North Dakota Disorderly Conduct and Trespass Laws (2026)

North Dakota's disorderly conduct law, N.D.C.C. 12.1-31-01, is a single section that makes fighting, unreasonable noise, abusive language in public and six other listed acts a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a $1,500 fine, or both, when done with intent to harass, annoy or alarm someone or in reckless disregard of that effect. Criminal trespass under 12.1-22-03 has no numbered degrees: it runs from a $250 noncriminal citation to a class C felony for entering a dwelling, and, since 2025, a felony for unlawfully occupying a residential dwelling.

The rest of North Dakota's public-order law sits in a few nearby sections: a funeral-zone offense, a riot chapter with felony forms, a mask offense, and a rule that no one may be prosecuted solely for public intoxication. For other states, see our guide to disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-18. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers North Dakota's state criminal statutes on disorderly conduct (N.D.C.C. 12.1-31-01 and 12.1-31-01.1), related public-order offenses in chapters 12.1-25, 12.1-31 and nearby sections, and criminal trespass (N.D.C.C. 12.1-22-03 and related hunting and railroad provisions). It does not cover local noise ordinances and quiet hours (see North Dakota noise laws), the civil process for removing squatters (see North Dakota squatters' rights), use of force against an intruder, civil trespass lawsuits, local ordinances, or rules for federal property.

Disorderly conduct: N.D.C.C. 12.1-31-01

The offense has two parts: a mental state and one of nine acts. The mental state is written broadly. Section 12.1-31-01(1) applies to an individual who acts "with intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person or in reckless disregard of the fact that another person is harassed, annoyed, or alarmed by the individual's behavior."

With that mental state, the individual must do one of the following (paraphrased from clauses a through i):

• Fighting or violent behavior (a): engaging in fighting, or in violent, tumultuous or threatening behavior. For assault offenses, see North Dakota assault laws.
• Noise (b): making unreasonable noise. Quiet hours and decibel rules are local; see North Dakota noise laws.
• Language and exposure in public (c): in a public place, using abusive or obscene language, knowingly exposing one's genitals or anus, or making an obscene gesture.
• Obstruction (d): obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic or the use of a public facility.
• Following (e): persistently following a person in or about a public place.
• Sexual solicitation while loitering (f): soliciting sexual contact while loitering in a public place for that purpose.
• Hazardous conditions (g): creating "a hazardous, physically offensive, or seriously alarming condition by any act that serves no legitimate purpose."
• Harassing conduct (h): "intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures that are intended to adversely affect the safety, security, or privacy of another person."
• Optical devices and cameras (i): using a fixed optical device to view through someone's window, or using a surveillance camera to capture an image from another person's dwelling or accessory structure.

The camera clause has a built-in grace period. The statute says "an individual using a surveillance camera has seven days from notice by a law enforcement officer to direct or shield the camera so as to not capture an image from another person's dwelling or accessory structure before there is an offense."

Protected activity

Section 12.1-31-01(2) reads: "This section does not apply to constitutionally protected activity. If an individual claims to have been engaged in a constitutionally protected activity, the court shall determine the validity of the claim as a matter of law and, if found valid, shall exclude evidence of the activity."

The penalty

Disorderly conduct is a class B misdemeanor in every form. Under N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-01(6), a class B misdemeanor carries "a maximum penalty of thirty days' imprisonment, a fine of one thousand five hundred dollars, or both." Section 12.1-31-01 contains no felony form and no higher grade for repeat offenses.

Disorderly conduct at a funeral: 12.1-31-01.1

A separate section protects funerals. It is an offense to engage, knowing a funeral site exists, "in any loud singing, playing of music, chanting, whistling, yelling, or noisemaking within one thousand feet [300.48 meters] of any ingress or egress of that funeral site if the volume ... is likely to be audible at and disturbing to the funeral site." It is equally an offense to display, within the same 1,000 feet, "any visual images that convey fighting words or actual or veiled threats against any other individual."

A "funeral site" includes a church, synagogue, mosque, funeral home, mortuary, cemetery, gravesite, mausoleum "or other place at which a funeral is conducted or is scheduled to be conducted within the next hour or has been conducted within the last hour."

Disorderly conduct at a funeral is a class B misdemeanor. "A second or subsequent violation of this section is a class A misdemeanor," which carries up to 360 days, a $3,000 fine, or both (12.1-32-01(5)).

Related public-order offenses in North Dakota

Public intoxication

North Dakota repealed its public intoxication offense in 1969 (S.L. 1969, ch. 91), and section 5-01-05.2 now says: "No person may be prosecuted in any court solely for public intoxication." Under 5-01-05.1(2), "A peace officer may take any apparently intoxicated individual to the individual's home, to a local hospital, to a detoxification center, or, whenever that individual constitutes a danger to that individual or others, to a jail." The old disturbing-the-peace provision in the same chapter, 5-01-05.3, was repealed in 1975. The bar applies to prosecution "solely" for public intoxication.

Riot and refusing a dispersal order (chapter 12.1-25)

A "riot" is "a public disturbance involving an assemblage of five or more persons which by tumultuous and violent conduct creates grave danger of damage or injury to property or persons or substantially obstructs law enforcement or other government function" (12.1-25-01).

• Inciting a riot (12.1-25-01): inciting or urging five or more people to riot, or commanding or directing them in furtherance of it. It is a class C felony, and a class B felony "if it is under subdivision b of subsection 1 or the riot involves one hundred or more persons."
• Arming rioters (12.1-25-02): knowingly supplying a firearm, dangerous weapon or destructive device for use in a riot, teaching someone to prepare or use one with that intent, or being knowingly armed with one while engaging in a riot. Class B felony.
• Engaging in a riot (12.1-25-03): class A misdemeanor. "Mere presence at a riot is not an offense under this section."
• Disobeying a public safety order (12.1-25-04): during a riot, or when one is immediately impending, disobeying "a reasonable public safety order to move, disperse, or refrain from specified activities in the immediate vicinity of the riot." Class A misdemeanor. The order must come from the senior law enforcement official on the scene.
• Criminal mischief during a riot (12.1-21-05(2)(c)): property damage committed "while engaged in a riot" is a class C felony.

Chapters 12.1-25 and 12.1-31 contain no separate unlawful-assembly, affray or breach-of-the-peace offense; the dispersal offense is 12.1-25-04, and the only loitering reference in chapter 12.1-31 is clause (f) of the disorderly conduct section.

Masks, meetings and schools

• Masks (12.1-31-15): wearing a face covering with intent to intimidate, to evade identification during an offense, or, among the listed forms, "to conceal the identity of the individual while congregating in a public place with other individuals wearing a mask, hood, or other device." The congregating clause does not apply to "public gatherings to celebrate Halloween, a masquerade, or other similar celebration." Class A misdemeanor.
• Hindering an official proceeding (12.1-10-04): hindering an official proceeding "by noise or violent or tumultuous behavior or disturbance" is a class A misdemeanor if intentional and a class B misdemeanor if reckless.
• Disturbing a public school (15.1-06-16): willfully disturbing a public school in session, willfully interfering with its order or management "by an act of violence, boisterous conduct, or threatening language," or rebuking, insulting or threatening a teacher in the presence of a student. Class B misdemeanor.

False alarms, false reports and threats

• False fire alarm (12.1-21-09): falsely sounding a fire alarm in a public place so as to endanger a person or property. Class B misdemeanor; it is not an offense if the person reasonably believed there was a fire.
• False report to law enforcement (12.1-11-03): knowingly giving false information that may interfere with an investigation or materially mislead an officer, or falsely reporting "the occurrence of a crime of violence or other incident calling for an emergency response when that individual knows the incident did not occur." Class A misdemeanor.
• Misusing 911 (12.1-17-07(5)): contacting a 911 line, public safety answering point or emergency responder communication system with intent to annoy or harass another person or a public safety agency, or making "a false report to a public safety agency." Class A misdemeanor, and on conviction the person is also liable for "all costs incurred by any unnecessary emergency response."
• Terrorizing (12.1-17-04): with intent to place someone in fear for safety, to cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly or public transportation facility, or "otherwise to cause serious disruption or public inconvenience," or in reckless disregard of that risk, threatening a crime of violence or act dangerous to human life, or knowingly falsely reporting that such a danger is imminent. Class C felony.

Emergency orders

Under N.D.C.C. 37-17.1-05(8), willfully violating an executive order or proclamation issued by the governor under the state's emergency chapter is an infraction, which carries a fine of up to $1,000 (12.1-32-01(7)). A person convicted at least twice of the same infraction within the year before may be sentenced as for a class B misdemeanor (12.1-32-01(7)). Willfully violating a burning restriction set by a local emergency order or proclamation is a class B misdemeanor (37-17.1-10.1).

Criminal trespass in North Dakota: N.D.C.C. 12.1-22-03

North Dakota puts nearly all criminal trespass into one section, graded by the kind of place and the kind of notice. Most forms require that the person know "the individual is not licensed or privileged" to enter or remain.

Being told to leave, and what counts as notice

Two rules cover most everyday situations:

• Refusing to leave (12.1-22-03(6)): "An individual is guilty of a class B misdemeanor if that individual remains upon the property of another after being requested to leave the property by a duly authorized individual." A second or subsequent offense within two years is a class A misdemeanor.
• Posted or noticed places (12.1-22-03(4)): entering or remaining, knowing one is not licensed or privileged, in a place "as to which notice against trespass is given by actual communication to the actor by the owner or an individual authorized by the owner or by posting in a manner reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders" is a class B misdemeanor, and a class A misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense within two years. "The name of the person posting the premises must appear on each sign in legible characters."

The notice rule allows for imperfect posting. Under 12.1-22-03(4)(b), a person may be found guilty "if the owner or individual authorized by the owner substantially complied with subdivision a and notice against trespass is clear from the circumstances."

North Dakota's trespass section and its hunting posting rules (20.1-01-17) contain no paint-mark provision; notice comes from signs, actual communication or, for hunting, the online posting database described below.

Dwellings and highly secured premises: a felony

Under 12.1-22-03(1), "An individual is guilty of a class C felony if, knowing the individual is not licensed or privileged to do so, the individual enters or remains in a dwelling or in highly secured premises." A class C felony carries up to 5 years, a $10,000 fine, or both (12.1-32-01(4)).

For this chapter, a "dwelling" means "real property or residential property, including a building, structure, or part of a building or structure, used or intended to be used as a home or residence," and "highly secured premises" means "any place which is continuously guarded and where display of visible identification is required of persons while they are on the premises" (12.1-22-06).

Occupying a residential dwelling (2025 House Bill 1305)

Section 12.1-22-03(2) now reads: "An individual who unlawfully detains, occupies, or trespasses upon a residential dwelling is guilty of a class C felony for the first offense and a class B felony for a second or subsequent offense if the second or subsequent offense occurred at the same residential dwelling as the first offense." A class B felony carries up to 10 years, a $20,000 fine, or both (12.1-32-01(3)). The civil side of removing an occupant is covered on our North Dakota squatters' rights page.

Buildings, structures and fenced land

Under 12.1-22-03(3), knowingly entering or remaining without license or privilege in "any building, occupied structure, or storage structure, or separately secured or occupied portion thereof," or in "any place enclosed by a fence or otherwise enclosed as manifestly to exclude intruders," is a class A misdemeanor: up to 360 days, $3,000, or both.

The fenced-place clause does not apply to "a licensed hunter or angler who is lawfully hunting or fishing," and for that clause a "fence" means "a permanent structure on nonurban, private property which is maintained and capable of containing livestock." An "occupied structure" is a structure or vehicle where a person lives or carries on business, or which is used for overnight accommodation, and it counts as occupied "regardless of whether a person is actually present" (12.1-22-06(4)).

The $250 noncriminal citation

For posted or fenced land, an officer has a noncriminal option. Section 12.1-22-03(5)(a) provides: "A peace officer may cite an individual who, knowing the individual is not licensed or privileged to do so, entered or remained in a place as to which notice against trespass is given by posting in a manner reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders or a place enclosed by a fence as defined in subsection 2, with a noncriminal offense. An individual cited under this subsection may not be prosecuted under subsection 2 or 3 for the same offense."

The subsection numbers in that text were not updated when House Bill 1305 renumbered the section in 2025: the fence definition now sits in subsection 3 and the posted-place offense in subsection 4.

The fine "is two hundred fifty dollars for each violation," and the officer "may not take the individual into custody or require the individual to proceed with the peace officer to any other location for the purpose of posting bond."

Hunting on posted land

The wildlife title has its own posting and trespass rules:

• Posting (20.1-01-17): land is posted for hunting by signs that carry the poster's name, are readable from outside the land and are placed "not more than eight hundred eighty yards [804.68 meters] apart," or by designation in a state-authorized online database. For land entirely enclosed by a fence, signs at all gates post all the enclosed land.
• Hunting without permission (20.1-01-18): "No person may hunt or pursue game, or enter for those purposes, upon legally posted land belonging to another without first obtaining the permission of the person legally entitled to grant the same." Trapping protected fur-bearers on private land requires the owner's or operator's written permission. A violation is a class B misdemeanor, and a class A misdemeanor for a subsequent offense within two years. On a conviction the court must also suspend the person's hunting, fishing and trapping privileges for at least one year, two years for a second conviction and three years for a third or later one (20.1-01-26).
• Near buildings and in crops (20.1-01-21, 20.1-01-22): hunting or pursuing game on another's premises within 440 yards of an occupied building without the occupant's consent, or in unharvested cereal or oilseed crops without the owner's or tenant's permission, is a class B misdemeanor under the chapter's general penalty (20.1-01-01).
• Firearms as evidence (20.1-01-20): entering legally posted land with a firearm without permission "is prima facie evidence the person entered to hunt or pursue game."

Other special trespass offenses

• Vehicles, vessels and aircraft (12.1-22-04): knowingly and without license or privilege, forcibly entering a vehicle, vessel or aircraft, entering one with intent to commit a crime, or concealing oneself in one with that intent. Class C felony; class B felony if the person is armed with a firearm, destructive device or other weapon.
• Stowing away (12.1-22-05): knowing one is not licensed or privileged to do so, surreptitiously remaining aboard a vehicle, train, vessel or aircraft with intent to obtain transportation. Class A misdemeanor.
• Entering to peep or record (12.1-31-14): with intent to intrude on another's privacy, entering another's property and surreptitiously peeping into a house or dwelling, or installing or using a device there to observe or record events from it, is a class B misdemeanor. Entering another's property and installing an unattended wildlife camera without the owner's written permission and an identifying tag is an infraction.
• Railroad cars (49-10.1-12): entering, riding or securing passage on a railroad car or engine, other than a passenger car, to get a ride without paying. Class B misdemeanor.
• Critical infrastructure (12.1-21-06): this is a tampering and damage offense rather than a trespass offense. Substantially interrupting or impairing a listed facility, such as a refinery, pipeline, railroad track or oil and gas production site, by tampering, damaging or impeding is a class C felony if intentional and a class A misdemeanor if knowing or reckless. The section "may not be construed to prevent or prohibit lawful assembly and peaceful and orderly petition for the redress of grievances."

Section 12.1-22-03(7) provides that the trespass section "does not apply to a peace officer in the course of discharging the peace officer's official duties."

Trespass is different from burglary. Burglary under 12.1-22-02 requires willfully entering or surreptitiously remaining in a building or occupied structure that is not open to the public "with intent to commit a crime therein." Questions about force against an intruder are covered on our North Dakota self-defense laws page.

North Dakota disorderly conduct and trespass penalties at a glance

The maximum penalty for each class is set by N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-01, which lists every felony, misdemeanor and infraction class. For the full table and how sentencing works, see North Dakota felony and misdemeanor classes.

Recent changes

2025 House Bill 1305. The 69th Legislative Assembly passed HB 1305, "AN ACT to amend and reenact section 12.1-22-03 and subsection 1 of section 12.1-22-06 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to criminal trespass; and to provide a penalty." It passed the House 89-0 and the Senate 47-0, was signed by the Governor on April 15, 2025, and was filed with the Secretary of State on April 17, 2025. It took effect August 1, 2025. The act added the residential-dwelling felony now in 12.1-22-03(2), renumbered the notice, citation, refusing-to-leave and peace-officer paragraphs as subsections 4 through 7, and gave "dwelling" its own definition in 12.1-22-06(1).

Related North Dakota pages

• Disorderly conduct and trespass laws by state
• North Dakota noise laws
• North Dakota felony and misdemeanor classes
• North Dakota squatters' rights
• North Dakota self-defense laws
• North Dakota expungement laws

This article provides general legal information about North Dakota's disorderly conduct, public-order and criminal trespass statutes as of 2026-10-18. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in North Dakota.

Last updated: 2026-10-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is disorderly conduct in North Dakota?

Under N.D.C.C. 12.1-31-01, disorderly conduct is any of nine listed acts, such as fighting, unreasonable noise, abusive or obscene language in a public place, obstructing traffic or persistently following someone, done with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another person or in reckless disregard that the person is harassed, annoyed or alarmed.

Is disorderly conduct a misdemeanor in North Dakota?

Yes. Section 12.1-31-01 makes it a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,500, or both (N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-01(6)). The section has no felony or repeat-offense form.

Can you get disorderly conduct for swearing in North Dakota?

Clause (c) of 12.1-31-01(1) covers using abusive or obscene language or making an obscene gesture in a public place, but only with intent to harass, annoy or alarm or in reckless disregard of that effect. The section does not apply to constitutionally protected activity, and a court decides any such claim as a matter of law.

Is public intoxication illegal in North Dakota?

No one may be prosecuted in any court solely for public intoxication (N.D.C.C. 5-01-05.2); the old public intoxication offense was repealed in 1969. A peace officer may take an apparently intoxicated person home, to a hospital or detoxification center, or to jail when the person is a danger to self or others (5-01-05.1(2)).

Is trespassing a felony in North Dakota?

It can be. Knowingly entering or remaining in a dwelling or highly secured premises is a class C felony (12.1-22-03(1)), and unlawfully detaining, occupying or trespassing upon a residential dwelling is a class C felony, or a class B felony for a repeat offense at the same dwelling (12.1-22-03(2)). Other trespass forms are misdemeanors or a $250 noncriminal citation.

What are the degrees of criminal trespass in North Dakota?

Section 12.1-22-03 has no numbered degrees. It grades by place and notice: dwelling or highly secured premises (class C felony), residential dwelling occupation (class C felony, class B on a repeat at the same dwelling), buildings, structures and fenced places (class A misdemeanor), and posted or noticed places or refusing to leave (class B misdemeanor, class A on a repeat within two years).

Does North Dakota have a purple paint law?

Section 12.1-22-03 and the hunting posting rules in 20.1-01-17 contain no paint-mark provision. Notice is given by actual communication or by posting likely to come to intruders' attention, with the poster's name legible on each sign.

What happens if a store or owner tells me to leave in North Dakota?

Under N.D.C.C. 12.1-22-03(6), remaining on another's property after a duly authorized individual asks you to leave is a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days and $1,500. A second or subsequent offense within two years is a class A misdemeanor.

Is squatting a crime in North Dakota?

Since August 1, 2025 (House Bill 1305), an individual who unlawfully detains, occupies or trespasses upon a residential dwelling is guilty of a class C felony for a first offense, and a class B felony for a second or subsequent offense at the same residential dwelling (N.D.C.C. 12.1-22-03(2)).