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Office: Steele County Emergency Management – PO Box 275, Finley, ND 58230 | (701) 524-2442; Public Safety Coordinator Ben Gates. Operates a countywide Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
Sheriff: Steele County Sheriff’s Office – PO Box 171, Finley, ND 58230 | (701) 524-2742; Sheriff Wayne Beckman.
County main line: (701) 524-2110 | Fax: (701) 524-1715.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: ND-32 and ND-200 serve Finley, the county seat and largest city, in eastern North Dakota.
Notes: Steele County, created 1883, is North Dakota’s fourth-least populous county. It’s named for businessman Edward H. Steele, who pushed for the county’s creation – and who also founded the nearby town of Hope, named after his wife, Hope Steele.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Steele County Auditor – 201 Washington Ave W, PO Box 275, Finley, ND 58230.
Notes: The Steele County Courthouse (built 1925, Classical Revival style, designed by Braseth & Houkom) is genuinely NRHP-listed (1985) – its construction settled a real historic rivalry between Finley and Hope over which town would be the county seat. Nearby, Baldwin’s Arcade in Hope (built 1881) is separately NRHP-listed (1975) as the oldest commercial building in the county, having served over the years as a post office, bank, furniture store, funeral parlor, drug store, hardware store, and grocery – it now houses the Steele County Museum, with collections including textiles dating to the 1880s and a 900-piece toy tractor collection.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Steele County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via steelecountynd.gov.
Federal: Fargo VA Medical Center (long distance, eastern ND).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current library address/hours via steelecountynd.gov.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Steele County Museum & Historical Society (housed in the NRHP-listed Baldwin’s Arcade in Hope) and the Hope Golf Course are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine story behind Hope, ND’s name – Edward Steele’s wife – and the historic county-seat rivalry between Finley and Hope are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Steele County Auditor – 201 Washington Ave W, Finley, ND 58230.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
No dedicated county animal shelter was confirmed in this search – Steele County is North Dakota’s fourth-least populous county; animal-related concerns likely route through the Sheriff’s Office. Confirm directly via steelecountynd.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Steele County Auditor’s Office – 201 Washington Ave W, Finley, ND 58230.
NOTES: Steele County is the fourth county in the North Dakota v2 redo’s seventh and final batch (Sioux, Slope, Stark, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill). The genuine story of Hope, ND being named for Edward Steele’s wife, and the historic Finley/Hope county-seat rivalry, are distinctive local facts. 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 Steele County County
Steele County is east-central North Dakota’s Sheyenne River and Red River Valley fringe county – the river connecting the county to the Sheyenne National Grassland and the transition from the flat glacial lake plain to the rolling pothole country define a community where Finley serves the county’s agricultural families in the rolling east-central Dakota plains.
Finley (the county seat, population ~480) is Steele County’s governmental hub on US 200, a small east-central North Dakota community whose Sheyenne River access, prairie pothole hunting, and grain farming economy anchor its identity.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Steele County Assessor at 205 Westside Drive, Finley, ND 58230, phone 701-524-2152. ND assessed at 50% of true and full value.
Courts & Legal
Steele County District Court at 205 Westside Drive, Finley, ND 58230, phone 701-524-2152, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF DISTRICT COURT
201 Main St, Finley, ND 58230
(701) 524-2151
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Steele County Clerk of District Court, Finley (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1925 Steele County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Steele 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
Steele County Clerk of District Court – Southeast Judicial District 201 Washington Avenue (mail: P.O. Box 296), Finley, ND 58230 (701) 524-2152
Steele County is in eastern North Dakota, seated in Finley. The 1925 Steele County Courthouse, Classical Revival 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
201 Main St, Finley, ND 58230
(701) 524-2151
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
201 Main St, Finley, ND 58230
(701) 524-2151
Department
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
201 Main St, Finley, ND 58230
(701) 524-2151
Social Services
201 Main St, Finley, ND 58230
(701) 524-2151
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Steele County Human Service Zone – 201 Washington Ave, Finley, ND 58230 | (701) 636-5220 (shared regional office based in Hillsboro).
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Finley
Population: 1,800
Public Records
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Search public records for Steele County County residents.
