The figures on this page are the ones a statute or a named, dated publisher sets. Laws, fees, thresholds, and prices differ by state and change often, and your own situation may change the result. Before you act, confirm the current numbers and rules for North Dakota with a licensed professional — an attorney, tax advisor, or licensed agent as appropriate. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship.
What a will costs in North Dakota
We found no published source for this figure as of September 2026. The North Dakota will prices that are published come from law firms, online document sellers, or sites paid to refer customers to them. None is an independent publisher, so none is cited here.
No North Dakota statute sets what a will costs to draft. North Dakota law sets how a will must be executed to be valid, and what the court charges to probate it — neither fixes a drafting fee.
What the court charges
The deadline the fee buys into
What makes a will valid in North Dakota
A standard North Dakota will must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another at the testator's direction and in the testator's conscious presence), and signed by at least two witnesses who witnessed the signing or the testator's acknowledgment (N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-02).
EPTL §3-2.1(a)(1)(C) provides that a person who signs the testator’s name for the testator must sign their own name and affix their address, and is not counted as one of the necessary attesting witnesses.
Can you write your own will by hand in North Dakota?
North Dakota recognizes holographic (handwritten) wills: a will is valid without witnesses if the signature and the material portions of the document are in the testator's own handwriting (N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-02). They are legal but harder to prove than a witnessed, typed will.
EPTL §3-2.2(a)(2) defines a holographic will as one written entirely in the testator’s handwriting and not executed and attested under the §3-2.1 formalities.
The self-proving affidavit
North Dakota allows a self-proving will through a notarized affidavit signed by the testator and the witnesses (N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-04), so the court can admit the will to probate without contacting the witnesses.
Without it, the attesting witnesses may be called to testify to the execution when the will is offered for probate. SCPA §1406(1) is what removes that step, by letting the court accept their sworn affidavit instead.
What a will does not do in North Dakota
A will directs an estate through probate; it does not remove assets from it. A will tells the North Dakota probate court who receives what and who administers the estate. Property governed by the will still passes through probate — the court-supervised, public process.
The cost of the document and the cost of probate are therefore separate figures. For what probate itself costs in North Dakota, see How Much Does Probate Cost in North Dakota?.
What passes outside probate in North Dakota
Assets transfer outside probate only by operation of law or contract, regardless of what a will says. The recognised mechanisms are:
- Beneficiary designations — retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary.
- Joint ownership with right of survivorship — passes to the surviving owner.
- Transfer-on-death instruments, where North Dakota authorises them.
- Assets titled into a funded living trust.
A will has no effect on any asset transferred by these routes. For the North Dakota figures on the trust alternative, see How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in North Dakota?, and for the documented differences between the two instruments, Will vs. Trust: How They Differ.
What affects the price in North Dakota
We found no published source for North Dakota will-drafting prices as of September 2026, so this page states no range and no price drivers. The prices on this page that are fixed by law are the court’s, above, with the statute that fixes them cited there.
What the record shows
| Item | North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Price of a will | Not set by law; no independent published source found as of September 2026 |
| Governing statutes | N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-02 (execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills); N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-04 (self-proved will) |
| State authority | North Dakota Century Code, Title 30.1 (ndlegis.gov) |
A will directs an estate through probate and does not remove assets from it. Execution requirements, the treatment of handwritten wills, the self-proving affidavit, the court’s own fee schedule and the claim period are set out above with their statutory citations. No figure is published here for what a will costs to draft: we found no independent published source as of September 2026.
Will costs in other states
Compare North Dakota with what a will costs in other states:
- How Much Does a Will Cost in California?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Texas?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Florida?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in New York?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Pennsylvania?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Illinois?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Ohio?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Georgia?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in North Carolina?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Michigan?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Connecticut?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Arkansas?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Indiana?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Alabama?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Alaska?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Arizona?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Colorado?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Delaware?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Hawaii?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Idaho?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Iowa?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Kansas?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Kentucky?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Louisiana?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Maine?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Maryland?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Massachusetts?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Minnesota?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Mississippi?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Missouri?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Montana?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Nebraska?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Nevada?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in New Hampshire?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in New Jersey?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in New Mexico?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Oklahoma?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Oregon?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Rhode Island?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in South Carolina?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in South Dakota?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Tennessee?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Utah?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Vermont?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Virginia?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Washington?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in West Virginia?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Wisconsin?
- How Much Does a Will Cost in Wyoming?
Related reading
- How to Write a Will (and What Makes It Valid) — the full step-by-step.
- Do I Need a Will? — what happens under intestacy when there is none.
- How Much Does a Will Cost with a Lawyer? — the national cost picture.
- How Much Does Probate Cost in North Dakota? — the separate cost of probate itself.
- How Much Does a Living Trust Cost in North Dakota? — the instrument that holds assets outside probate.
This page sets out what North Dakota law fixes about making a will and probating it, as of September 2026. It is not legal advice; statutes and figures change and depend on your situation. Confirm current rules with a licensed North Dakota attorney. It states no drafting price, because we found no independent published source for one. Sources: North Dakota Century Code, Title 30.1 (ndlegis.gov); N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-02 (execution; witnessed wills; holographic wills), N.D. Cent. Code §30.1-08-04 (self-proved will).