Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities; vehicles not described. North Dakota’s Century Code sections 30.1-31-21 to 30.1-31-30, within Chapter 30.1-31 on nonprobate transfers on death, let an owner register a security in beneficiary form, and the owner may cancel or change it “without the consent of the beneficiary”. The vehicle title chapter cited here does not describe a beneficiary designation.
How North Dakota handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | North Dakota’s security registration provisions are sections 30.1-31-21 to 30.1-31-30 of the North Dakota Century Code, part of Chapter 30.1-31, Nonprobate Transfers on Death. They define beneficiary form as a registration of a security that shows the present owner and who becomes owner when the owner dies, and the definition of security includes a securities account with a broker. Registration may be shown by the words transfer on death or T.O.D., or pay on death or P.O.D., after the owner’s name. |
| Effect on the will and probate | A transfer on death from a registration in beneficiary form takes effect through the contract between the owner and the registering entity and the statute, not through a will. On the death of the last owner, the security passes to the beneficiaries who survive all owners. If no beneficiary survives, the statute says the security belongs to the estate of the last owner. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death, and the sole owner or all surviving owners may cancel or change the registration at any time. The beneficiary has no say while the owner is alive. |
| Vehicle titles | The North Dakota title registration chapter cited here, Chapter 39-05, does not describe naming a transfer on death beneficiary on a vehicle title. The North Dakota Department of Transportation is the place to confirm whether and how a vehicle can pass outside probate. The state’s pages cited here are silent on the point, so no form or procedure is stated. |
| Who may use beneficiary form | Only individuals may obtain a registration in beneficiary form, and the registration must show sole ownership by one individual or ownership by two or more with right of survivorship. The source says: “rather than as tenants in common”. A registering entity is not required to offer beneficiary registration, so a firm may decline to offer it. |
A $250,000 brokerage account split
An owner holds a brokerage account worth $250,000 and registers it in beneficiary form to two named beneficiaries, with each to receive half. Each share is computed as $250,000 x 50% = $125,000. The 50/50 split is the owner’s illustration, not a rule of the state: the owner names the beneficiaries and, where the form allows it, the shares.
Real estate, probate and estate tax
A transfer on death deed is a different instrument for real property: see North Dakota transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in North Dakota, see North Dakota probate cost, and for North Dakota’s own estate or inheritance tax, see North Dakota estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: North Dakota probate cost, how North Dakota taxes retirement income, North Dakota estate and inheritance tax, North Dakota transfer on death deed, and car titles after a death, by state.
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Answer againSources
- North Dakota Century Code Chapter 30.1-31, Nonprobate Transfers on Death: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c31.pdf
- North Dakota Century Code Chapter 39-05, Title Registration: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t39c05.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 8, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.