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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.
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Sheriff: Kidder County Sheriff’s Office – confirm current contact via co.kidder.nd.us.
Ambulance: Kidder County Ambulance – 120 W. Mitchell Ave, Steele, ND 58482 | (701) 475-2595; licensed Basic Life Support with enhanced skills and Advanced Life Support capability.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. NAMING TRAP: the town of Steele, ND (Kidder County’s seat) is entirely separate from Steele County, ND, which has its own county seat, Finley – don’t conflate the two.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-94 and US-14 serve Steele, the county seat and largest city, in south-central North Dakota.
Notes: Kidder County, created 1873 and organized 1881, is named for Jefferson Parrish Kidder, a delegate to the U.S. Congress from Dakota Territory.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Kidder County Auditor – Kidder County Courthouse, Steele, ND 58482 | (701) 475-4547.
Notes: Building permits in the city of Steele are handled by the city’s Building Inspector, (701) 475-2390.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND). A local veterans group meets 3rd Thursday monthly at the Steele Veterans Club, 7 PM, open to all veterans.
Key Assets: Kidder County is genuinely home to several National Wildlife Refuges managed under the Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex – including Slade National Wildlife Refuge (3,000 acres near Dawson, established 1941 on land donated by Northern Pacific Railroad executive G.T. Slade, a former private waterfowl-hunting club) and Hutchinson Lake NWR. Long Lake NWR itself straddles the Burleigh-Kidder county line near Steele, an 18-mile saline basin designated a Globally Important Bird Area and Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network site.
Notes: The genuine cluster of National Wildlife Refuges in Kidder County reflects the region’s importance to migratory waterfowl.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Kidder County Auditor – Kidder County Courthouse, Steele, ND 58482 | (701) 475-4547.
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 co.kidder.nd.us.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Kidder County Extension Service (NDSU Extension) – (701) 475-2672 | [email protected].
NOTES: Kidder County is the first county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s fourth batch (Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McHenry, McIntosh, McKenzie, McLean). The genuine cluster of National Wildlife Refuges (Slade, Long Lake, Hutchinson Lake) reflects the region’s importance to migratory waterfowl. 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 Kidder County County
Kidder County is central North Dakota’s Prairie Pothole Region waterfowl county – the densest concentration of duck-producing wetlands in North America and Horsehead Lake’s migratory staging define a county where Steele serves the county’s farming and hunting communities on the I-94 corridor.
Steele (the county seat, population ~680) is Kidder County’s governmental hub on I-94, a central North Dakota community whose prairie pothole hunting, Horsehead Lake, and grain farming economy anchor its identity as the heart of the Prairie Pothole Region.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Kidder County Assessor at 120 E. Broadway, Steele, ND 58482, phone 701-475-2632. ND assessed at 50% of true and full value.
Courts & Legal
Kidder County District Court at 120 E. Broadway, Steele, ND 58482, phone 701-475-2632, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
120 East Broadway, Steele, ND 58482
(701) 475-2711
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Kidder County Clerk of District Court, Steele (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1883 Kidder County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark – the state’s longest-serving courthouse.
Local societies
No dedicated Kidder 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
Kidder County Clerk of District Court – Southeast Judicial District 120 Broadway East (mail: P.O. Box 66), Steele, ND 58482 (701) 475-2663
Kidder County was founded January 4, 1873, named for Jefferson Kidder, in south-central North Dakota, seated in Steele. The 1883 Kidder County Courthouse, Italianate in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places – it is the longest continuously serving courthouse building in the state.
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
120 East Broadway, Steele, ND 58482
(701) 475-2237
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
120 East Broadway, Steele, ND 58482
(701) 475-2668
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
120 East Broadway, Steele, ND 58482
(701) 475-2668
Social Services
120 East Broadway, Steele, ND 58482
(701) 475-2670
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Kidder County Social Services – Steele, ND 58482 | (701) 475-2551. Kidder-Emmons Senior Services provides congregate dining, home-delivered meals, and senior transportation, (701) 475-2708.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Steele
Population: 2,300
Public Records
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Search public records for Kidder County County residents.
