North Dakota Arrest Record Sealing

How Arrest Records Work in North Dakota's System

An arrest that doesn't lead to a conviction — because the charges were dismissed, you were acquitted, or the case was dropped — falls under the nonconviction track. This is different from sealing a conviction. Nonconviction record closure has its own rules, its own timeline, and in most cases, no filing fee.

The challenge is that an arrest creates records in two separate systems. The court record (case filing, docket entries, disposition) is maintained by the Clerk of District Court or Municipal Court. The criminal history record (arrest entry, charge, fingerprint data) is maintained by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Closing one doesn't automatically close the other.

The Automatic 61-Day Closure (Post-August 2025)

Under HB 1166, for any case resulting in an order of nonconviction (dismissal or acquittal) entered on or after August 1, 2025, the court is required to automatically close the court record 61 days after the order is entered. You don't need to file anything. The record is shielded from remote public name searches.

This automatic mechanism was designed to catch the cases where people don't even realize they should be taking action. Someone arrested and then acquitted at trial no longer has to worry about that case showing up on public court searches — the system handles it.

That said, the 61-day automation depends on the local clerk's office actually executing the technical steps. If a post-August 2025 dismissal remains visible online after 61 days, contact the clerk of the court where the case was filed and ask them to execute the closure.

Older Arrest Records (Pre-August 2025)

If the order of nonconviction was entered before August 1, 2025, the closure is not automatic. You need to file a Petition to Close Nonconviction Records in the court where the case was resolved. The state provides an official form for this through the ndcourts.gov self-help section.

Key details:

• No filing fee
• If you meet the statutory criteria, the court must enter the closure order within 10 days
• The official form is straightforward — much simpler than the conviction sealing petition (which has no official form at all)

Four situations are excluded from nonconviction closure: dismissals that resulted from a plea deal involving a conviction on another offense in the same or a companion case, dismissals due to unfitness to proceed, not-guilty verdicts based on lack of criminal responsibility, and cases currently on appeal.

What About the BCI Record?

Here's where it gets complicated. Closing the court record hides the case from public court searches, but the arrest entry in the BCI criminal history database is separate. Court-level closure does not delete or restrict BCI's internal files. Law enforcement, prosecutors, and licensing boards with statutory background check authority still see the arrest.

For most people — those worried about employer background checks and rental applications — court record closure addresses the public-record source commercial screening companies use, although a vendor may retain an outdated copy. But if you're applying for a professional license that requires a fingerprint-based check (nursing, real estate, emergency services), the arrest will still appear in the BCI results.

To verify what your BCI record currently shows, submit SFN 50744 (Public Request for Criminal History Record Information) to BCI's Bismarck office with the $15 search fee. This gives you the official baseline of what law enforcement and licensing boards see.

Admin Rule 41: An Additional Layer

Even without formal closure, North Dakota Administrative Rule 41 provides a separate mechanism to restrict remote public access to court records. This doesn't close or seal the file — the records are still accessible in person at the courthouse — but it prevents the case from appearing in online name searches on the public court portal. This can be useful as a supplementary step or when formal closure isn't available.

The North Dakota Expungement & Record Sealing Guide covers the complete nonconviction closure process — including the petition form, the automatic 61-day track, and how to handle BCI and private background check databases that still show old arrest records.

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