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
Dunn County, North Dakota
Killdeer Mountain and the Battle of Killdeer Mountain - from the Battle of Killdeer Mountain (the July 28, 1864 engagement in which General Alfred Sully's Union forces attacked a large encampment of Lakota and Dakota people in the Dunn County Badlands - the battle was part of the military campaigns following the 1862 Dakota War and represented one of the largest cavalry engagements in the Northern Plains, with the outnumbered Lakota and Dakota fighting a tactical retreat through the rugged Badlands terrain) to Killdeer Mountain's dramatic geological formation and Dunn County's significant Bakken oil production.
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.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Dunn County is unusual in that it spans two time zones – the northern portion is Central and the southern portion is Mountain.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: ND-22 and ND-200 serve Manning, the county seat (a very small community), while Killdeer, roughly 20 miles away, is the county’s largest city and commercial hub.
Notes: Dunn County, created 1883 and organized 1908, is named for John Piatt Dunn, who opened the first drugstore in North Dakota and was a civic leader in early Bismarck. It borders Mountrail, McLean, Mercer, Stark, and Billings counties.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Dunn County Auditor – 205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642 | (701) 573-4448.
Notes: Dunn County is genuinely home to the Killdeer Mountains, the site of the Battle of Killdeer Mountain (July 28, 1864) – the largest single military operation the U.S. Army ever conducted against Native Americans, when Gen. Alfred Sully’s 2,200 troops attacked a large Sioux gathering that included chiefs Sitting Bull and Gall. The Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site, 8.5 miles northwest of Killdeer, preserves the site with an interpretive plaque; oral tradition holds that some Sioux escaped through a cave known as Medicine Hole. The Killdeer Mountains also create a distinctive mini-ecosystem with aspen and bur oak forests unusual for southwestern North Dakota.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Dunn County Veterans Service Office – 205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642 | (701) 573-8387; VSO Carolyn Benz, [email protected].
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Killdeer: Killdeer School and Public Library – 101 High Street NW, Killdeer, ND 58640; a combined school/public facility with roughly 23,000 volumes, circulating about 17,000 items annually, serving a population of about 1,200.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Killdeer Mountain Battlefield State Historic Site, Little Missouri State Park (over 6,000 acres of badlands terrain along the Little Missouri River near Lake Sakakawea), and the Killdeer Mountains Wildlife Management Area are the county’s premier attractions. Killdeer hosts the Killdeer Mountain Roundup Rodeo, held for 95 consecutive years.
Notes: The genuine 1864 Battle of Killdeer Mountain – the largest single U.S. Army operation ever mounted against Native Americans – is one of the most historically significant facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Dunn County Auditor – 205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642 | (701) 573-4448.
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 dunncountynd.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Dunn County Weed Control – 205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642; confirm current phone via dunncountynd.gov.
NOTES: Dunn County is the sixth county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s second batch (Burleigh, Cass, Cavalier, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Eddy). The genuine 1864 Battle of Killdeer Mountain – the largest single U.S. Army operation ever against Native Americans – is one of the most historically significant facts covered anywhere in this project. 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 Dunn County
Dunn County is west-central North Dakota’s Killdeer Mountain and Bakken oil county – the 1864 Battle of Killdeer Mountain was one of the largest cavalry engagements in Northern Plains history, and the Bakken Formation’s oil fields now underlie the same Badlands terrain.
Manning (the county seat, population ~60) is one of North Dakota’s smallest county seats. Killdeer (population ~800) serves the county’s oil and ranching communities near the Badlands.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Dunn County Tax Director at 205 Owens Street, Manning, ND 58642, phone 701-573-4447. ND residential assessed at 50% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Dunn County District Court at 205 Owens Street, Manning, ND 58642, phone 701-573-4447, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642
(701) 573-4442
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Dunn County Clerk of District Court, Manning (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Dunn 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
Dunn County Clerk of District Court – Southwest Judicial District 205 Owens Street, Manning, ND 58642 (701) 573-4447
Dunn County was founded March 9, 1883, in western North Dakota, seated in Manning (though Killdeer is the county’s largest city). Squarely within the Bakken oil-producing region.
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 – an especially important point in Dunn County, given its location in the heart of the Bakken oil play.
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
205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642
(701) 573-4445
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642
(701) 573-4494
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642
(701) 573-4494
Social Services
205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642
(701) 573-4442
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Dunn County Public Health – 205 Owens St, Manning, ND 58642 | (701) 573-5513; Public Health Nurse Sheyenne Hovick.
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.
