How to Start a Short-Term Rental in North Dakota: No Statewide STR Law, So the City Decides, and What Fargo, Bismarck and West Fargo Require

If you want to learn how to start a short term rental business in North Dakota, begin with the fact that changes the whole plan: the state does not regulate short-term rentals as a category. North Dakota has no statewide short-term rental statute and no state STR license, so your city decides whether you can list, where you can operate and what you must do first. The same house can be a legal listing in one town and a zoning problem in another. This guide puts the city check first, then covers the state filings, tax registrations and local details that apply wherever you operate.

What You Need Before You Start

• Property records: the address, parcel number and zoning district from your city or county records
• Floor plan: a written count of guest rooms and the maximum number of overnight occupants
• Business structure decision: sole proprietorship or LLC, plus a name you have checked in the Secretary of State business search at https://firststop.sos.nd.gov/search/business
• Federal employer identification number (EIN): from the IRS, if you form an LLC or hire anyone
• North Dakota registered agent: an individual who lives in North Dakota, or a registered business with a North Dakota office, who has agreed to serve (required for LLCs)
• Filing accounts: FirstStop at https://firststop.sos.nd.gov/ and ND TAP at https://tap.tax.nd.gov/?Link=Application
• Insurance quote: from an agent who writes short-term rental coverage
• State fee budget: $10 for a name reservation, $135 for LLC articles, $25 for a trade name and $50 for the yearly LLC report (see the fee table below)

Step-by-Step: Starting a Short-Term Rental in North Dakota

Step 1: Confirm your city allows the rental

Do this first, because it can stop the project before you pay a filing fee. Call or email the planning or zoning office for the city where the property sits. Ask one direct question: “Can I offer this address for stays under 30 days, and what license, permit or conditions apply?” Get the answer in writing if you can. Bismarck, Fargo, West Fargo, Grand Forks and Minot each handle this differently, so read the city breakdown below before you assume anything.

Step 2: Count rooms against the state lodging definition

NDCC 23-09-01 defines a lodging establishment as a building held out to transient guests for sleeping accommodations for a charge. The definition excludes a structure, or a group of buildings under one owner at one site, that has five or fewer guest rooms and ten or fewer total occupants. If your property meets both limits, it falls outside the state lodging definition. If it exceeds either number, call DHHS Food and Lodging at 701-328-1291 before you take bookings. A bed and breakfast is a separate DHHS license, so confirm which category fits your plan before you advertise breakfast or meals.

Step 3: Choose between a sole proprietorship and an LLC

A sole proprietorship needs no formation filing with the Secretary of State, but your personal assets stay exposed to claims arising from the rental. An LLC adds a filing and a yearly report, and it can separate rental liability from your personal finances when you keep the business records and accounts separate. North Dakota levies no franchise tax. An LLC taxed as a partnership or disregarded entity passes income through to its owners, who pay North Dakota individual income tax at 0 percent, 1.95 percent or 2.50 percent depending on bracket. Because liability and tax treatment depend on your facts, have a North Dakota attorney and a CPA review the choice before you file.

Step 4: File Articles of Organization for an LLC

File Articles of Organization under North Dakota Century Code Chapter 10-32.1, the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, through FirstStop. The filing fee is $135. The name must include “limited liability company,” “L.L.C.” or “LLC.” It cannot include “corporation,” “incorporated,” “limited partnership” or their abbreviations, and it must be distinguishable in state records from every other registered name and from any trade name on file. You can reserve the name for $10, which holds it for 12 months and renews in successive 12-month periods. The Secretary of State publishes no guaranteed turnaround and no expedited option, so call Business Services at (701) 328-2900 for current timing before you set an opening date.

Step 5: Register a trade name if you will not use your legal name

If your listings will use a brand such as “Prairie Lake Stays” rather than your own name or the LLC name, you need a trade name registration. A trade name is any name a sole proprietor or other business uses that is not its own legal name. Registration costs $25, amendments cost $25 and renewals cost $25. It must be renewed every 5 years, and it gives you the exclusive right to that name within North Dakota only. File with the Secretary of State through FirstStop, not with a county. Read the state’s trade name FAQ at https://sos.nd.gov/business/business-services/trade-name-franchise-name/north-dakota-trade-name-faqs.

Step 6: Appoint a North Dakota registered agent

LLCs and corporations must maintain a North Dakota registered agent with a physical address in the state. A business cannot serve as its own agent. Get the person’s approval before you name them, because failing to do so may lead to involuntary dissolution. Filing a statement to change the agent or address costs $10, and service of process costs $25. A commercial registered agent pays $1,000 to be included in the listing and $500 for termination or removal, so compare that cost with an individual agent you trust.

Step 7: Get a sales and use tax permit

Any business making taxable sales must hold a sales and use tax permit from the Office of State Tax Commissioner. Apply through ND TAP at https://tap.tax.nd.gov/?Link=Application about 30 days before you open. The state sales tax rate is 5 percent, plus city and county taxes, so the total on a booking depends on the location. Confirm how your stays are taxed and reported with the Tax Commissioner at https://www.tax.nd.gov/ and with your CPA. This guide does not list a permit fee, so check the Tax Commissioner’s page for it.

Step 8: Check city and county lodging taxes

Sales tax is not the only tax on overnight stays. City or county lodging taxes may also apply, and they vary by jurisdiction. Ask the city or county finance office where the property sits whether a local lodging tax applies and how it is collected. Booking platforms may collect some taxes for you, but the arrangement varies, so confirm exactly which taxes your platform handles.

Step 9: Check the contractor license rule before renovating

Renovating a rental can trigger licensing. When the cost, value or price of a construction job exceeds $4,000, the person doing the work must hold a North Dakota contractor license from the Secretary of State. Class D costs $100 for jobs up to $100,000, and Class A costs $450 for jobs over $500,000. Contractor licenses renew annually by March 1. Ask the Secretary of State how the rule applies if you do the work yourself on your own property.

Step 10: Set up insurance and workers’ compensation

Ask your insurer in writing whether your homeowners policy covers paid short-term guests, because many standard policies exclude business activity. If you hire cleaners, maintenance workers or anyone else on payroll, you must carry workers’ compensation through WorkForce Safety and Insurance (WSI), since North Dakota workers’ compensation is a state monopoly.

Step 11: Put the recurring deadlines on your calendar

An LLC’s annual report is due November 15 every year and costs $50. A late fee of $50 applies after the statutory due date. Trade name registrations renew every 5 years, contractor licenses renew by March 1, and your sales tax filings continue for as long as you collect taxable sales.

Fee Reference Table

Item	Cost	Filed with	Timing
LLC name reservation	$10	Secretary of State	Holds the name 12 months, renewable
LLC Articles of Organization	$135	Secretary of State via FirstStop	No guaranteed turnaround
Trade name registration	$25	Secretary of State via FirstStop	Renew every 5 years
Registered agent change statement	$10	Secretary of State	When the agent changes
Service of process	$25	Secretary of State	When served
LLC annual report	$50	Secretary of State	Due November 15 each year
Contractor license	$100 to $450 by class	Secretary of State	Renews by March 1
Sales and use tax permit	Confirm on the Tax Commissioner site	Tax Commissioner through ND TAP	Apply about 30 days before opening
Lodging license (if required)	Confirm with DHHS	DHHS Food and Lodging, 701-328-1291	Only if you exceed the state exclusion

What Bismarck, Fargo and West Fargo Require

Cities set the rules, and the answer changes with the address. The findings below reflect the sources we reviewed. Verify each one with the city before you accept a booking.

Bismarck

Bismarck’s zoning code, Title 14, allows rentals of less than 30 days as an accessory use, provided the home keeps a residential appearance and meets conditions on noise, parking and building code. We did not find a separate short-term rental license. Confirm current conditions and any required permit with Bismarck Planning and Zoning before you list.

Fargo

We did not find a short-term rental ordinance for Fargo. That does not mean short-term rentals are unrestricted, so check with the Fargo planning department before you list and ask whether any zoning or permit requirement applies to your district.

West Fargo

West Fargo has a short-term rental license under Ordinance 1254, chapter 10-16, effective July 1, 2026. Ask the city for the current application requirements and fees before you list, since the ordinance governs them.

Grand Forks and Minot

We did not find a short-term rental ordinance for either city. Call each city’s planning department before you list, the same way you would for Fargo.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Listing before the zoning check. A booking you cannot legally honor costs more than the zoning call would have.
• Assuming a statewide STR license exists. Filings with the Secretary of State are registrations, not licenses. The 2025 bills SB 2235 and 2236 address rent and late fees, not short-term rentals, so do not use them as STR rules.
• Miscounting rooms. Count guest rooms and maximum overnight occupants honestly before you rely on the lodging exclusion.
• Using a brand name without a trade name filing. Listing under a name that is not your legal name requires registration.
• Naming a registered agent without asking. The agent must agree first, or the entity risks involuntary dissolution.
• Applying for the sales tax permit late. Apply about 30 days before opening, not the week you plan to launch.
• Missing the November 15 LLC report. The $50 report is due every year, and a late fee applies after the due date.
• Skipping the insurance review. Confirm in writing what your policy covers before the first guest checks in.

What Results to Expect

Working through these steps generally leaves you with a documented legal foundation to operate. That is a different outcome from guaranteed bookings or income. Occupancy and nightly rates depend on location, season, pricing, competition and the quality of your listing, and this guide does not provide income figures. Timing is also uncertain. The Secretary of State publishes no guaranteed filing turnaround, so build buffer time into your opening date.

Important Information

This article is informational only. It is not legal, tax or zoning advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client or accountant-client relationship. Short-term rental rules can change, and cities may amend their ordinances at any time. Confirm every fee, deadline and requirement with the agency or city named, and consult a qualified North Dakota attorney and a CPA before you form an entity, register a rental or make tax decisions. The North Dakota Small Business Development Centers, hosted by the University of North Dakota Nistler College of Business and Public Administration, are a useful starting point at https://und.edu/ndsbdc/index.html.