Moving to North Dakota: Your License Within 60 Days, Registering Your Car, and Voting With No Voter Registration

The most important stop for a North Dakota newcomer is the driver’s license office. Your old license is only good for 60 days after you become a resident [1], and a North Dakota license or ID is also how you vote here, because the state has no voter registration [16][18]. Here’s the order that works, what to bring and what it costs.

When North Dakota counts you as a resident

• For a driver’s license: you’re a resident once you’ve lived in North Dakota 90 consecutive days, unless you’re a nonresident student, a tourist or a member of the armed forces [1].
• For vehicle registration: you’re a resident if you work or do business here and own, rent or otherwise live in a place here for that work, or, regardless of anything else, once you’ve stayed 90 consecutive days [5]. College students and certain daily commuters aren’t counted [5].

1. Get your North Dakota driver’s license

You can keep driving on a valid out-of-state license for up to 60 days after you become a resident [1]. The Department of Transportation gives commercial license holders 30 days [2]. An appointment is needed for all driver’s license services [2].

Bring [2]:

• Your current license. It can’t be suspended, canceled or revoked, or expired for more than a year.
• One document proving identity, date of birth and legal presence, such as a U.S. birth certificate, passport or permanent resident card. Photocopies and hospital certificates aren’t accepted.
• Proof of your Social Security number if you want a REAL ID.
• Two documents showing your North Dakota address for a REAL ID, or one if you don’t want REAL ID. A P.O. box doesn’t count.
• If your name has changed, a certified marriage certificate, adoption document or court order.

Cost: $15 for a noncommercial or commercial license, plus $3 for each commercial endorsement [2][3]. A noncommercial license expires on your birthday in the third following year that ends in the same odd or even digit as your birth year, or the second such year if you’re 78 or older when you renew [4].

2. Insure your car

The owner of a vehicle that has to be registered in North Dakota must keep security in place for no-fault benefits and liability [13]. A liability policy has to cover at least [14]:

Basic no-fault benefits pay for economic loss from accidental injury, up to $30,000 per person per accident [15].

3. Title and register your vehicle

North Dakota requires motor vehicles driven on its roads to be registered annually with the Department of Transportation [5]. Once you meet the residency test above, out-of-state plates no longer exempt you [5].

What you’ll pay:

• Title: a $5 fee with the title application [10].
• Motor vehicle excise tax: 5% of the purchase price of a vehicle bought for use here and required to be registered [11]. If you paid sales, use or excise tax in another state, North Dakota charges only the difference, and nothing if you paid as much or more, as long as that state gives North Dakota a similar credit [12]. You may be asked for written proof the tax was paid [12].
• Registration: based on weight and how many years the vehicle has been registered. A passenger vehicle under 3,200 pounds is $73 a year in its first six years, for example [8]. A vehicle first registered partway through the year pays a prorated fee by the month [7].
• Electric vehicles: an extra $120 a year for an EV and $50 for a plug-in hybrid [9].

4. Claim your property tax credits (homeowners)

If you bought a home, apply for the Primary Residence Credit online between January 1 and April 1 each year; it’s worth up to $1,600 off your property tax [19]. See our guide to North Dakota property tax relief for the credit, the homestead credit at 65 and the disabled veteran credit.

5. Voting: no registration needed

North Dakota doesn’t require voter registration [16]. State law goes further: the central voter file can’t be used to require registration [17]. To vote, you have to be a U.S. citizen, 18 or older, and a North Dakota resident who has lived in your precinct at least 30 days before the election [17].

At the polls, you show a valid ID with your legal name, current North Dakota street address and date of birth [18]. That means [18]:

• A North Dakota driver’s license or nondriver ID, or
• A tribal government ID for a tribal member living in the state.

If your ID is missing your current address or other required information, you can add a current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other government document that shows it [18]. If you have no valid ID at all, you can mark a ballot that’s set aside, then show a valid ID to election officials before the canvassing board meets on the 13th day after the election [18].

Your first-month checklist

1. Make sure your auto insurance meets North Dakota’s 25/50/25 minimums and includes no-fault [13][14].
2. Book a driver’s license appointment and switch your license within 60 days [1][2].
3. Title and register each vehicle, and bring proof of any tax you paid in your old state [5][12].
4. Homeowners: apply for the Primary Residence Credit between January 1 and April 1 [19].
5. Before an election: live in your precinct 30 days and bring a North Dakota ID [17][18].