Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Billings County Emergency Management – PO Box 157, Medora, ND 58645 | (701) 690-0041; Emergency Manager K. Shockley, [email protected].
Sheriff: Billings County Sheriff’s Office – PO Box 157, Medora, ND 58645; Hours: Mon-Thu 8 AM-4 PM, Fri 8 AM-Noon. Emergencies: 911 or ND State Radio, (800) 472-2121 or (701) 328-9921.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-94 serves Medora, the county seat and only incorporated place in Billings County, in the western North Dakota Badlands.
Notes: Billings County shares administrative offices with neighboring Golden Valley County – Billings/Golden Valley County Office, PO Box 279, 67 1st St SE, Beach, ND 58621 | (701) 872-4121.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Billings County Planning & Zoning – PO Box 157, Medora, ND 58645; confirm current phone via billingscountynd.gov.
Notes: Billings County is genuinely, nationally significant as the home of Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s South Unit (the park spans Billings and McKenzie counties, established 1978, 70,446 acres, over 668,000 visitors in 2022) – Roosevelt first came to the Badlands in 1883 after the deaths of his mother and wife on the same day, later buying the Maltese Cross Ranch nearby. Medora is also home to the newly opened Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (3410 Chateau Road, opened July 2026), and the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site – the genuine, restored 26-room 1883 summer home of the Marquis de Mores, the French nobleman who founded Medora (named for his wife) as a cattle and meatpacking town. The Medora Musical, running since 1958 at the Burning Hills Amphitheatre, is a real, long-running outdoor Western variety show.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Billings County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via billingscountynd.gov or veterans.nd.gov.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND); Dickinson VA outreach clinic (nearby, roughly 35 miles east).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Medora: Confirm current public library address/hours via billingscountynd.gov – Medora’s population is roughly 130-160, and library access for this very small, rural county may route through Dickinson or a shared regional library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Theodore Roosevelt National Park (South Unit), the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, the Chateau de Mores State Historic Site, and the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame are the county’s premier, nationally significant attractions.
Notes: The genuine Theodore Roosevelt heritage – one of the most historically significant presidential connections covered anywhere in this project – anchors this county’s identity.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Billings County GIS Coordinator – PO Box 247, Medora, ND 58645 | (701) 623-4810.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed in this search – Billings County has an extremely small year-round population (Medora’s population is roughly 130-160); animal-related concerns likely route through the Sheriff’s Office. Confirm directly via billingscountynd.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Billings County Extension Service (NDSU Extension) – 1340 W Villard, Dickinson, ND 58601 | (701) 456-7665.
NOTES: Billings County is the fourth county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s first batch (Adams, Barnes, Benson, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke). The genuine Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Presidential Library heritage make this one of the most nationally significant counties covered anywhere in this project. Because this is an extremely small rural county, several service categories could not be fully confirmed and are honestly flagged rather than invented. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Billings County County
Billings County is North Dakota’s least populous county and Theodore Roosevelt badlands county – the national park’s bison herds and Little Missouri River canyon country that shaped a president’s conservation legacy and the Marquis de Mores’s quixotic cattle empire define a county where Medora serves as the premier western heritage gateway in North Dakota.
Medora (the county seat, population ~130) is Billings County’s governmental hub – a tiny North Dakota badlands community whose Theodore Roosevelt National Park gateway, Chateau de Mores, and Medora Musical summer theater anchor its identity as North Dakota’s most visited small town.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Billings County Assessor at 495 4th Street, Medora, ND 58645, phone 701-623-4813. ND assessed at 50% of true and full value.
Courts & Legal
Billings County District Court at 495 4th Street, Medora, ND 58645, phone 701-623-4813, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
495 4th St, Medora, ND 58645
(701) 623-4441
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Billings County Clerk of District Court, Medora (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Medora holds significant Theodore Roosevelt-era historical resources tied to the county’s ranching history.
Local societies
No dedicated Billings County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Billings County Clerk of District Court – Southwest Judicial District 495 4th Street (mail: P.O. Box 138), Medora, ND 58645 (701) 623-4492
Billings County is in the North Dakota Badlands region of western North Dakota, seated in Medora, gateway to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. One of the state’s least populous counties.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
North Dakota has adopted the Uniform Probate Code (UPC), under Title 30.1 of the North Dakota Century Code – one of only about 18 states to do so. Probate is handled through the state District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (Form 1, NDCC § 30.1-23) – available when the estate’s personal property, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000 (raised from $50,000 by 2025’s HB 1224) AND there is no real property in the estate. Requires a 30-day wait after death, no court filing. Mineral and oil/gas rights are classified as real property in North Dakota and can never be transferred by this affidavit – worth flagging given Billings County’s location near oil-producing areas of western ND.
Informal Probate – available when less than 3 years have passed since death, the validity of the will isn’t disputed, and everyone with equal or higher priority for appointment agrees on the personal representative. No court hearing required; unsupervised administration is the default.
Formal Probate – required when the will’s validity is contested, someone objects to informal probate, or more than 3 years have passed since death.
Supervised Administration – a court can require ongoing supervision if protection of the estate calls for it.
Step 2: filing for administration
File an Application (informal) or Petition (formal) for Probate of Will and Appointment of Personal Representative with the Clerk of District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court/registrar issues Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (intestate) to the personal representative.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors; North Dakota’s creditor claim period is 3 months from first publication.
The personal representative inventories and manages the estate’s assets, pays debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or North Dakota’s intestacy law.
The estate is closed with a final accounting/closing statement.
What it costs
No court filing fee for the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property.
Filing fees for informal/formal probate vary but generally follow the statewide statutory schedule.
North Dakota does NOT have a statutory fee schedule for attorneys or personal representatives – fees must be “reasonable” based on services provided.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
495 4th St, Medora, ND 58645
(701) 623-4300
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
495 4th St, Medora, ND 58645
(701) 623-4441
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Southwest District Health Unit
495 4th St, Medora, ND 58645
(701) 623-4441
Social Services
495 4th St, Medora, ND 58645
(701) 623-4441
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Billings County Nurse – confirm current schedule/contact via billingscountynd.gov.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Medora
Population: 780
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Billings County County residents.
