Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
Updated August 4, 2026. Quick answer for North Dakota: nobody publishes a reliable, state-specific median for what a will costs here, and the figures you will see quoted — including ours — are national. Anyone showing you a precise North Dakota number is estimating. What is genuinely North Dakota-specific, and what actually decides whether your will works, is how it has to be executed. The detail worth knowing before you sign anything: North Dakota is one of only two states where a notary may stand in for the witnesses rather than sit alongside them.
How to make a will in North Dakota: what the statute says
Each line is a short extract quoted from the North Dakota statute itself; the section has the exceptions.
- Signing and witnesses. N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02(1)(c): “Either signed: (1) By at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing of the will as described in subdivision b or the testator’s acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will; or (2) Acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments.”
- Interested witnesses. N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-05(2): “A will or any provision thereof is not invalid because the will is signed by an interested witness.”
- Self-proving affidavit. N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-04(1): “A will that is executed with attesting witnesses may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs…”
- Handwritten (holographic) will. N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02(2): “A will that does not comply with subsection 1 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator’s handwriting.”
- Electronic will. N.D.C.C. § 30.1-37-02: “An electronic will is a will for all purposes of the law of this state.”
The cost of settling an estate is a separate question: North Dakota Probate Cost 2026.
The honest position on North Dakota pricing
We publish a national attorney median for a simple will of $625 (middle 50% $450–$1,000) and a DIY platform range of $129–$599. Attorney figures are the national medians from the LegalTemplates 2026 survey of 909 firms, verified July 23, 2026. They are national, not state-specific. Geographic multipliers are widely republished, but the primary source for them blocks automated verification, so we will not apply one to North Dakota and present the result as a North Dakota figure. When a defensible state-level dataset exists, this page will carry it and say where it came from.
What North Dakota law actually requires
This is the part that is genuinely state-specific, and the part that decides whether the document works at all. Every line below is read from the statute, with the citation attached:
- Witnesses: 2. N.D.C.C. 30.1-08-02(1)
- If a beneficiary witnesses it: the witness is competent and the gift is unaffected — unusual, and worth knowing. N.D.C.C. 30.1-08-05(2)
- Notary required for the will to be valid: no, but a notary can replace the witnesses. The statute accepts either two witnesses or, in its words, “Acknowledged by the testator before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments.” N.D.C.C. 30.1-08-02(1)(c)
- Self-proving affidavit: available. The statute provides one: “A will that is executed with attesting witnesses may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs and evidenced by the officer’s certificate, under official seal, attached or annexed to the will in substantially the following form…” N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-04(1)
- Handwritten (holographic) wills: recognised. The statute provides: “A will that does not comply with subsection 1 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and material portions of the document are in the testator’s handwriting.” N.D.C.C. § 30.1-08-02(2)
- Electronic wills: recognised. The statute provides: “An electronic will is a will for all purposes of the law of this state.” N.D.C.C. § 30.1-37-02
The full 44-jurisdiction comparison is on what each state requires for a will to be valid. Whether a beneficiary may witness is covered nationally on can a beneficiary witness a will, and the notary question on does a will need to be notarised.
Does North Dakota give you a free form?
No. We found no complete statutory will form in the North Dakota code. California, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico and Wisconsin each print one in their own codes. In North Dakota your realistic routes are a DIY platform, a flat-fee attorney will, or an hourly engagement if the estate is complicated.
If a DIY will is the right route for you in North Dakota
Where the estate is straightforward and none of the complications above apply, a properly executed DIY will does the job, and how it is signed matters far more than where the document came from. LawDepot builds a state-specific last will and testament, which you then sign and witness under the North Dakota rules above.
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link — it costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
What skipping it costs in North Dakota
North Dakota sets probate compensation using “reasonable” compensation with no percentage schedule. The two numbers that decide what an estate actually pays are the fee basis and the small-estate threshold.
Fee basis: UPC state: reasonable compensation for personal representative (N.D.C.C. §30.1-18-19, UPC 3-719 analog); attorney fees reasonable. No percentage schedule.
Small-estate threshold: $100,000 value of the entire estate subject to distribution or succession, less liens and encumbrances (N.D.C.C. § 30.1-23-01).
A will does not avoid probate — it directs it. What it prevents is the estate being distributed by North Dakota’s intestacy statute instead of by you, and it lets you name the executor rather than leaving the court to appoint one. The arithmetic on the other side is on what probate costs in North Dakota.
What a will costs nationally — every route priced, and the four situations where DIY fails.
Statutory text read at the state’s own legislature or official code site. Pricing figures are national and dated above. General information, not legal advice.
Related: whether North Dakota requires the executor to post a bond.
The court’s own filing fee to open probate is a separate cost from what’s on this page, see the North Dakota probate filing fee.
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.