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North Dakota County
Pembina County, North Dakota
Pembina - North Dakota's oldest permanent settlement - from Pembina's historic significance (Pembina is the oldest permanent settlement in North Dakota - the North West Company trading post established at the confluence of the Pembina and Red rivers in 1797 makes it the state's first permanent European settlement, and the Pembina State Museum documents the Métis community, fur trade, and early Red River settlement that gave North Dakota its first permanent population) to the Pembina Gorge (the dramatic canyon carved by the Pembina River through the Pembina Hills - one of North Dakota's most scenic natural landscapes, whose forested ravines and clear streams are strikingly different from the flat prairie surrounding them).
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Office: Pembina County Department of Emergency Services – 301 Dakota St W, Suite 8, Cavalier, ND 58220 | (701) 265-4849 | Fax: (701) 265-4642; [email protected].
Sheriff: Pembina County Sheriff’s Office – 301 Dakota Street W #1, Cavalier, ND 58220 | (701) 265-4231; non-dispatch line (701) 265-4122.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: ND-5 and ND-18 serve Cavalier, the county seat and largest city, in the far northeastern corner of North Dakota near the Canadian border.
Notes: Pembina County, created and organized in 1867, is genuinely North Dakota’s oldest county, named for a Chippewa term. Between 1873 and 1881, eleven new counties (including Cass and Grand Forks) were carved out of Pembina’s original territory. NAMING TRAP: Cavalier, the city, is NOT located in the separate, neighboring Cavalier County – it’s the seat of Pembina County.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Pembina County Auditor – Cavalier, ND 58220; confirm current phone via pembinacountynd.gov.
Notes: Pembina County genuinely hosts the first Icelandic immigrant settlement in North Dakota, established in the late 1870s by settlers who moved from the “New Iceland” colony near Lake Winnipeg – this heritage is preserved today at Icelandic State Park (930+ acres on Lake Renwick, 6 miles west of Cavalier). The Pembina County Courthouse (built 1912, Beaux Arts style, designed by Buechner & Orth) is genuinely NRHP-listed (1980). Cavalier Space Force Station, a real active U.S. Space Force radar installation, sits roughly 14 miles southwest of Cavalier.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Pembina County Veterans Service Office – confirm current contact via pembinacountynd.gov. The Pembina County Veterans Memorial, with pavers identifying local service members, stands at the Pembina County Historical Museum grounds.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current library address/hours via pembinacountynd.gov or cavaliernd.com. The Pembina County Historical Museum grounds also include a jailhouse library and a research library in the main museum building.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Icelandic State Park, the Pembina County Historical Museum (11 buildings including the historic St. Anthony’s Church, an 1882 homestead, restored Great Northern depot, and one of North Dakota’s largest antique vehicle collections, including a rare 1925 Case Model X Suburban Coupe), and the Pembina State Museum (near the city of Pembina, at the Canadian border) are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Icelandic settlement heritage and the county’s status as North Dakota’s oldest (1867) are among the most historically significant facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Pembina County Auditor – Cavalier, ND 58220.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed in this search – animal-related concerns likely route through the Sheriff’s Office or Cavalier Police Department, (701) 265-8600. Confirm directly via pembinacountynd.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Pembina County Auditor’s Office – Cavalier, ND 58220.
NOTES: Pembina County is the sixth county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s fifth batch (Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Pierce). As North Dakota’s oldest county (1867), with genuine Icelandic settlement heritage, this is one of the most historically significant counties in the project. IMPORTANT: don’t confuse the city of Cavalier with the separate Cavalier County. 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 Pembina County
Pembina County is North Dakota’s oldest permanent settlement – the 1797 fur trade post at Pembina predates statehood by nearly a century, and the Pembina Gorge’s forested ravines cut through the otherwise flat northeastern North Dakota prairie in dramatic contrast.
Cavalier (the county seat, population ~1,200) serves the county’s agricultural communities near the Canadian border. Pembina (population ~500) preserves the state’s oldest heritage at the Pembina State Museum.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Pembina County Tax Director at 301 Dakota Street W., Suite 14, Cavalier, ND 58220, phone 701-265-4228. ND residential assessed at 50% of true value.
Courts & Legal
Pembina County District Court at 301 Dakota Street W., Cavalier, ND 58220, phone 701-265-4286, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
301 Dakota St, Cavalier, ND 58220
(701) 265-8422
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Pembina County Clerk of District Court, Cavalier (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1912 Pembina County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Pembina 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
Pembina County Clerk of District Court – Northeast Judicial District 301 Dakota Street West, Suite 6, Cavalier, ND 58220 (701) 265-4275
Pembina County is in the extreme northeastern corner of North Dakota, along both the Canadian and Minnesota borders, seated in the city of Cavalier (not to be confused with neighboring Cavalier County, whose seat is Langdon). The 1912 Pembina County Courthouse, Beaux Arts in style, 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 (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
301 Dakota St, Cavalier, ND 58220
(701) 265-4108
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
301 Dakota St, Cavalier, ND 58220
(701) 265-8422
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
301 Dakota St, Cavalier, ND 58220
(701) 265-8422
Social Services
301 Dakota St, Cavalier, ND 58220
(701) 265-8422
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Pembina County Memorial Hospital – 301 Mountain Street E, Cavalier, ND 58220 | (701) 265-8461.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Cavalier
Population: 6,900
Established: 1867
Tier: 3
Public Records
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