Guides · Updated September 1, 2026
North Dakota Sex Offender Registry: How to Search
Search North Dakota's sex offender registry by name or address and see what each risk label actually means before you act on it.
North Dakota's sex offender registry lives at sexoffender.nd.gov, and it gives you three ways to search: by first name, by last name, or by entering an address and picking a radius to see who's registered nearby. That location search also plots results on a map, which is useful when you know a neighborhood or a workplace but not an exact address.
This covers North Dakota only. If the person you're checking has lived, worked, or gone to school in another state, that history won't show up in a North Dakota search alone, so the national public registry is worth checking too before you treat the picture as complete.
What North Dakota's registry classification labels mean
A search result shows one of these labels next to a person's name. Here's what North Dakota's Risk Assessment and Community Notification Guidelines say each label means, so you know what it does and doesn't tell you.
| Label on the result | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|
| High | Statistically the most likely to commit another sexual offense. High-risk offenders have typically committed more than one offense, refused treatment, or shown behavior tied to elevated risk. | North Dakota Attorney General's Risk Assessment and Community Notification Guidelines (N.D.C.C. § 12.1-32-15) |
| Moderate | Scores higher than a low-risk offender on the state's risk-assessment tools, but isn't considered enough of a threat to notify the whole community. Notification goes only to people who fit a similar victim profile. | North Dakota Attorney General's Risk Assessment and Community Notification Guidelines (N.D.C.C. § 12.1-32-15) |
| Low | Statistically the least likely to commit another sexual offense. Low-risk offenders have typically committed one offense, completed treatment, or gone years without reoffending. | North Dakota Attorney General's Risk Assessment and Community Notification Guidelines (N.D.C.C. § 12.1-32-15) |
| Undetermined | A risk level hasn't been assigned yet, often because the offender just arrived from another state or the federal system and officials are still gathering records for the required hearing. | North Dakota Attorney General's Risk Assessment and Community Notification Guidelines (N.D.C.C. § 12.1-32-15) |
How to search the registry and read a result
North Dakota's registry gives you two ways to search: a name lookup, or a location search that maps offenders within a radius you choose. Both live on the same state site, sexoffender.nd.gov. Pick the one that matches what you already know about the person you're checking.
Running a name search when the spelling is uncertain
If you only have a first name, or you're not sure how a last name is spelled, search the fields separately instead of typing both at once and hoping for an exact match. The state also posts a printable list of every registered offender, organized by city, county, or the entire state, which is a useful backup when a nickname or an unusual spelling doesn't turn up anything through the search box.
Searching by address and radius
Enter a home, school, or workplace address and set a search radius, and the site's "Offenders Near Me" tool returns high-risk and lifetime registrants living within that radius, plotted as pins on a map you can zoom in and out of, according to the North Dakota Attorney General's office. Hover over a pin to see the name and address, then click it to open the offender's detail page, which includes a photo, offense description, and sentencing information. That map only shows high-risk and lifetime registrants, so if you want to check for moderate- or low-risk offenders near that address, run a name search instead or pull up the printable list organized by city, county, or the whole state.
Who updates the registry, and how current it is
Local police and sheriff's departments handle fingerprinting, photographing, and the registration paperwork. Courts, correctional facilities, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are responsible for telling offenders they need to register in the first place. Everything gets forwarded to the Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which keeps the statewide file current. McKenzie County's sheriff's office describes the result plainly: the site is "updated in real time, all day every day, as changes and updates are entered."
Why one person can be on more than one registry
North Dakota law requires registration in every jurisdiction where someone lives, works, or attends school. Someone who lives in a neighboring state but takes a job or classes in North Dakota has to register here too, and the same rule applies in reverse if he moves out of North Dakota for work or school. That's why states such as Arizona and Colorado keep separate lookups: a clear result in one state doesn't confirm anything about another. The Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, the federal government's nationwide registry, lets you search one name across every state at once when someone has ties to more than one place.
What a clear or empty result settles
A name search that comes back empty means the site displayed no match for the name you entered, not that North Dakota has confirmed the person has no record. Before you treat that as settled, double-check the spelling, try a maiden name or known alias, and make sure you're searching the identifiers you actually have.
If he's lived in other states, remember this search only covers North Dakota, so the same result elsewhere isn't guaranteed, and checking the original court or agency records is the only way to confirm further. If he's lived in a few different states, or the name search turns up nothing but the questions haven't gone away, TheTeaReport can run a private report that checks registry sources alongside criminal-record leads, identity details, and public profiles, so you aren't piecing together five different state sites on your own.
Sources and further reading
- North Dakota Sex Offender Registry (sexoffender.nd.gov): The official state registry, searchable by first name, last name, or address radius, with the map-based location search and email notification signup.
- North Dakota Attorney General, Sex Offenders fact sheet: The Attorney General's own explanation of the registry, including how the address radius and map search work and how often address information gets verified.
- Dunn County offender risk level descriptions: Publishes the state's official definitions for the high, moderate, low, and undetermined classifications shown on a search result.
- Morton County Sheriff's Office, registered offenders: County sheriff's page on local registration procedure and a link to search the statewide list by county.
- McKenzie County offender list: County sheriff's resource page explaining registration rules, risk levels, and how current the site stays.
Questions about North Dakota's sex offender registry search
How often is North Dakota's sex offender registry updated?
McKenzie County's sheriff's office describes the site as updated in real time as changes come in.
Can a high-risk offender live near a school in North Dakota?
No. State rules bar a high-risk offender from living within 500 feet of a public or private preschool, elementary, middle, or high school, according to McKenzie County's sheriff's office. A low- or moderate-risk offender can live near a school, park, or daycare unless a probation condition says otherwise.
What if the person I'm checking has lived in other states?
A North Dakota search only covers people registered in North Dakota. If he's lived, worked, or gone to school elsewhere, use the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website at nsopw.gov, a Department of Justice hub that links out to each state's official registry so you can check other states from one place instead of hunting down each site yourself.
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