Title 11, Counties

Each organized county is a body corporate for civil and political purposes only. As such, the county may sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with, and in all cases when lands have been granted to it for public purposes and any part thereof has been sold and the purchase m…

Each organized county, unless it has adopted one of the optional forms of county government provided by the code or has combined or separated the functions of county offices or redesignated offices as elective or appointive pursuant to chapter 11-10.2 or 11-10.3, must have the fo…

The board of county commissioners may employ a county surveyor to serve at the pleasure of the board and such surveyor may be compensated on a per diem basis or otherwise as may be determined by the board. The office of county surveyor may be combined with the office of county hi…

Upon the submission to the board of county commissioners of a petition signed by ten percent or more of the total number of qualified electors of the county voting for governor at the most recent gubernatorial election or upon resolution of the board of county commissioners, the …

1. Except as otherwise specifically provided by the laws of this state, a county officer must be a qualified elector in the county in which the person is appointed, and a county commissioner must be a qualified elector in the district from which the commissioner is chosen. 2. Not…

Unless otherwise provided by law, an appointed member of a county board, commission, or committee that has authority to levy taxes must be a resident of the area subject to taxation by the board, commission, or committee.

Except as otherwise specifically provided by the laws of this state, the regular term of office of each county officer, when the officer is elected for a full term, shall commence on the first of January next succeeding the officer's election and each such officer shall qualify a…

The regular term of office of each county commissioner, when the commissioner is elected for a full term, commences on the first Monday in December next succeeding the officer's election and each such commissioner shall qualify and enter upon the discharge of the commissioner's d…

Before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, the following county officers must be bonded for the faithful discharge of their respective duties in the same manner as other civil officers are bonded and in the following amounts: 1. The county auditor, recorder, and…

In counties where any offices are consolidated under the provisions of this title, only one bond shall be required for the offices consolidated, and such bond shall be in the highest amount required for any one of the offices so consolidated.

Unless a county officer is bonded in the state bonding fund, the bond of each county officer, immediately after the approval thereof, shall be recorded at length in the office of the recorder in a book provided for that purpose except as otherwise provided by the laws of this sta…

Every county officer, before entering upon the discharge of the officer's duties, shall take and subscribe the oath prescribed for civil officers.

1. The salary of an elected county auditor, county treasurer, county superintendent of schools, recorder, and sheriff must be regulated by the population in the respective counties according to the last preceding official federal census from and after the date when the official r…

It is the intent of the legislative assembly that the several boards of county commissioners shall exercise the responsibility of setting the salaries of county officials within the limits imposed by section 11-10-10. A board of county commissioners, in making a decision in regar…

For purposes of sections 11-10-10, 11-10-15, and 11-10-20, the county superintendent of schools employed by the board of county commissioners is an officer of the county. A board of county commissioners shall employ a county superintendent of schools, as provided for in section 1…

The salaries of deputies, clerks, and assistants for the county auditor, county treasurer, sheriff, recorder, ex officio clerk of the district court, and state's attorney must be fixed by a resolution of the board of county commissioners. Each of the named officers may appoint su…

Any county official may require that official's deputy to be bonded for the faithful performance of the deputy's duties in an amount to be fixed by the board of county commissioners. A bond of a deputy shall be issued, and the premium thereon paid, in the same manner as in the ca…

Each deputy county officer shall take and subscribe the same oath as the deputy's principal, naming the deputyship, which shall be endorsed upon and filed with the deputy's certificate of appointment.

The salaries fixed by this chapter shall be full compensation for all county officials, deputies, clerks, and assistants, respectively, and all fees and compensation received by any official, deputy, clerk, or assistant for any act or service rendered in an official capacity shal…

Unless otherwise provided by the laws of this state, every county official, whether elective or appointive, every deputy of a county official, and any county employee entitled by law to travel or mileage expense is entitled to mileage expenses of at least the amount allowed state…

Unless the expense was incurred by the use of a purchasing card, before an allowance for mileage or travel expense may be paid by a county, the individual for whose travel the claim is made shall file with the county auditor an itemized statement verified by affidavit showing the…

Every county officer chargeable with money belonging to the county shall render that officer's account to and settle with the board of county commissioners at such times as are provided by the laws of this state. A county officer shall pay into the county treasury any balance whi…

If any person chargeable with money belonging to the county shall neglect or refuse to render true accounts to or settle with the county therefor, the board of county commissioners shall adjust the accounts of such delinquent according to the best information it can obtain and as…

Whenever the board of county commissioners shall deem it expedient to do so, photography may be used in the making of permanent county records. When permanent photographic or photostatic copies of any instrument, document, or decree which is required to be recorded are thus made,…

Whenever a statute requires an order, will, or other instrument, document, or decree to be transcribed into a record book of a county official, the same may be done by affixing a photostatic or photographic copy thereof to a page of the record book. Such photostatic or photograph…

The board of county commissioners shall provide a courtroom and jail, and shall provide offices in the courthouse of the county for the sheriff, county treasurer, recorder, auditor, clerk of the district court, state's attorney, county superintendent of schools, and any other off…

The county auditor, county treasurer, and the chairman of the board of county commissioners, or such other member of the board as may be designated thereby, shall constitute a committee which shall purchase and provide all necessary blanks, books, and other stationery for the use…

Every person who, while an officer of any county of this state or the deputy or clerk of any such officer, directly or indirectly, buys or traffics in, or in anywise becomes a party to the purchase of, any county warrant or order, or any bill, account, claim, or evidence of indeb…

Any county officer whose fees are fixed by law shall make a schedule thereof and shall keep the same in the officer's office in a conspicuous place. If any such officer shall neglect to do so, the officer, for such neglect, shall forfeit and pay the sum of five dollars to be reco…

1. Counties, organized under the Constitution of North Dakota or organized under any form of county government authorized by the statutes of North Dakota, are hereby authorized upon motion of the board of county commissioners to organize and participate in an association of count…

No head of any executive or administrative department or agency, either elective or appointive, of any county in this state, may appoint that official's spouse, son, daughter, brother, or sister to any position under the control or direction of that official, unless the appointme…

When the county seeks acquisition of right of way through eminent domain proceedings authorized by chapter 32-15, the board of county commissioners may make an offer to purchase the right of way and deposit the amount of the offer with the clerk of the district court and thereupo…

Three years after adoption or amendment of a resolution or the enactment or amendment of an ordinance by the board of county commissioners it is conclusively presumed that the resolution or ordinance was adopted, enacted, or amended and published as required by law.

Within one year of assuming office, an individual who is elected or appointed to the office of county commissioner, auditor, clerk of district court, recorder, or treasurer shall attend training based upon a curriculum specific to that office and approved by the statewide associa…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person is not entitled to a tax or fee refund, to be paid or approved by a county officer or employee, unless the amount of the refund is five dollars or more.

A county may accept payment by wire transfer, electronic transfer, automated clearinghouse, or a nationally recognized credit or debit card for any fee charged by, or compensation, tax, or assessment due to a county. A reasonable fee not exceeding the discount, exchange fee, or o…

1. The department of transportation shall allow a county, city, or township to affix to any traffic sign prohibiting engine brakes and signifying that a vehicle noise ordinance is enforced and the amount of the penalty for violation of an offense corresponding with the purpose of…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a county may not adopt or enforce an ordinance, resolution, or policy that prohibits or impedes, or has the effect of prohibiting or impeding, the connection or reconnection of an electric, natural gas, propane, or other energy utility …

If a dissolved city is located in an unorganized township, the county may choose to maintain or vacate, under chapter 40-39, the streets and alleys in the dissolved city.