North Dakota earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Higher bar to forfeit in limited cases: Weak conviction provision falls short of criminal forfeiture. It requires the owner’s conviction but does not apply if the owner fails to contest forfeiture, putting the burden on owners to engage in a costly legal battle and making it easy for the government to forfeit without a conviction. It also does not apply if the owner has agreed to help investigators in exchange for immunity or a reduced sentence. Once the conviction provision is satisfied, property must be linked to the crime by clear and convincing evidence. No conviction is necessary if property can be connected to a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: Up to 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (any amount above $200,000 in the government’s forfeiture account over any two-year budget period goes to the general fund).
The letter grade reflects North Dakota’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in North Dakota?
Under North Dakota law, specified deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 20 days, but deadlines are not specified for filing or serving the complaint or for the hearing itself and any criminal proceedings may add to the wait. While you wait, the government has your property, and you have no way to seek its return.
*Vehicles worth less than $2,000 are not forfeitable in most cases.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $3.6 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | North Dakota Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $26,767 | $2,000 | $28,767 |
| 2001 | Unknown | $47,097 | $2,000 | $49,097 |
| 2002 | Unknown | $33,974 | $0 | $33,974 |
| 2003 | Unknown | $10,796 | $0 | $10,796 |
| 2004 | Unknown | $14,890 | $0 | $14,890 |
| 2005 | Unknown | $41,168 | $0 | $41,168 |
| 2006 | Unknown | $35,959 | $0 | $35,959 |
| 2007 | Unknown | $69,903 | $0 | $69,903 |
| 2008 | Unknown | $81,172 | $349,000 | $430,172 |
| 2009 | Unknown | $69,921 | $0 | $69,921 |
| 2010 | Unknown | $31,068 | $0 | $31,068 |
| 2011 | Unknown | $24,378 | $0 | $24,378 |
| 2012 | Unknown | $97,165 | $2,000 | $99,165 |
| 2013 | Unknown | $16,496 | $0 | $16,496 |
| 2014 | Unknown | $4,657 | $0 | $4,657 |
| 2015 | Unknown | $50,097 | $8,000 | $58,097 |
| 2016 | Unknown | $28,236 | $0 | $28,236 |
| 2017 | Unknown | $24,355 | $0 | $24,355 |
| 2018 | Unknown | Unavailable | $113,000 | $113,000 |
| 2019 | Unknown | $53,014 | $20,000 | $73,014 |
| 2020 | $507,655 | $19,851 | $4,000 | $531,506 |
| 2021 | $472,269 | $0 | $123,000 | $595,269 |
| 2022 | $444,801 | $154,268 | $296,000 | $895,069 |
| 2023 | $254,868 | $81,286 | $0 | $336,154 |
| Totals | $1,679,593 | $1,016,518 | $919,000 | $3,615,111 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
North Dakota does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, North Dakota agencies have generated more than $1.9 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 10 North Dakota agencies, or an estimated 10% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under North Dakota Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
North Dakota does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
North Dakota property type data were not used for this report.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
North Dakota only reports on forfeitures processed under civil forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Agencies do not provide detailed data on seized or forfeited property, resulting in limited transparency into forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
BStatewide Forfeiture Reports
BPenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
AFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide forfeiture reports were downloaded from the state attorney general’s website. Revenues represent the value of forfeited currency and proceeds of forfeited property sold in a fiscal year. No statewide records were available prior to 2020. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Weak conviction provision requires an owner’s conviction, but does not apply if forfeiture is uncontested or if the owner enters an agreement with the prosecution for immunity or a reduced sentence in exchange for assisting law enforcement. After the conviction provision is satisfied, property must be linked to the crime by clear and convincing evidence. No conviction is necessary if it can be shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the property was used in a crime or constitutes proceeds of criminal activity.
N.D. Cent. Code §§ 19-03.1-36.2(1)–(2), -36.5.
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
N.D. Cent. Code §§ 19-03.1-36(1)(e), -36.6(1), -36.7(1), -37(1).
Financial incentive: Up to 100%. However, if the government’s forfeiture fund exceeds $200,000 (exclusive of legislative appropriations and multijurisdictional drug task forces) over any two-year budget period, the excess must be deposited in the general fund.
N.D. Cent. Code §§ 54-12-14, 19-03.1-36(5).
Process: N.D. Cent. Code §§ 19-03.1-36 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); id. § 28-01-18 (statute of limitations).