Squatters Rights in North Dakota: 20-Year Adverse Possession Law
North Dakota requires 20 years of possession, reduced to 10 years for claimants with tax payment or color of title. A 2025 proposal to add further eviction-process requirements for removing unauthorized occupants was explicitly not recommended for passage by the legislature.
Last reviewed July 8, 2026 — statutes and case law independently verified against official sources
North Dakota vs Neighboring States: Quick Comparison
- Statutory Period
- 20 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Yes 2024–2025
- Statutory Period
- 15 years
- Tax Payment Required
- Yes
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Standard process
- Statutory Period
- 20 years
- Tax Payment Required
- Yes
- Color of Title
- Required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Standard process
- Statutory Period
- 10 years
- Tax Payment Required
- No
- Color of Title
- Not required
- Expedited Removal Law
- Yes 2024–2025
Data verified for 2026. Laws subject to change, verify with official state statutes.
The Path to Adverse Possession in North Dakota
A visual summary of what a claimant must complete, start to finish.
How Adverse Possession Works in North Dakota
To claim ownership of property through adverse possession in North Dakota, a claimant must possess the land for 20 years while meeting the legal requirements established under state law. A shorter 10-year track is available for claimants who pay property taxes and, where required, hold color of title.
Legal Basis and Statutory Period
North Dakota’s adverse possession law is codified under N.D. Cent. Code §§ 28-01-04, 28-01-05, 28-01-07. The standard statutory period is 20 years of continuous, open, and hostile possession.
Property Tax Requirements
A shorter 10-year period applies to claimants who have paid property taxes or hold color of title. Without either, the standard period is 20 years.
Color of Title Rules
Color of title is not required for the standard 20-year claim, but qualifies a claimant for the shorter 10-year track alongside tax payment.
Key Legal Requirements
- Actual possession
- Open and notorious possession
- Hostile possession
- Exclusive possession
- Continuous possession for 20 years (10 years with tax payment or color of title)
What Are Your Legal Options in North Dakota?
2 minutes • No sign-up • Get a personalized legal assessment based on North Dakota law
Step 1: Choose your situation to begin
Recent Law Changes in North Dakota
No major legislative changes were enacted as of mid-2026. A bill addressing expedited removal procedures was reported back with a recommendation not to pass as of February 4, 2025, indicating the legislature declined to add the additional eviction-process requirements under consideration.
North Dakota Adverse Possession Procedures
Making an Adverse Possession Claim
To establish adverse possession in North Dakota, a claimant typically must:
- File a quiet title action in district court in the county where the property is located
- Prove possession for the standard 20-year period under N.D. Cent. Code §§ 28-01-04 and 28-01-05, or, alternatively, show 10 years of possession under color of title combined with payment of all property taxes during that period
- Demonstrate that possession was actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous
- Overcome North Dakota's statutory presumption against adverse possession (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-07), which requires the claimant to prove the claim by clear and convincing evidence
- Present evidence such as witness testimony, tax records, surveys, photographs, and documentation of improvements like fences, cabins, or driveways
- Obtain a court judgment quieting title in the claimant's favor
Following a successful quiet title action, the claimant should record the judgment with the county recorder to establish clear title to the property.
Defending Against Squatters
North Dakota property owners can protect against adverse possession claims by:
- Regularly inspecting property boundaries, especially rural and agricultural land
- Posting "No Trespassing" signs around the property perimeter
- Maintaining accurate surveys and boundary documentation
- Providing written, revocable permission for any allowed use of the land
- Keeping property tax payments current
- Taking legal action against unauthorized occupants before the 20-year (or 10-year color-of-title) period runs
- Documenting periodic visits and inspections of vacant or undeveloped land
Any interruption of the occupant's continuous possession -- such as a lawsuit, a permission agreement, or the occupant's own abandonment -- resets the statutory clock.
Removing Squatters
North Dakota provides property owners with several options for removing unauthorized occupants:
- Law Enforcement Assistance: unlawfully occupying or trespassing in a residential dwelling is a class C felony (class B felony for repeat offenses at the same dwelling) under N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-22-03, and other trespasses are class A or B misdemeanors
- Forcible Eviction: file a forcible eviction (forcible entry and detainer) complaint under N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-32 in district court
- Attend the eviction hearing and obtain an order for possession if the court rules in the owner's favor
- Have the sheriff execute the order to remove the occupants if they do not leave voluntarily
North Dakota law does not allow self-help evictions such as changing locks, removing belongings, or shutting off utilities; owners must use the criminal trespass or civil eviction process.
Notable North Dakota Adverse Possession Cases
Benson v. Taralseth (1986)
382 N.W.2d 649 (N.D. 1986)
The North Dakota Supreme Court held that building permanent cabins on disputed lakeshore lots was conduct so directly hostile and unmistakably clear that it satisfied adverse possession's hostility requirement, even though both the record owner and the possessor had unknowingly been paying property taxes on the same land under different legal descriptions.
James v. Griffin (2001)
2001 ND 90, 626 N.W.2d 704
The court affirmed quiet title in favor of neighbors who had treated a fence and driveway line as the property boundary, holding that once a boundary has been recognized and acquiesced in for the 20-year period in N.D.C.C. ch. 28-01, that line becomes conclusively established even if it differs from the recorded legal description.
Brown v. Brodell (2008)
2008 ND 183, 756 N.W.2d 779
The North Dakota Supreme Court clarified that simply building a fence on one's own property to contain cattle does not, by itself, establish acquiescence to a new boundary line; there must be evidence the neighboring landowners actually intended and treated the fence as the true boundary before acquiescence or adverse possession can be found.
Moody v. Sundley (2015)
2015 ND 204, 868 N.W.2d 491
The court reaffirmed that a claimant must prove every element of adverse possession -- actual, visible, continuous, notorious, distinct, and hostile possession -- by clear and convincing evidence, and upheld a ruling against a claimant who failed to show his predecessors had exclusively and hostilely possessed the disputed strip of land.
Frequently Asked Questions About North Dakota Adverse Possession
How long must someone occupy my property in North Dakota to claim adverse possession?
North Dakota generally requires 20 years of continuous possession under N.D. Cent. Code §§ 28-01-04 and 28-01-05. A shorter 10-year period applies only if the occupant has color of title (a deed or similar document that appears valid but has a legal defect) and has paid all property taxes on the land during that time. There is no such thing as gaining ownership after 30 days of occupancy.
What counts as "hostile" possession in North Dakota?
North Dakota courts have held that hostility does not require ill will or an intent to steal the land -- conduct that is unmistakably inconsistent with the true owner's rights, such as building a cabin or fence on the disputed land, can be enough, as in Benson v. Taralseth.
Can a boundary fence become the legal property line in North Dakota?
Yes, under the doctrine of boundary by acquiescence. If neighbors treat a fence or other marker as the boundary for the 20-year statutory period, courts may treat that line as conclusive, as in James v. Griffin. But North Dakota courts have also cautioned, in Brown v. Brodell, that a fence built only to contain livestock -- without any shared intent to mark the boundary -- does not by itself establish acquiescence.
Can I legally remove squatters from my property in North Dakota?
Yes, but you must follow legal procedures. Unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling is a crime under N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-22-03, so law enforcement can get involved directly. Otherwise, owners must use North Dakota's civil eviction process (forcible eviction) under N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-32. Self-help measures like changing locks or removing belongings are not permitted.
Can someone claim adverse possession of government-owned land in North Dakota?
No. Land owned by the state, counties, cities, or the federal government generally cannot be acquired through adverse possession in North Dakota.
What must a claimant prove to win an adverse possession case in North Dakota?
As the North Dakota Supreme Court reiterated in Moody v. Sundley, the claimant bears the burden of proving every element -- actual, visible, continuous, notorious, distinct, and hostile possession -- by clear and convincing evidence, with every reasonable inference favoring the true owner. North Dakota law also presumes possession is not adverse absent this proof (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-07).
Can North Dakota police kick out a squatter immediately?
Sometimes, but only when the facts clearly support a criminal charge. Under N.D. Cent. Code Section 12.1-22-03, unlawfully detaining, occupying, or trespassing in a residential dwelling is a class C felony for a first offense (class B for a repeat offense at the same address); this provision was strengthened by House Bill 1305, signed into law April 18, 2025, which expanded the definition of "dwelling" to cover vacant homes intended for habitation, closing a gap that previously let squatters avoid felony charges by occupying an empty house. Where the person has any plausible claim of right, such as a former tenancy or the owner's past permission, police will not remove them and the owner must instead file a forcible eviction (forcible entry and detainer) action under N.D. Cent. Code Chapter 47-32 in district court. If the court rules for the owner, it issues an order for possession, which the sheriff then executes against occupants who don't leave voluntarily. North Dakota does not allow self-help evictions such as changing locks or shutting off utilities, regardless of which path applies.
This information is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Adverse possession claims are highly fact-specific. Consult a licensed attorney in the relevant state before relying on this information.