Guidelines
for Heirfinders Doing Business in North Dakota
- You must be
licensed as a private investigator by the North
Dakota Board of Private Investigators if you are
searching for an owner of lost property. You may
contact the following address for more information on
obtaining a license: ND Private Investigator and Security
Board, 513 East Bismarck Expressway - Suite 5, Bismarck, ND 58504 (Phone: 1-701-222-3063).
- A list of owners may be
purchased for $150.00 plus $5.00 postage and handling. This list is provided on CD-Rom in PDF format.
- The list includes all property held by the Unclaimed Property Division as of the date the list is requested.
It includes the owner’s name, last known address, who reported the property, the date of last activity, and
type of property. It does not include amounts. The Division assumes no responsibility to an agent for owners
that have been paid or are in the process of claiming their property.
- The list is also available for
public inspection at the Land Department (1707 N 9th St.,
Bismarck, ND).
- A Power of Attorney will
be honored only to the extent that it clearly gives the
agent the authority to complete the claim form. Otherwise, the
Division will not honor a Power of Attorney unless the
Administrator finds it in the best interest of the property owner
to do so.
- When an agent is submitting a claim for payment on behalf
of an owner, the agent must include a copy of their contract with
the owner as part of the claim. Once a claim is approved, the entire
payment will be sent directly to the owner and a copy of the
correspondence forwarded to the agent.
- Pursuant to North Dakota Century Code 47-30.1-35(2), heirfinder fees may not exceed ten
percent of the amount recovered. Heirfinder Contracts are only enforceable if property has been in custody of ND Unclaimed Property
for at least 24 months.
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