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North Dakota · Missouri River · #506
Burleigh County, North Dakota
On the Missouri River at the geographic heart of North Dakota, Bismarck anchors the state capital's government, healthcare, and energy policy functions - a city that serves as the nerve center for a state that has experienced the most dramatic resource boom and bust cycle of any American state in the twenty-first century.
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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.
911/Dispatch: Central Dakota Communications Center – enhanced 911 system handling landline, wireless, TDD, and VoIP calls for the Bismarck-Mandan metro area.
City partner: Bismarck Emergency Management – 221 N. Fifth St, 4th Floor, Bismarck, ND 58506 | (701) 222-6727; register for CodeRED alerts; outdoor warning siren system covers the city.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Burleigh County was organized in 1873.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-94 and US-83 serve Bismarck, the county seat and North Dakota’s state capital, on the east bank of the Missouri River across from Mandan.
Notes: Bismarck, founded May 14, 1872 and named for Otto von Bismarck, has been North Dakota’s capital since statehood in 1889 (it was also the Dakota Territory capital 1883-1889).
Notes: Bismarck is genuinely, uniquely home to the North Dakota State Capitol, a 19-story Art Deco skyscraper (completed 1934 after the original 1883 territorial capitol burned in 1930) known locally as the “Skyscraper of the Prairie” – the tallest building in North Dakota. On the Capitol grounds, the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, the state’s official history museum (opened 1981, operated by the State Historical Society of North Dakota), houses a genuine rarity: a mummified Edmontosaurus dinosaur with fossilized skin, acquired in 2008. Bismarck’s Cathedral District is a historic neighborhood named for the Art Deco Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Burleigh County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via burleigh.gov.
Regional: Vet Center – 619 Riverwood Dr, Bismarck, ND 58504 | (701) 224-9751. ND Veterans Cemetery – 1825 46th St, Mandan, ND 58554 | (701) 667-1418. Military Service Center – 4200 Miriam Ave, Bismarck, ND 58501 | (701) 333-3800.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center – 2101 North Elm St, Fargo, ND 58102 | (800) 410-9723.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Bismarck: Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library – 515 N 5th Street, Bismarck, ND 58501 | (701) 355-1480; serves both Bismarck and Burleigh County through a cooperative agreement; awarded the 2024 “Future-Focused” recognition by the ND Library Coordinating Council and ND State Library for meeting the highest standards of library service.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The North Dakota State Capitol grounds, North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, and the Missouri River waterfront are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine mummified Edmontosaurus with fossilized skin and the Art Deco “Skyscraper of the Prairie” Capitol are among the most distinctive facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Burleigh County Recorder – PO Box 5518, Bismarck, ND 58506 | (701) 222-6749.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
County: Burleigh County Animal Services – (701) 222-2719; handles domestic animal (dog/cat) concerns countywide, including licensing, vaccinations, and lost pets.
City: Bismarck Animal Control – Animal Impound Facility, 2109 NE 52nd Street (south of the Bismarck Landfill) | (701) 223-1212; three Community Service Officers enforce city animal ordinances.
Nonprofit: Central Dakota Humane Society – Mandan, ND | (701) 667-2020.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Bismarck Landfill – near the Animal Impound Facility, 2109 NE 52nd Street, Bismarck, ND.
NOTES: Burleigh County is the first county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s second batch (Burleigh, Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Eddy). As North Dakota’s state capital county, home to the Capitol and a genuine mummified dinosaur with fossilized skin, this is one of the state’s most nationally significant counties. 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 Burleigh County
Burleigh County’s Bismarck is North Dakota’s state capital and its second-largest city – the governmental, healthcare, and financial services hub for a state whose Bakken oil boom transformed the western part of the state more rapidly than any resource extraction since the 1849 California Gold Rush. Bismarck itself was less directly affected by the Bakken boom than Williston or Dickinson, but the state government revenue that flowed from oil taxes transformed Bismarck’s infrastructure investment, its state agency employment, and its fiscal position in ways that are still being worked through as oil prices fluctuate.
The capital’s institutions anchor the county’s economy: the North Dakota State Capitol (a Depression-era Art Deco tower, one of the most distinctive state capitol buildings in the country), CHI St. Alexius Health, Sanford Health, and the numerous state agencies that employ a significant share of the workforce. Bismarck State College provides technical and vocational education; University of Mary offers liberal arts and nursing programs. The Missouri River at Bismarck – crossed by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804 and 1806, the site of Fort Abraham Lincoln from which Custer launched his 1876 campaign – carries deep historical significance. The Standing Rock Sioux Reservation begins just south of the county, and the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy (2016) brought national attention to the Missouri River at a location directly upstream from Standing Rock’s water intake.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
North Dakota assesses residential property at 9% of true value. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Equalization. North Dakota’s elderly and disabled credit reduces property taxes for qualifying residents. North Dakota has no income, estate, or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Bismarck-Mandan Senior Center / South Central Adult Services
1517 North 13th Street, Bismarck, ND 58501
Phone: (701) 223-8818
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Burleigh County residents.
Senior Services
Bismarck-Mandan Senior Center / South Central Adult Services
1517 North 13th Street, Bismarck, ND 58501
Phone: (701) 223-8818
Senior transportation, Meals on Wheels, caregiver support, and long-term care counseling for Burleigh County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
514 East Thayer Ave, Bismarck, ND 58501
(701) 222-6672
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Burleigh County Clerk of District Court, Bismarck (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Burleigh County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories, though Burleigh County residents can visit the statewide State Archives locally.
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
Burleigh County Clerk of District Court – South Central Judicial District 514 East Thayer Avenue (mail: P.O. Box 1055), Bismarck, ND 58502 (701) 222-6690
Burleigh County is in south-central North Dakota, seated in Bismarck, the state capital. One of North Dakota’s most 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 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
221 North 5th St, Bismarck, ND 58501
(701) 222-6669
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
221 North 5th St, Bismarck, ND 58501
(701) 222-6718
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health
500 East Front Ave, Bismarck, ND 58504
(701) 355-1540
Social Services
4111 State St, Bismarck, ND 58503
(701) 222-6928
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Burleigh Morton Public Health – confirm current contact via burleigh.gov.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Bismarck
Population: 98,000
Tier: 3
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Burleigh County facilities via Amazon.
