Adverse Possession in North Dakota: Twenty Years, or Ten If the Taxes Were Paid
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · North Dakota · Last updated October 5, 2026
The tax receipts are what buy the shorter clock here. Adverse possession is the rule that lets a person who openly occupies land belonging to someone else become its legal owner once the statutory period has run and every statutory requirement is met. North Dakota's general period is twenty years. No action for the recovery of real property or for the possession of it may be maintained unless the plaintiff, or an ancestor, predecessor or grantor, was seized or possessed of the premises within twenty years before the action begins (N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-04), and the record owner is presumed possessed unless the premises were held adversely for twenty years (section 28-01-07). Nothing in that chapter mentions taxes. A different section sets up a second, shorter route. A title is valid in law where the person has been in the actual open adverse and undisputed possession of the land under such title for a period of ten years and has paid all taxes and assessments legally levied on it (N.D. Cent. Code 47-06-03). Two conditions, not one: possession under title, and the taxes paid. The same section adds that a contract for deed counts as color of title from execution, and that possession by a county under a tax deed is not adverse. Without a written instrument, land is possessed only by substantial enclosure or usual cultivation or improvement (section 28-01-11). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in North Dakota
Which side of the boundary question are you on?
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How long does adverse possession take in North Dakota?
Twenty years in general. No action for recovery or possession of real property may be maintained unless the plaintiff, or an ancestor, predecessor or grantor, was seized or possessed of the premises within twenty years before the action begins (N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-04). A separate ten year route appears in section 47-06-03.
Do you have to pay the property taxes to claim adverse possession in North Dakota?
Only on the shorter route. The twenty year chapter, N.D. Cent. Code 28-01, contains no tax provision at all. Section 47-06-03 validates a title after ten years of actual open adverse and undisputed possession under such title where the possessor has paid all taxes and assessments legally levied.
Does a contract for deed help a North Dakota adverse possession claim?
The statute addresses it directly. A contract for deed shall constitute color of title within the meaning of N.D. Cent. Code 47-06-03 from and after the execution of such contract. That matters because the ten year route in that section requires the possession to have been under such title.
Which uses count as possession under North Dakota law?
Without a written instrument, land is deemed possessed and occupied only in two cases: when it has been protected by a substantial enclosure, or when it has been usually cultivated or improved (N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-11). With a written instrument, section 28-01-09 recognises four cases instead.
North Dakota adverse possession at a glance
Adverse possession is the rule that turns a long occupation of someone else's land into legal ownership, once the statutory period has run and every statutory requirement is satisfied. North Dakota writes two periods into two different places. Chapter 28-01 sets twenty years and says nothing about taxes: no recovery action lies unless the claimant was seized or possessed within twenty years (N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-04). Section 47-06-03 then validates a title after ten years of actual open adverse and undisputed possession of the land under such title, where the possessor has paid all taxes and assessments legally levied on it. The shorter clock therefore costs two things, title and the taxes. A contract for deed counts as color of title under that section from the date it is executed.
A Red River Valley quarter section where the treasurer's ledger is the evidence
Imagine a buyer who signed a contract for deed in 2015 on a quarter section of sugar beet and soybean ground, farmed it every season since, and paid the county treasurer every tax and special assessment billed on the parcel. Three sentences of one section speak to that. A contract for deed constitutes color of title from and after its execution, the ten year period runs on actual open adverse and undisputed possession of the land under such title, and the possessor must have paid all taxes and assessments legally levied on it (N.D. Cent. Code 47-06-03). The cropping also answers section 28-01-11, which counts land usually cultivated or improved. Whether the statute is satisfied is for a North Dakota court on the record.
Relevant Laws
N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-04 (twenty year limitation)
Provides that no action for the recovery of real property or for the possession of it may be maintained unless the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's ancestor, predecessor, or grantor, was seized or possessed of the premises in question within twenty years before the commencement of the action.
N.D. Cent. Code 47-06-03 (ten year route, title plus all taxes)
Provides that a title to real property vested in a person who has been in the actual open adverse and undisputed possession of the land under such title for a period of ten years, and who has paid all taxes and assessments legally levied on it, shall be valid in law. Adds that possession by a county under tax deed shall not be deemed adverse, and that a contract for deed constitutes color of title under the section from and after its execution.
N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-07 (presumption against adverse possession)
Provides that in every action for the recovery or possession of real property the person establishing a legal title must be presumed to have been possessed within the time required by law, and that occupation by any other person must be deemed to have been under and in subordination to the legal title, unless the premises were held and possessed adversely for twenty years before the action.
N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-08 and 28-01-09 (possession under a written instrument)
Section 28-01-08 deems premises held adversely where the occupant entered under a claim of title founded on a written instrument, decree or judgment and occupied for twenty years. Section 28-01-09 lists the four cases in which such land is deemed possessed and occupied, including usual cultivation or improvement, a substantial enclosure, use for fuel or fencing timber, and the partly improved known farm or single lot rule.
N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-10 and 28-01-11 (no written instrument)
Section 28-01-10 provides that where occupation under a claim of title exclusive of any other right is not founded on a written instrument, judgment or decree, the premises actually occupied and no other are deemed held adversely. Section 28-01-11 provides that such land is deemed possessed and occupied only where it has been protected by a substantial enclosure, or usually cultivated or improved.
N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-06 (entry upon real estate)
Provides that no entry upon real estate may be deemed sufficient or valid as a claim unless an action is commenced on it within one year after the making of the entry, and within twenty years from the time when the right to make the entry descended or accrued.
N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-12 (tenant's possession)
Provides that where the landlord and tenant relation has existed, the tenant's possession must be deemed the possession of the landlord until twenty years from the termination of the tenancy, or, where there was no written lease, twenty years from the last payment of rent, notwithstanding that the tenant acquired another title or claimed to hold adversely.
N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-14 (disabilities extend limitations)
Provides that where the person entitled to sue or to make an entry was under eighteen, insane, or imprisoned on a criminal charge or in execution upon conviction for a term less than life, the time of that disability is not part of the limitation period, but the time so limited cannot be extended more than ten years after the disability ceases or after the death of the person disabled.
N.D. Cent. Code 47-06-01 and 47-06-02 (title by occupancy and prescription)
Section 47-06-01 provides that occupancy for any period confers a title sufficient against all except the state and those who have title by prescription, accession, transfer, will or succession. Section 47-06-02 provides that occupancy for the period prescribed by any law of this state as sufficient to bar a recovery action confers a title denominated a title by prescription, which is sufficient against all.
N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-01 and 28-01-23 (the state as a party)
Section 28-01-01 provides that the state will not sue for real property by reason of its own right or title unless that right accrued within forty years before the action, or the state or those from whom it claims received the rents and profits within forty years. Section 28-01-23 provides that the limitations prescribed in the chapter apply to actions brought in the name of the state, or for its benefit, in the same manner as to actions by private parties.
N.D. Cent. Code 32-17-01, 32-17-04 and 32-17-10 (action to determine adverse claims)
Section 32-17-01 allows any person having an estate or interest in, or lien or encumbrance upon, real property, whether in or out of possession and whether the property is vacant or unoccupied, to sue any person claiming an adverse estate, interest, lien or encumbrance. Section 32-17-04 sets the description standard and prints the form of complaint and prayer. Section 32-17-10 requires the court to find the nature and extent of each claim and determine validity, superiority and priority.
Regional Variances
North Dakota adverse possession rules at a glance
Statutory period
Twenty years in general. No recovery or possession action may be maintained unless the plaintiff, or an ancestor, predecessor or grantor, was seized or possessed within twenty years before the action (N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-04), with the same twenty years in the presumption at section 28-01-07.
Property taxes
A period shortener, not a universal element. Chapter 28-01 says nothing about taxes. Section 47-06-03 validates a title after ten years of actual open adverse and undisputed possession under such title where the possessor has paid all taxes and assessments legally levied on the land.
Tax deed possession by a county
Expressly excluded. Possession by a county under tax deed shall not be deemed adverse (N.D. Cent. Code 47-06-03).
Color of title
Does not shorten the chapter 28-01 clock, where a written instrument route still runs twenty years (section 28-01-08) but recognises four qualifying acts (section 28-01-09). It is a condition of the ten year route, and a contract for deed counts as color of title from execution (section 47-06-03).
Qualifying possession
Without a written instrument, only two cases: protection by a substantial enclosure, or usual cultivation or improvement (N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-11). The premises actually occupied and no other are deemed held adversely (section 28-01-10).
Acreage cap
None. Neither chapter 28-01 nor chapter 47-06 refers to acres anywhere. The statutory limit is one of extent, set by section 28-01-10, together with the contiguous lots rule in section 28-01-09.
The state as a party
Occupancy for any period confers a title sufficient against all except the state (N.D. Cent. Code 47-06-01). The state will not sue over its own right or title unless that right accrued within forty years (section 28-01-01), while section 28-01-23 applies the chapter's limitations to the state as to private parties.
Disability tolling
Time under eighteen, insane, or imprisoned on a criminal charge for a term less than life is excluded, with a hard outer limit: no extension beyond ten years after the disability ceases or after the death of the person disabled (N.D. Cent. Code 28-01-14).
Perfecting title
An action to determine adverse claims under chapter 32-17, available to a person in or out of possession and whether the property is vacant or unoccupied (N.D. Cent. Code 32-17-01), with the statutory complaint form and description standard in section 32-17-04 and the court's findings on validity, superiority and priority under section 32-17-10.
Frequently Asked Questions
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