Address & Name Changes With the North Dakota DOT

By Javier Marín, Editor·Last reviewed September 2026·How we check this

North Dakota law requires drivers to notify the Department of Transportation (NDDOT) of an address change within 10 days of moving — and the same window applies to a legal name change after marriage, divorce, or court order. With the Bakken oil boom keeping ND's population fluid, NDDOT has spent the last decade building one of the more efficient online address-update systems in the country.

The good news for North Dakotans is that the address change is free, takes about three minutes through the ND DMV Now portal, and updates both your driver license and your vehicle registration in the same submission. Name changes still require an in-person visit to a Driver License Division office with the underlying legal document, but the cost is modest and the new card arrives in two weeks.

Updating your address with NDDOT

Three paths to file an address change:

Online (ND DMV Now) — log into the portal at the NDDOT website with your driver license number, date of birth, and ZIP code. Update the address for license and registration in a single transaction. Free, takes 3-5 minutes, with an electronic confirmation. A printed sticker for the license back is mailed within 7-10 business days.
By mail — submit Form SFN-2475 with the new address checked. No fee for an address-only change. Allow three weeks for processing.
In person — required only when the online portal flags an issue or when you're updating documents for a REAL ID upgrade. Bring your current license and one residency document.

Vehicle registration address updates can be done at any of the 53 county treasurer offices in person, or online through ND DMV Now. The county treasurers also handle vehicle registration renewals, so many drivers batch the address change with renewal time to avoid an extra step.

Name changes after marriage, divorce, or court order

Name changes on a North Dakota license require an in-person visit to one of the 12 NDDOT Driver License Division offices. Bring:

A certified marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order showing the legal name change.
Your current ND driver license.
An updated Social Security card showing the new name. The DMV verifies your name against the SSA database in real time; if SSA still has the old name, the visit is wasted.
One proof of North Dakota residency (utility bill, bank statement, lease).
The duplicate license fee — same as the license renewal fee schedule.

The new license card is mailed within two weeks. The license number itself does not change.

Vehicle title name changes

To update the name on a North Dakota vehicle title, file Form SFN-2872 (Application for Certificate of Title) with the certified legal document attached. The fee is $5 plus the standard duplicate-title processing. File at any county treasurer or by mail to NDDOT Motor Vehicle Division in Bismarck.

Like with most states, owners often wait until the next title transfer to update the name. But if you plan to sell the vehicle in the next two years, update proactively — buyers' paperwork can stall when the seller's name on the title doesn't match their current driver license.

Address Confidentiality Program

North Dakota participates in the Address Confidentiality Program (ACP) administered by the Office of Attorney General. Survivors of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault can apply to use a substitute address with NDDOT and other state agencies. Apply directly to the AG's office, not to NDDOT — but the resulting substitute address flows through to your license and registration once enrolled.

For oil-field and seasonal workers

The Bakken oil boom drew tens of thousands of out-of-state workers to western North Dakota counties (Williams, McKenzie, Mountrail, Dunn, Stark). Workers who maintain a permanent residence in another state but live temporarily in ND for work can keep their out-of-state license and registration, but should expect to update if their stay exceeds 90 days. Truck drivers under federal CDL rules follow separate domicile-establishment rules that are stricter than the standard residency tests.

Common mistakes

Updating the SSA after the DMV. SSA must be updated first; otherwise the name-change attempt at the DMV fails verification.
Forgetting the vehicle title. A title in your old name complicates a future sale.
Skipping insurance. Your North Dakota auto insurance carrier needs the address update too — ND insurance prices vary noticeably by county and ZIP.
Driving past the 10-day window. A traffic stop with an outdated address can produce a citation under N.D.C.C. § 39-06-20.