Quick answer: Opening an estate in North Dakota costs a district court filing fee of roughly $160 (increased effective July 1, 2025). North Dakota has no separate probate court — filings go through the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent lived. The collection-by-affidavit procedure needs no court filing at all. See the full picture in the North Dakota probate cost calculator.
District court fees
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of PR | ~$160 |
| Collection-by-affidavit | $0 (no court filing) |
| Certified copies | A few dollars each |
The civil filing fee for a probate petition increased effective July 1, 2025; confirm the current figure with your county Clerk of District Court.
Other administration costs
- Publication to creditors — newspaper notice, three consecutive weeks; creditors have 3 months from first publication to present claims.
- Bond — not required in informal probate unless requested by an interested party or ordered by the court; wills often waive it.
- Appraisal — if real estate, mineral rights, or a business must be valued.
- Personal representative & attorney fees — the real variables, both reasonable amounts under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-18-19, with no statutory percentage or factors.
Not the big cost: the ~$160 filing fee is small next to the personal representative and attorney fees. North Dakota has no estate or inheritance tax, so there's no death-tax layer.
Ways to keep court costs down
- Collection-by-affidavit — up to $100,000 in personal property, net of liens, no filing fee at all (N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01). Mineral and oil rights don't qualify, since they're classified as real property.
- Ask your county Clerk of District Court to confirm the current fee.
- Informal probate — no hearing fee for uncontested estates.