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North Dakota · Fargo · Red River Valley · #320 Most Populous County in the US
Cass County Government Offices
Fargo - the largest city in the Dakotas, North Dakota State University and the Bison, the Red River Valley's agricultural heartland, and a small city that has built a surprisingly dynamic technology and healthcare economy on the northern plains. No state income tax on most income, no estate tax, and a community that knows how to handle a blizzard. Property tax, courts, public records, probate, and senior services for Cass County residents.
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Office: Cass County Emergency Management – 4630 15th Ave N, Fargo, ND 58102 | (701) 476-4068 or (701) 241-1198 | Fax: (701) 476-4020; Emergency Manager Cole Baker, [email protected]; Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) coordinates hazardous materials response.
City partner: Fargo Office of Emergency Management – 4630 15th Avenue North, Fargo, ND 58102 | (701) 476-4069 | Hours: Mon-Fri 7:45 AM-4:30 PM. Sign up for Cass Clay Alerts at CassClayAlerts.gov.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-29 and I-94 intersect at Fargo, the county seat and North Dakota’s most populous city, in the eastern part of the state on the Red River.
Notes: Fargo, founded 1871 and incorporated 1874, is named for William Fargo, co-founder of Wells Fargo; it forms a twin-city area with Moorhead, Minnesota, across the Red River.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Cass County Planning – Cass County Courthouse, 211 9th St S, Fargo, ND 58103; confirm current phone via casscountynd.gov.
Notes: Fargo is genuinely, famously home to the wood chipper prop from the Coen Brothers’ 1996 film “Fargo” – the actual movie prop (an eight-horsepower Yard Shark chipper purchased by a crew member for his own tree farm) is on permanent display at the Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center, complete with a fake leg for photos. The Roger Maris Museum, a free 70-foot display case inside West Acres Shopping Center, honors Fargo native and Yankees legend Roger Maris, who broke Babe Ruth’s single-season home run record with 61 homers in 1961.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Cass County Department of Veterans Services – Cass County Courthouse, 1st Floor, South Wing, 211 9th St S, Fargo, ND 58103 | (701) 241-5756 | [email protected] | Hours: Mon appt-only 12-5 PM (walk-ins case-by-case), Tue-Fri appt-only 8:30 AM-5 PM; VSO Chris Deery. Cass County is genuinely home to North Dakota’s largest veteran population, serving over 11,000 veterans and their families.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center – 2101 North Elm St, Fargo, ND 58102.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Fargo: Fargo Public Library (main branch) – confirm current address via fargond.gov | Hours: Mon-Thu 10 AM-8 PM, Fri 11 AM-6 PM, Sat 9 AM-6 PM, closed Sun.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Fargo Theatre, Plains Art Museum, Fargo Air Museum, Bonanzaville pioneer village, Roger Maris Museum, and the “Fargo” movie wood chipper are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine “Fargo” movie wood chipper prop and Roger Maris legacy are among the most nationally recognizable facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Cass County Recorder – PO Box 2806, Fargo, ND 58108 | (701) 241-5620.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Nonprofit: Fargo Pound – operates in partnership with the Fargo Police Department and Cass County Sheriff’s Office to help keep stray and lost animals safe.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Cass County Highway Department – 1201 W Main Ave, West Fargo, ND 58078 | (701) 298-2373.
NOTES: Cass County is the second county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s second batch (Burleigh, Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Eddy). As North Dakota’s most populous county and home to its largest veteran population, plus the genuinely iconic “Fargo” wood chipper, this is one of the state’s most nationally recognized 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 Cass County
Heritage | Fargo grew as a major railroad hub after the Northern Pacific Railway reached the Red River in 1871, and the city’s name, honoring railroad financier William Fargo of Wells Fargo fame, reflects its transportation-industry roots; the 1996 Coen brothers film “Fargo,” though largely set and filmed elsewhere, brought the city international name recognition it has since embraced with local businesses adopting the reference Outdoors | The Red River offers paddling and fishing along Fargo’s eastern edge; the city’s extensive trail system links parks throughout the metro area, and nearby Lindenwood Park provides riverside recreation close to downtown Notable | Home to North Dakota State University, whose Bison football program has won multiple FCS national championships; Fargo’s downtown has undergone significant revitalization with a growing arts, brewery, and restaurant scene Library | Fargo Public Library and West Fargo Public Library together serve the county’s rapidly growing metro population
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Services: Estates, guardianships, civil case filings
DISTRICT COURT
Address: 211 9th St South, Fargo, ND 58103
Phone: (701) 297-6000
Website: ndcourts.gov/counties/cass
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
211 9th St South, Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 297-6000
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Cass County Clerk of District Court, Fargo (probate/estate case files since 1951 – see Probate section above; earlier files 1870s-1951 are held by the NDSU Institute for Regional Studies).
NDSU Archives, 3551 7th Avenue N, Fargo, ND 58102, (701) 231-8914 – holds Cass County probate case files from the 1870s through the end of 1951, indexed online, including the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection.
The 1904 Cass County Court House, Jail, and Sheriff’s House, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
Red River Valley Genealogy Society, P.O. Box 9284, Fargo, ND 58106, confirmed.
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
Cass County Clerk of District Court – East Central Judicial District Cass County Courthouse, 211 9th Street South (mail: P.O. Box 2806), Fargo, ND 58108 (701) 451-6900
Cass County was founded January 4, 1873, named for George Washington Cass, in southeastern North Dakota. It is the state’s most populous county, seated in Fargo. The 1904 Cass County Court House, Jail, and Sheriff’s House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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 (this threshold was 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 – the affidavit is presented directly to whoever holds the property (a bank, for example). Mineral and oil/gas rights are classified as real property in North Dakota and can NEVER be transferred by this affidavit – they require informal or formal probate, which matters significantly in Bakken-region counties.
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; a personal representative can be appointed and act largely without ongoing court supervision (unsupervised administration).
Formal Probate – required when the will’s validity is contested, someone objects to informal probate, or more than 3 years have passed since death. Requires court hearings.
Supervised Administration – a court can also require ongoing supervision of a formal or informal case 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, and this period runs concurrently with other administration work.
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 by district 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, rather than a fixed percentage.
North Dakota does not impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates (around $13.99 million and up as of 2025).
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
211 9th St South, Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 241-5800
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
211 9th St South, Fargo, ND 58103
(701) 297-6020
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Fargo Cass Public Health
1240 4th Ave North, Fargo, ND 58102
(701) 241-1360
Social Services
1201 Main Ave West, West Fargo, ND 58078
(701) 241-5730
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Fargo Cass Public Health – 1240 25th St S, Fargo, ND 58103 | (701) 241-1380; Director Jenn Faul, [email protected].
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County Facts
County Seat: Fargo
Population: 195,000
Area: 1,766 mi²
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Cass County facilities via Amazon.
