North Dakota
North Dakota Public Recording Laws: Filming Rights in Public Spaces (2026)
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited November 1, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of November 1, 2026. · 3 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
In North Dakota, you can generally photograph and film in public places. Audio recording of a conversation you take part in is also permitted under N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-15-02, the state's one-party consent statute, as long as you are not recording it to commit a crime or other unlawful harm. North Dakota has no general ban on recording in public, but recording a private conversation you are not part of, or secretly recording into a place where people expect privacy, can still be a crime.
North Dakota broadly allows recording in public. The state has no general ban on photography or video recording in public spaces. The wiretapping statute under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-15-02 applies one-party consent to audio recording, and the First Amendment protects recording in public that serves an expressive purpose, such as informing the public.
Limits still apply in public. Intercepting a private conversation you are not part of, without a participant's consent, is a class C felony under § 12.1-15-02, and secretly recording into a place where people reasonably expect privacy is a crime under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-31-14.
This guide covers public filming rights, government meeting recording under the Open Records and Meetings Law, government building rules, and recording on private property open to the public.
First Amendment Recording Rights
The Eighth Circuit, which covers North Dakota, held in Ness v. City of Bloomington (2021) that photographing and video recording in a public park to inform the public is protected by the First Amendment, though recording unrelated to an expressive purpose may not be. In practice, you can generally record people on streets and sidewalks, buildings, public events, and the public areas of government buildings.
The Eighth Circuit has not decided whether the First Amendment protects recording police. In Molina v. Book (2023) it held that any such right was not clearly established in 2015, and its earlier Chestnut v. Wallace decision (2020) protected a bystander's right to watch police from a distance under the Fourth Amendment, not a right to record. Filming officers at a protest or in a government building therefore rests on persuasive rulings from other circuits rather than binding law here.
Standing on public property does not make every shot lawful. Secretly using a camera or recorder to capture events in a hotel room, tanning booth, or other place where a reasonable person would expect privacy, with intent to intrude on the occupant's privacy, is a class B misdemeanor under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-31-14. Done for sexual gratification where the person has exposed or is likely to expose intimate parts, it is a class A misdemeanor under § 12.1-20-12.2, and a class C felony for a repeat offense or a minor victim.
Recording Government Meetings
North Dakota's Open Records and Meetings Law (N.D.C.C. Chapter 44-04) requires most government meetings to be open. A "meeting" includes any gathering of a quorum regarding public business. You can record city council meetings, county commission meetings, school board meetings, legislative proceedings, and public hearings.
Closed executive sessions are permitted for limited purposes. The public's right to attend and record covers only the portion of a meeting that is not held in executive session, and the governing body must make its own recording of any closed session (N.D.C.C. § 44-04-19.2(5)).
The North Dakota Attorney General's office provides guidance and enforcement support for open meetings violations.
Recording in Government Buildings
Public areas of government buildings (lobbies, hallways, service counters) are generally available for recording. Restricted areas include courtrooms during proceedings (subject to court rules), secure areas of law enforcement facilities, and restricted federal building areas.
Recording on Private Property Open to the Public
Stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues allow recording until the owner asks you to stop. If asked to stop and you refuse to leave, you may face trespass charges.
Audio Recording in Public
North Dakota's one-party consent rule applies to audio recording in public. You can record conversations you participate in, or ones where a participant has given prior consent, unless you record them to commit a crime or other unlawful harm (§ 12.1-15-02(3)(c)). Recording a conversation between others without a participant's consent is a class C felony if it is an "oral communication", meaning the speakers exhibit an expectation that it is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying that expectation (§ 12.1-15-04).
More North Dakota Recording Laws
Audio Recording | Video Recording | Voyeurism & Hidden Cameras | Workplace Recording | Recording Police | Phone Call Recording | Security Cameras | Recording in Public | Landlord-Tenant | Dashcam Laws | Schools | Medical Recording
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I record video in public in North Dakota?
Yes, in general. North Dakota has no general ban on video recording in public, and the Eighth Circuit has held that recording in a public park to inform the public is protected by the First Amendment. Secretly recording into a place where people expect privacy, or recording a private conversation you are not part of, can still be a crime.
Can I record a city council meeting in North Dakota?
Yes. The Open Records and Meetings Law requires government meetings to be open. Recording of open sessions is permitted.
Can I record audio in public without consent in North Dakota?
One-party consent applies. You can record conversations you participate in, unless you record them to commit a crime or other unlawful harm. Recording a conversation between other people without a participant's consent is a class C felony if they reasonably expect it is not being intercepted.
Can a store tell me to stop recording in North Dakota?
Yes. Private property owners can ask you to stop recording and leave. Refusing to leave after being asked may result in trespass charges.
Can I film inside a North Dakota courthouse?
You can generally record in public areas like lobbies. Recording inside courtrooms is subject to the judge's discretion and court rules.
Updates
Added the intent-to-intrude element to the key takeaway on secretly recording into private places.
We corrected statements that North Dakota has no law against recording in public and that anything visible from public property may be recorded, added the limits in N.D.C.C. 12.1-15-02 and 12.1-31-14, added the Eighth Circuit's Ness ruling and the still-undecided question of recording police, and clarified that the one-party rule does not cover recordings made to commit a crime.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Reviewed and approved by an editor
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
North Dakota Century Code
§ 12.1-15-02Interception of wire or oral communications - EavesdroppingIn forcecited in 18 of our articles
A person is guilty of a class C felony if he: Intentionally intercepts any wire or oral communication by use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device; or Intentionally discloses to any other person or intentionally uses the contents of any wire or oral communication, knowing that the information was obtained through the interception of a wire or oral communication. A person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if he secretly loiters about any building with intent to overhear discourse or conversation therein and to repeat or publish the same with intent to vex, annoy, or injure others. It is a defense to a prosecution under subsection 1 that: The actor was authorized by law to intercept, disclose, or use, as the case may be, the wire or oral communication. The actor was: A person acting under color of law to intercept a wire or oral communication, and He was a party to the communication or one of the parties to the communication had given prior consent to such interception.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-24 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ndlegis.gov
Cited in 5 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2023
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):Fargo Women's Health Organization, Inc. v. Larson (1986) applied the subsection 3(c) defense to this section and held that recordings of calls were properly admitted because the callers knew of and consented to the recording of their own conversations.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Fargo Women's Health Organization, Inc. v. Larson (North Dakota Supreme Court 1986, 391 N.W.2d 627)✓A private investigator hired by an abortion clinic recruited callers to phone a rival anti-abortion clinic and recorded the calls with the callers' consent; the court held that consent triggered the defense in section 12.1-15-02(3)(c), so the tapes were admitted.
- Bartnicki v. Vopper (Supreme Court of the United States 2001, 532 U.S. 514)“…Ann. § 30-12-1 (1994); N. C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-287 (1999); N. D. Cent. Code § 12.1-15-02 (1997); Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2933.52…”
- American Civil Liberties Union of Ill. v. Alvarez (Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit 2012, 679 F.3d 583)“…55 § 750.539c; N.D. Cent. Code. Ann. § 12.1-15-02. The Cali- fornia statute is illustrat…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: North Dakota Smart Glasses Recording Laws (2026), North Dakota Recording Laws (2026): One-Party Consent Rules, North Dakota Audio Recording Laws: One-Party Consent Rules and Penalties (2026)
Sources and References
- N.D.C.C. § 12.1-15-02(ndlegis.gov).gov
- ND AG Open Records(attorneygeneral.nd.gov).gov
- ND Open Meetings(ndlegis.gov).gov