North Dakota Squatters Rights: Adverse Possession and How Removal Actually Works
How long adverse possession takes in North Dakota, whether there is a fast-track removal law, and what you legally can and cannot do about an unauthorized occupant. Last reviewed August 2026.
The question that decides everything: is the occupant a squatter or a tenant? Anyone who ever had permission to be there — a former tenant, someone who paid you rent even once, an ex-partner of your tenant on the lease — is generally a tenant in the law's eyes and must go through the eviction process. North Dakota's squatter rules below apply to true trespassers only.
How long does adverse possession take in North Dakota?
North Dakota's baseline is 20 years: the owner's action to recover real property is barred unless the owner was seized or possessed within 20 years (N.D.C.C. 28-01-04 through 28-01-07), which is the period a hostile claimant must maintain actual, open, adverse, undisputed possession. A 10-year shortcut exists under N.D.C.C. 47-06-03 for a claimant holding color of title (a contract for deed qualifies) who also paid all taxes and assessments levied during those 10 years. Bare squatters get neither shortcut and essentially never succeed.
How to remove a squatter in North Dakota
Since August 1, 2025, HB 1305 gives law enforcement a direct tool: N.D.C.C. 12.1-22-03(2) makes unlawfully detaining, occupying, or trespassing upon a residential dwelling a class C felony on the first offense and a class B felony for a repeat at the same dwelling, so police can arrest and remove a squatter rather than deferring to civil court. The civil backup is North Dakota's eviction action under N.D.C.C. ch. 47-32, one of the fastest in the country: a three-day written notice of intention to evict (47-32-02), a district court summons returnable in 3 to 15 days, no counterclaims allowed, and a sheriff-executed writ. Owners should still expect officers to demand ownership proof and to stand down if the occupant produces a plausible lease.
Squatter or tenant? Why it matters
Anyone who entered under a lease or with the owner's permission -- including holdovers after a term and occupants under an oral tenancy -- must be removed through the ch. 47-32 eviction action with the three-day notice, not by a trespass arrest; the felony statute targets people who never had authority to be in the dwelling. If tenancy is disputed, the district court sorts it out in the eviction case, which remains quick by national standards.
What you absolutely cannot do
North Dakota has no single anti-lockout statute (the 47-32-06 some websites cite does not exist), but self-help is still dangerous: N.D.C.C. 32-03-29 sets damages for forcibly ejecting or excluding a person from possession of real property at three times the compensatory sum, and courts have applied it without requiring actual violence. Removal runs through district court, with the sheriff executing the writ of eviction; utilities shutoffs and lock changes invite the treble-damage claim.
Recent changes to the law
HB 1305, passed unanimously and filed with the Secretary of State on April 17, 2025 (effective August 1, 2025), amended N.D.C.C. 12.1-22-03 to make unlawfully detaining or occupying a residential dwelling a class C felony -- class B on a repeat offense at the same dwelling -- and adjusted the related definitions in 12.1-22-06 so vacant and seasonally empty homes are covered. Separately, SB 2238 (2025) created an eviction-record sealing process at N.D.C.C. 47-32-05, and the district court civil filing fee doubled to $160 on July 1, 2025.
What North Dakota property owners get wrong
Owners of lake cabins and winter-vacant homes are the law's target beneficiaries: the 2025 felony statute removes the old excuse that occupation of an empty house was a mere civil matter. The practical mistakes are failing to carry ownership proof when meeting deputies, and skipping the three-day 47-32-02 notice when a tenancy claim surfaces -- the eviction action is so fast (often two to three weeks) that cutting corners saves little and risks a 32-03-29 treble-damage counterclaim. Also ignore any guide citing '47-32-06' for lockout penalties; that section does not exist.
The law itself
Frequently asked questions
How long does a squatter have to stay in North Dakota to claim ownership?
Twenty years of actual, open, adverse, undisputed possession under the limitation statutes (N.D.C.C. 28-01-04 et seq.), or ten years for someone holding color of title -- such as a contract for deed -- who also paid all taxes and assessments during that decade (N.D.C.C. 47-06-03). A squatter with no paperwork faces the full 20 years, and any owner action within the period resets the claim.
How do I remove a squatter in North Dakota?
Call law enforcement with proof of ownership: since August 1, 2025, occupying a residential dwelling without authority is a class C felony under N.D.C.C. 12.1-22-03(2), so officers can arrest and remove the person. If the occupant claims a tenancy, serve the three-day notice of intention to evict and file an eviction action under N.D.C.C. ch. 47-32 -- among the fastest in the nation, often finished within two to three weeks -- and let the sheriff execute the writ.
Is squatting a felony in North Dakota?
Yes. HB 1305 (2025), effective August 1, 2025, made unlawfully detaining, occupying, or trespassing upon a residential dwelling a class C felony for a first offense and a class B felony for a second or subsequent offense at the same dwelling (N.D.C.C. 12.1-22-03(2)). The definitions cover vacant and seasonally unoccupied homes.
Can I lock a squatter out of my North Dakota property myself?
It is a gamble. North Dakota has no dedicated anti-lockout statute, but N.D.C.C. 32-03-29 awards three times compensatory damages to anyone forcibly ejected or excluded from possession, and courts have not required physical force to apply it. With a felony-trespass arrest and a two-to-three-week eviction action available, self-help carries far more downside than waiting for the sheriff.
Keep reading
Vacant units attract squatters. Documented ones repel them.
Vantric tracks your leases, tenants, and payment history in one place, so proof of who belongs in your property is always one click away — built for landlords with 1–10 units.
Start Free TrialThis page is general information, not legal advice. Squatter, trespass, and adverse possession law turns on specific facts — verify against the official statute text linked above, and talk to a local attorney or law enforcement before acting.