Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In North Dakota, north Dakota follows the Uniform Probate Code pattern, mirroring UPC § 3-603: no bond is required of a personal representative appointed in informal proceedings except for a special administrator, an express will requirement, or a demand under a companion section; in formal proceedings bond may be ordered by the court but is not required if the will relieves the personal representative of it, unless an interested party requests bond and the court agrees it is desirable.
Does North Dakota require an executor to post a bond?
North Dakota follows the Uniform Probate Code pattern, mirroring UPC § 3-603: no bond is required of a personal representative appointed in informal proceedings except for a special administrator, an express will requirement, or a demand under a companion section; in formal proceedings bond may be ordered by the court but is not required if the will relieves the personal representative of it, unless an interested party requests bond and the court agrees it is desirable.
“No bond is required of any personal representative who, pursuant to statute, has deposited cash or collateral with an agency of this state to secure performance of the personal representative’s duties.”
Can the will waive it in North Dakota?
Sometimes. A will can eliminate the discretionary formal-proceeding bond, but that waiver can be overridden if an interested party requests bond and the court finds it desirable; a will can also impose a bond requirement that would not otherwise apply in informal proceedings.
Can the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in North Dakota?
Sometimes. The fetched section only gives interested parties a mechanism to request (impose) bond, not to waive one by consent; no separate heir-consent waiver clause was found in this section.
If a bond is required, how much?
When a bond is required, North Dakota sizes it at 100% of the estimated value of the personal estate plus expected annual income, per its own bond-amount statute.
“that person’s best estimate of the value of the personal estate of the decedent and of the income expected from the personal and real estate during the next year”
Source: N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-17-04
What makes North Dakota different
North Dakota adopted the UPC bond section almost verbatim, giving it the same informal/formal bifurcation as New Mexico, but it adds a distinctive alternative-security option not found elsewhere in this set: a personal representative can skip a surety bond entirely by depositing cash or collateral directly with a state agency.
A note on sourcing: The official ndlegis.gov chapter PDF was fetched this session but returned as non-extractable binary/encoded text; the verbatim quote instead comes from the codes.findlaw.com mirror, cross-checked against a general web search of the official ndlegis.gov table of contents confirming the section title for § 30.1-17-03.
| Bond-requirement source | N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-17-03 (UPC § 3-603) |
| North Dakota courts (general reference) | North Dakota judicial branch |
| North Dakota Secretary of State / legislature | North Dakota state government |
| Confidence | Medium |
Every statute quoted on this page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; a probate court has final discretion over bond in every state; confirm your own case with the court or a local attorney before relying on the default described here.
Related: how long creditors have to file a claim against an estate in North Dakota.
Related: how long you have to contest a will in North Dakota.