North Dakota background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

North Dakota employers may run background checks, and the state adds few rules for private employers beyond the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. As of October 2026, the rules that matter most govern the state's own records: the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) releases convictions but releases arrests and charges only from the last three years, and it notifies the person unless they signed an authorization. Courts now close dismissed and acquitted cases after 61 days, and the state's ban-the-box law covers public employers only, with no state credit check, salary history or private-employer fair chance law.

The federal steps (stand-alone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse and adverse action notices) apply whenever a screening company prepares the report, and they are covered in the FCRA background check process. This page covers what North Dakota law adds, with each Century Code chapter linked to the Legislative Assembly's site. The wider state picture, from wage notices to recording consent, is on hiring employees in North Dakota.

Does North Dakota have its own background check law?

Not for screening companies. We found no North Dakota statute that adds disclosure, consent or copy requirements to the federal FCRA for consumer reports, and no state lookback limit. What North Dakota does regulate is the state's own criminal history file. Under N.D.C.C. 12-60-16.6, only the BCI may release a criminal history record to a requester outside the criminal justice system, such as an employer, and only when all of these are true:

• The information "has not been purged or sealed."
• It is a conviction, or a "reportable event occurring within three years preceding the request." An arrest or charge more than three years old that did not end in a conviction is not released.
• The request is in writing and includes the person's fingerprints or, for a name-based request, the name plus at least two identifiers, such as date of birth, Social Security number or state identification number.
• The identifying information does not match more than one person.

When release is barred or nothing is on file, the BCI gives the same answer: "No information is available because either no information exists or dissemination is prohibited" (12-60-16.7). Unless the request comes with an authorization signed by the person on the BCI's form, "the bureau shall mail notice of that dissemination to the record subject" (12-60-16.8). The fee is $15 for each state record check (12-60-16.9).

How far back can a North Dakota background check go?

For screening companies, the federal limit applies: the FCRA bars reporting arrests and other non-conviction items older than seven years for jobs paying under $75,000 a year, and puts no time limit on convictions (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). North Dakota adds no lookback of its own for consumer reports. The BCI's file is narrower for non-convictions: because of its three-year window, a state record check will not show a dismissed charge from four years ago. Court records follow different rules, covered next.

What happens to sealed and dismissed records in North Dakota?

Sealing convictions. Chapter 12-60.1 lets a person petition to seal a criminal record three years after a misdemeanor, or five years after a felony, without a new conviction, or after an unconditional pardon. Violent felonies during the period the person may not possess a firearm, and offenses that require sex offender registration, are excluded. The court must find by clear and convincing evidence, among other things, that the benefit to the person outweighs the presumption of openness and that the person has shown reformation. Sealing covers court and prosecution records, and the order must state that the court "shall release the information when an entity has a statutory obligation to conduct a criminal history background check" (12-60.1-04). The chapter does not say a person may deny a sealed record on a job application.

Closing dismissed and acquitted cases. Under 12-60.1-05, when a court enters an order of nonconviction (dismissal or acquittal of all charges in a case) on or after August 1, 2025, it "shall close the court record upon the expiration of sixty-one days." For cases disposed of earlier, the person may petition with no filing fee, and the court must close the record within ten days if the requirements are met. The rule does not apply when the dismissal was part of a plea agreement with a conviction on another offense, when the person was found unfit to proceed or not guilty for lack of criminal responsibility, or when the case was appealed. A closed record is open only to court staff, criminal justice agencies, the defendant and counsel, the state's attorney, and anyone with a judge's written order (12-60.1-01).

Deferred imposition of sentence. When a court defers sentence and the guilty plea is later withdrawn or the verdict set aside, the file may be examined by the court, probation officers, the defendant and counsel, and the state's attorney, and by others "only upon the written order of a judge of the court" (N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-07.2). The BCI still releases certain sex offense convictions "notwithstanding any disposition following a deferred imposition of sentence" (12-60-16.6).

When can North Dakota employers ask about criminal history?

Private employers may ask at any stage, under state law. North Dakota's ban-the-box statute, N.D.C.C. 12.1-33-02.2, says "a public employer may not inquire into or consider the criminal record or criminal history of an applicant for public employment until the applicant has been selected for an interview." Public employer means the state, counties and cities and their agencies, including park districts but not school districts. The rule does not apply to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or to public employers with a statutory duty to run a check, and any public employer may tell applicants that a particular record disqualifies them from particular jobs. City governments such as Fargo and Bismarck are covered as public employers; we did not find a city ordinance that extends the rule to private employers.

Federal Title VII still applies. On October 28, 2026, the EEOC voted to rescind its 2012 enforcement guidance on arrest and conviction records, effective immediately. Its announcement says Title VII "continues to prohibit discrimination based on race or national origin, including employment requirements that are proxies for intentional discrimination." Title VII's disparate impact provision, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k), is unchanged, and a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case Green v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it, and the nature of the job) remains a sound way to make and document a decision. Questions to keep out of interviews are in illegal interview questions.

How do you get a North Dakota criminal record yourself?

From the BCI, part of the Attorney General's office. The Attorney General's criminal history record check page says public requests use form SFN 50744 and cost $15 each, by check or money order (or exact cash at the Bismarck office), and take about 7 to 10 business days. The request needs either the person's current address or their signed authorization on form SFN 51156; without the authorization, the BCI mails the person a notice that the record was released. Results cover North Dakota records only. The page says a national FBI check goes through the BCI only for people who are required by state or federal law to have one; others must request it from the FBI directly. Section 12-60-24 lists the agencies, boards and employers that may receive FBI results.

Which North Dakota jobs require background checks?

• Teachers. The Education Standards and Practices Board "shall check, or cause to be checked, the criminal history record of each applicant for initial licensure and re-entry licensure as a teacher" through the fingerprint process in 12-60-24, at the applicant's cost (N.D.C.C. 15.1-13-14).
• School staff. A school board may request a statewide and nationwide check on a final applicant who will have unsupervised contact with students, with the board paying the cost (N.D.C.C. 12-60-24). "Unsupervised contact" means being near students on school grounds or at school functions outside the presence of someone who has been checked.
• Child care. When the Department of Health and Human Services decides a check is appropriate, early childhood services providers, their staff and emergency designees, and household members of a home program must be fingerprinted. The department sends the prints to the BCI, may charge up to $30, and a check stays valid for five years unless the person left child care work for more than 180 days (N.D.C.C. 50-11.1-06.2).
• Other department-licensed programs. The department may also require checks for licensed adoption providers and their staff with direct contact with families or children, Medicaid providers, facilities licensed under chapter 25-03.2 and their staff with contact with children, and shelter care programs (N.D.C.C. 50-06-01.9).

For candidates in licensed occupations, N.D.C.C. 12.1-33-02.1 says a state licensing agency may not disqualify someone "solely because of prior conviction of an offense," but may deny a license if the person "has not been sufficiently rehabilitated" or the offense "has a direct bearing" on the ability to serve the public in that occupation.

Can North Dakota employers check credit, salary history or social media?

• Credit. We found no North Dakota statute limiting employment credit checks, so the FCRA steps apply. The states that restrict them are compared in credit check laws for employers.
• Salary history. North Dakota has no salary history ban or pay range rule; see salary history ban states for candidates elsewhere.
• Social media. We found no North Dakota statute on applicants' social media passwords. The general limits are in social media screening of candidates.

North Dakota background check rules at a glance

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in North Dakota?

1. Send the BCI authorization with the request. A signed SFN 51156 means the candidate learns of the check from you, not from a BCI letter that arrives later.
2. Read a "no information" reply for what it is. The BCI uses the same words whether there is no record or a record it may not release, so do not file it as proof of a clean history.
3. Match the search to the job. A name-based BCI check covers North Dakota only. Schools, child care and other regulated clients run fingerprint checks through their own statutory process; ask them before you place someone.
4. Hold criminal history questions for public clients. If you recruit for a city, county or state agency, keep the question off the application until the candidate is selected for an interview.
5. Keep records out of interview notes. If a candidate volunteers a sealed or dismissed case, do not record it. If you record or transcribe interviews, check North Dakota's recording consent rules.
6. Write it down. A background check policy that names the checks by role keeps practice consistent. Agency licensing is covered in staffing agency licensing in North Dakota, work authorization in North Dakota E-Verify requirements, restrictive covenants in North Dakota non-compete law, and candidates across the Red River in Minnesota background check laws.