Do you need a real estate attorney to close in North Dakota?

What the law requires

We found no North Dakota statute that says a buyer or seller must hire a lawyer for a residential closing. What the texts do say:

• Practicing law needs a license. A person may not practice law or act as an attorney without admission to the North Dakota bar and an annual license. A violation is a class A misdemeanor (§ 27-11-01). The statute does not define which closing tasks count as the practice of law, and we did not find a North Dakota court ruling on that question. If you want to know where that line is drawn, ask an attorney.
• Deeds have formal content. A deed must show the post-office address of each grantee, plus any known street address if the property is inside a city (§ 47-10-07).
• Real estate licensees are regulated separately. A person may not act as a real estate broker or salesperson without a license from the Real Estate Commission (§ 43-23-05). The Commission can discipline licensees but cannot force a licensee to perform under a contract or recover damages; a buyer or seller who wants that has to go to court (Real Estate Commission complaint page).
• Attorneys have their own role in some deals. Chapter 43-23 exempts an attorney handling sales in estate, guardianship, trust, bankruptcy and similar court-supervised matters, or sales arising in the usual course of practicing law (§ 43-23-07).

Who conducts closings in practice: attorney, title company or escrow

The Insurance Department describes the usual players this way: title insurance agents search the public records to document the chain of ownership, may require the buyer to clear any liens before issuing a policy, and may also hold money in escrow and perform closing services for an additional fee. Buyers are free to shop for the title agent; they are not required to use the company a lender or agent suggests.

Title is a limited line of insurance authority in North Dakota. A title license is required to write or market a title insurance policy or be paid for writing one. A resident applicant must be a licensed abstracter or attorney, or have at least 80 hours of training provided by a title insurer (Insurance Department licensing page).

So a North Dakota closing may be handled by a title company’s closing department, by a lender, or by an attorney the parties hire. The statutes we read do not assign it to one of them. Your purchase agreement and lender usually name the closing agent; check who it is and what the closing fee covers. For a line-by-line view of the money, see closing costs in North Dakota and our title insurance guide.

Typical attorney fee

No North Dakota statute, agency or court source we read sets or reports a typical attorney fee for a residential closing, so we do not give a number. Fees are set by each firm. Ask for a flat fee in writing before you hire, and compare it with the closing fee a title company quotes.

When an attorney is worth it anyway

Nothing in the statutes requires a lawyer, but the cost is small next to the price of a home, and these situations carry legal risk:

• the title search finds liens, easements, or a gap in the chain of ownership;
• the seller is an estate, trust or guardian, or the owners are divorcing;
• you want a contract term changed, or you are in a dispute after signing;
• you are in a foreclosure, where court deadlines run;
• you are asked to sign a deed, a contract for deed or a power of attorney you do not fully understand.

Mortgage lending has a related rule: an attorney who negotiates a client’s residential mortgage terms as an ancillary part of representing the client is exempt from loan-originator licensing, unless a lender pays the attorney (§ 13-10-03). To check anyone else in the process, see how to verify a license in North Dakota.