North Dakota Identity Theft Laws: N.D.C.C. 12.1-23-11 Penalties Explained

North Dakota's identity theft statute, N.D.C.C. § 12.1-23-11, splits the offense into two tracks: conduct aimed at obtaining money, credit, or other value using someone else's information, and conduct that misuses someone else's information without any value ever changing hands, such as interfering with their employment or a contract. The two tracks carry different penalty structures, and North Dakota gives prosecutors 6 years from a victim's discovery of the offense to bring charges.

This article addresses North Dakota's identity theft statute and the North Dakota Attorney General's consumer resources, together with the federal layer of protections that applies nationwide. It does not cover every state's law; see the identity theft laws hub for other states.

North Dakota's Identity Theft Statute: N.D.C.C. § 12.1-23-11

North Dakota's identity theft law protects 19 categories of personal identifying information, including a person's name, address, phone number, driver's license number, Social Security number, employer ID, mother's maiden name, financial account numbers, birth, death, and marriage certificate information, health-insurance ID, photo ID card information, digital signature, photograph or image, email address, username and password, payment-card information, biometric data, and any other number, document, or piece of information usable to access financial records.

The statute then splits prohibited conduct into two paragraphs. The first covers obtaining, attempting to obtain, transferring, recording, or using someone else's personal identifying information, without their authorization or consent, to obtain credit, money, goods, services, or anything else of value. The second covers using or attempting to use that information, without authorization, to interfere with or initiate a contract or service for someone else, obtain or continue employment, gain access to another person's personal identifying information, or commit another offense under North Dakota law, and it applies regardless of whether the offense actually caused any economic loss.

Penalties

The two tracks carry different penalty structures. For the value-obtaining conduct, a violation is a Class B felony if the value obtained exceeds $1,000, and otherwise a Class C felony. A second or subsequent offense under this paragraph is a Class A felony, which under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-32-01 carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, a $20,000 fine, or both. For the non-value-based conduct, such as interfering with someone's employment or a contract using their stolen information, a first offense is a Class A misdemeanor, and a second or subsequent offense is a Class C felony.

North Dakota counts prior convictions broadly toward the second-or-subsequent-offense enhancement: a prior conviction under this same statute, an equivalent law of another state, or an equivalent federal law all count. Prosecution must begin within 6 years of the date the victim discovers the facts constituting the violation, a longer window than many crimes carry, reflecting how long identity theft can go undetected.

Notably, the full text of N.D.C.C. § 12.1-23-11, read directly from the state's official code, contains no restitution provision specific to identity theft. That is different from several neighboring states' identity theft statutes, which build restitution directly into the offense. North Dakota's general felony-sentencing framework may still authorize a court to order restitution as a matter of ordinary criminal procedure, but this article did not independently confirm that general provision's application to identity theft convictions specifically, so do not assume restitution is automatic without asking the prosecutor or a North Dakota attorney handling your case.

North Dakota Attorney General Resources

The North Dakota Attorney General's Consumer Protection division maintains a dedicated identity theft reporting resource, reachable at (701) 328-3404, or 1-800-472-2600 toll-free within the state. The office's guidance explains free 1-year fraud alerts, describes a credit freeze as blocking lenders and credit card companies from accessing your personal identifying and credit information so a thief cannot open new accounts, and points to free weekly credit reports from the three major bureaus. The office also links directly to IdentityTheft.gov for the federal reporting process.

The Attorney General's consumer page describes fraud alerts and credit freezes in general consumer terms rather than citing the North Dakota statutes that create those rights. Those statutes are set out in the next section.

North Dakota's Own Fraud Alert, Freeze, and Victim Remedies

North Dakota's protections are not limited to the criminal statute. Two chapters of the Century Code give consumers and identity theft victims rights they can exercise directly against credit reporting agencies and in court.

N.D.C.C. ch. 51-31 covers fraud alerts and victim remedies. Under § 51-31-02, a consumer who asserts a good faith suspicion that they have been or are about to become a victim of fraud or identity theft can require a consumer reporting agency that holds a file on them to place a fraud alert, and the agency must keep that alert for at least 90 days. Section 51-31-03 provides an extended alert that lasts 7 years and, for 5 years, also requires the agency to exclude the consumer from prescreened credit and insurance solicitation lists.

Section 51-31-04 is the provision most victims never hear about. It lets an individual who has learned or reasonably suspects that their personal identifying information was unlawfully used initiate a law enforcement investigation by contacting the agency with jurisdiction over their own residence, or any other jurisdiction where part of the offense occurred. That agency must take a report of the matter, give the individual a copy of the report, and begin an investigation of the facts. The same section lets a victim petition the district court in the county where they live, or where the identity theft is alleged to have occurred, for an expedited judicial determination of factual innocence. That route is available when the perpetrator was arrested, cited, or convicted of a crime under the victim's identity, when a criminal complaint was filed against the perpetrator in the victim's name, or when the victim's identity has been mistakenly associated with a record of criminal conviction. If the court finds the victim factually innocent, it issues an order certifying that determination, and it may order the victim's name and associated identifying information in publicly accessible court records deleted, sealed, or labeled to show the data is impersonated.

N.D.C.C. ch. 51-33 governs security freezes. Section 51-33-02 gives a consumer the right to place a freeze on their credit file by mail, by telephone with proper identification, or through a secure electronic connection where the agency makes one available, and § 51-33-03 requires the agency to place the freeze no later than 3 business days after a request with proper identification. Later sections cover temporarily lifting or permanently removing a freeze (§ 51-33-04), the notice of rights an agency must provide (§ 51-33-12), and private enforcement (§ 51-33-13): a consumer whose credit file is erroneously released can sue for injunctive relief, the greater of actual damages or $2,000 in civil penalties for each violation, and reasonable expenses, court costs, investigative costs, and attorney's fees. The attorney general may enforce both chapters, and a violation of ch. 51-31 also counts as a violation of North Dakota's consumer fraud law, ch. 51-15.

Neither chapter contains a minor or protected-consumer freeze section. For a child's credit file, the federal protected-consumer freeze described below is the operative right.

Federal Protections That Also Apply in North Dakota

On top of the North Dakota chapters above, federal law adds protections that apply in every state. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1, every consumer is entitled to a free security freeze and free fraud alerts from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies, a 1-year initial alert and, with a copy of an FTC Identity Theft Report, a 7-year extended alert requiring a potential creditor to actually contact you before extending credit, plus a federal Protected Consumer Freeze provision letting a parent, guardian, or person with valid power of attorney freeze a minor's credit file. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2, a victim with an FTC Identity Theft Report can get fraudulent information blocked from their credit report within 4 business days of the credit reporting agency receiving the required documentation.

Where the two layers set different terms, the more protective one is what you get in practice. The federal initial fraud alert runs a full year against North Dakota's 90-day statutory floor, and the federal freeze is free nationwide.

What To Do If You're a Victim of Identity Theft in North Dakota

Start at IdentityTheft.gov to create an FTC Identity Theft Report and a personalized recovery plan. Contact the North Dakota Attorney General's Consumer Protection division at (701) 328-3404 or 1-800-472-2600 to report the incident and get state-level guidance. Place a security freeze and, if needed, a fraud alert with each of the three credit bureaus, using both your federal rights and the North Dakota freeze and alert statutes described above.

File a report with local law enforcement as well. Under N.D.C.C. § 51-31-04 you can do that through the agency with jurisdiction over your own residence, not only the place where the thief acted, and that agency must take the report, give you a copy, and open an investigation. Keep that copy: a police report or case number is what many businesses and credit bureaus ask for before they will act. If someone was arrested, cited, charged, or convicted under your name, or your identity has been mistakenly attached to a conviction record, you can petition the district court where you live for an expedited determination of factual innocence and, if it is granted, an order sealing or labeling the impersonated records.

Information last verified on 2026-09-02, drawn from the official North Dakota Legislative Council's full chapter text of N.D.C.C. § 12.1-23-11, § 12.1-32-01, chapter 51-31, and chapter 51-33, the North Dakota Attorney General's consumer identity theft resource, and federal law under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681c-1 and 1681c-2. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer. Whether North Dakota's general felony-restitution statute applies to base identity theft convictions was not independently confirmed at publication.

Related Resources

• Identity Theft Laws: Federal Rules and State Penalties
• How to Report Identity Theft
• Credit Freeze vs. Fraud Alert
• Child Identity Theft
• Tax Identity Theft: When to File IRS Form 14039

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Last updated: 2026-09-02.