait. It is illegal to expor…

Repealed effective October 1, 2010.

It is illegal to transport aquatic bait in water within the state except with an appropriate license or permit issued by the director and only in the manner approved by the director. Any bait vendor who violates this section is guilty of a noncriminal offense and shall pay a two …

Stocking of any live fish, live fish eggs, live amphibians, or other live aquatic organism into any waters of the state shall be illegal except with the appropriate license or permit issued by the director. History: Effective April 1, 2008; amended effective October 1, 2010. Gene…

A person possessing only a retail license may take legal live aquatic bait with a seine not exceeding twenty-five feet [7.62 meters] in length and six feet [1.83 meters] in depth. Mesh size may not exceed one-half inch [12.7 millimeters] square measure. A licensed retailer may us…

Licensees shall not be permitted to take legal live aquatic bait from the following: 1. Waters managed as recreational fisheries (except the Missouri River system where rainbow smelt may be taken) without a permit issued and, in the manner, approved by the director; 2. Waters des…

The term "wholesale bait pond" means any pond used to take legal live aquatic bait for wholesale. A legal description, to the quarter section, of each wholesale bait pond must be listed on the wholesaler's pond application form and all ponds must be approved by the director prior…

Equipment used to capture, transport, or hold, and shipments of, legal live aquatic bait are subject to inspections by duly appointed agents of the director. For all retail vendors, each licensee shall keep current receipts of purchase at the retail licensee's point of sale for t…

Violation of any rule not designated as having a noncriminal penalty is considered a criminal violation as established in the appropriate chapter of North Dakota Century Code title 20.1. History: Effective April 1, 2008; amended effective October 1, 2010; January 1, 2018. General…

Repealed effective December 1, 1982.

A "fishpond" as referred to in this chapter shall mean a private fish hatchery holding fish for public fishing for a fee. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-06-12 Law Implemented: NDCC 20.1-06-12

Repealed effective December 1, 1982.

Only one private fish hatchery license may be issued per individual each calendar year. History: Effective April 1, 2009. General Authority: NDCC 20.1-06-12 Law Implemented: NDCC 20.1-06-12

The game and fish director will publish a list of fish species that may be authorized for raising or holding in a licensed fish hatchery. Such list may be amended from time to time at the discretion of the game and fish director. History: Amended effective September 1, 1989; Nove…

An operator of a licensed fish hatchery may sell fish owned or raised for market or for stocking other waters. The operator also may operate the operator's fish hatchery as a fishpond and may sell fish caught from the pond by fee-paying anglers. Live fish purchased for stocking p…

Transportation of authorized fish stock into, out of, or within the state by a licensed hatchery operator in a private fish hatchery may be done only with a permit issued by the director and only in the manner approved by the director. All fish stock entering the state must be ac…

The holder of a private fish hatchery license shall furnish to each person purchasing fish from the hatchery a written receipt giving the number, length, and species of the fish purchased, retaining a copy of the receipt for a permanent record to be retained at the hatchery. Gene…