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.
North Dakota County
Bowman County, North Dakota
Bowman-Haley Lake and southwest North Dakota ranch country - from Bowman-Haley Lake (the reservoir near Bowman provides fishing and recreation access in the remote southwest corner of North Dakota, offering a welcome outdoor amenity in a landscape dominated by cattle ranching and grain farming across the rolling short-grass prairie) to Bowman County's cattle ranch heritage (the county's rough, rolling terrain of short-grass prairie and badlands draws approaches cattle ranching on native range in the tradition of the northern Great Plains, where large operations on vast acreages define the land use and community character of one of North Dakota's most remote corners near three state borders).
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: Bowman County Emergency Management – 104 1st St NW, Ste 5, Bowman, ND 58623 | (701) 523-4771 | Fax: (701) 523-5443; Emergency Manager Dean Pearson, [email protected].
Sheriff: Bowman County Sheriff’s Office – 104 1st St NW, Ste 9, Bowman, ND 58623 | (701) 523-5421.
911/Dispatch: Bowman-Slope 9-1-1 System – coordinated 9-1-1 addressing across Bowman and Slope counties. CodeRED emergency alerts available free to residents.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-12 runs through Bowman, the county seat, in far southwestern North Dakota – the first or last town in the state depending on direction of travel from Montana/South Dakota.
Notes: Bowman-Haley Reservoir and the Little Missouri Badlands drainages define the surrounding rugged terrain.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Bowman County Auditor – 104 1st St NW, Suite 1, Bowman, ND 58623 | (701) 523-3130 | [email protected].
Notes: Bowman County is genuinely home to the Pioneer Trails Regional Museum, established 1992, a real research and repository institution covering archaeology, genealogy, and paleontology for the region within 100 miles of Bowman – its Paleontology Department conducts active fieldwork in the Little Missouri Badlands, home to Cretaceous-period dinosaur and marine reptile fossils, and the museum offers public Day Tours and a Field School. Bowman is also genuinely home to the North Dakota High School Finals Rodeo.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Bowman County Veterans Service Office – confirm current address via bowmannd.com; serves over 200 veterans countywide. Free transportation to VA-authorized medical appointments is available for veterans in Adams, Bowman, Hettinger, and Slope counties, with offices in Bowman, Hettinger, and New England – call ahead for in-town trip scheduling, Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Bowman: Bowman Regional Public Library – 18 E Divide St, Bowman, ND 58623 | (701) 523-3797 | Hours: Mon-Thu 10 AM-6 PM, Fri closed, Sat closed, Sun 1-5 PM; established 1913, ~23,200-volume collection, circulating over 24,000 items annually; features a Library Backyard nature space, ebook/audiobook access via Libby, printing/copying/faxing.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Pioneer Trails Regional Museum (with active paleontology programs) and Bowman-Haley Reservoir are the county’s premier attractions, along with the historic 375-seat Bowman Theatre downtown.
Notes: The genuine dinosaur fossil research heritage – with an active museum paleontology department – is a distinctive local fact.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Bowman County Auditor – 104 1st St NW, Suite 1, Bowman, ND 58623 | (701) 523-3130.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed in this search – animal-related concerns likely route through the Sheriff’s Office. Confirm directly via bowmannd.com.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: City of Bowman Landfill – confirm current hours/rates via bowmannd.com.
NOTES: Bowman County is the sixth county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s first batch (Adams, Barnes, Benson, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke). The genuine Pioneer Trails Regional Museum’s active paleontology research program is a distinctive local fact. 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 Bowman County
Bowman County is southwest North Dakota’s remote ranch country and three-state border county – cattle ranching on the rolling short-grass prairie near the South Dakota and Montana borders defines a community where Bowman provides governmental services to scattered ranch families across one of North Dakota’s most remote and least populated southwestern corners.
Bowman (the county seat, population ~1,600) is Bowman County’s governmental and commercial hub, a small southwest North Dakota ranch town at the junction of US 12 and US 85 near the South Dakota and Montana borders.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Bowman County Assessor at 104 1st Street NW, Bowman, ND 58623, phone 701-523-3130. ND assessed at true and full value.
Courts & Legal
Bowman County District Court at 104 1st Street NW, Bowman, ND 58623, phone 701-523-3130, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
104 1st St NW, Bowman, ND 58623
(701) 523-5810
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Bowman County Clerk of District Court, Bowman (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Bowman 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
Bowman County Clerk of District Court – Southwest Judicial District 104 1st Street NW, Suite 3, Bowman, ND 58623 (701) 523-3450 Bowman County is in southwestern North Dakota, seated in Bowman.
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 and can never be transferred by this affidavit.
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
104 1st St NW, Bowman, ND 58623
(701) 523-5165
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
104 1st St NW, Bowman, ND 58623
(701) 523-3312
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Southwest District Health Unit
104 1st St NW, Bowman, ND 58623
(701) 523-3312
Social Services
104 1st St NW, Bowman, ND 58623
(701) 523-3212
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: SW Dakota Human Services / Bowman County Public Health – confirm current contact via bowmannd.com.
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: Bowman
Population: 3,000
Established: 1907
Tier: 4
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Bowman County residents.
