Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: North Dakota adopted the Uniform Act, and added a requirement almost nowhere else has: the words “transfer on death deed” or “TOD” must appear in the title of the deed.
The titling requirement
A transfer on death deed must use the phrase “transfer on death deed” or the abbreviation “TOD” in the title of the deed. A transfer on death deed must be recorded before the transferor’s death in the public records in the office of the county recorder of the county where the property is located.
— N.D. Cent. Code ch. 30.1-32.1 (Uniform Real Property TOD Act) (subsections joined for readability; no words added)
A deed that is correct in every other respect, but headed simply “Warranty Deed” or “Quitclaim Deed”, does not satisfy this. It is the kind of defect that a form from another state produces automatically, because no other state’s form has that heading.
Two filings North Dakota does not require
The statute states that an auditor’s certificate of transfer under section 11-18-02 and a statement of full consideration under 11-18-02.2 are not required to record a transfer on death deed. Those are ordinarily part of recording a North Dakota deed, so a recorder’s office unfamiliar with these may ask for them; the statute says they are not needed.
Capacity, revocability, nontestamentary
Section 30.1-32.1-05 sets capacity at the same as making a will. 30.1-32.1-03 makes the deed revocable even if the deed says otherwise, and 30.1-32.1-04 confirms it is nontestamentary.
In North Dakota the title of the document matters
North Dakota requires the phrase transfer on death deed, or the abbreviation TOD, in the title of the deed itself, which is a requirement almost nowhere else has. LawDepot builds the document under exactly that name. Record it before death in the public records of the county where the property sits.
LawDepot prices a single document at $7.50 to $119, and its category subscriptions start at $107.88 a year, with the all-documents plan at $155.88 a year (LawDepot pricing page, read 2026-09-02).
Create a transfer on death deed
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What a transfer on death deed does not do
- It moves one parcel, not an estate. It avoids probate on that property; everything else is untouched, so it is not a substitute for a will.
- It does not take effect until death — the owner keeps full control and can sell, mortgage or revoke without the beneficiary’s agreement.
- It does not clear debts. A mortgage, lien or judgment passes with the property.
- It does not override how the property is titled. Joint ownership and survivorship rights generally come first.
Honest gaps
We have quoted 30.1-32.1-06 and read 30.1-32.1-01 to 30.1-32.1-05 from the Century Code chapter. The revocation, predecease and creditor provisions later in the chapter are not reproduced here. This is the statute, not legal advice. Deed drafting, title and recording practice vary by county, and a property with a mortgage, co-owners or a disputed title is one to take to a lawyer in the state.
Source note. Read from https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c32-1.pdf on 2026-08-04.
Related: transfer on death deeds by state · how it compares with a living trust · what it actually avoids.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state or court forms, not legal advice. These instruments are governed by the law of the state where the property sits or the document is signed, and formalities differ from state to state — execution, witnessing and recording requirements are the parts that void a document when they are missed. Your own state’s current statute governs.