North Dakota (ND)
On the runs: Northern Plains to Texas holding to California
Record held: 30 fields — 18 published, 12 not published / not yet checked.
This is a thin record because the state publishes little of this layer. What it publishes is below; every field it does not publish is marked plainly instead of filled in. A short page with honest gaps is the right page for this state.
Regulator
StateNorth Dakota
RegulatorNorth Dakota Department of Agriculture — Apiary Program
Regulator typeDepartment of agriculture division (dept-of-agriculture-division)
Regulator contactSamantha Brunner, North Dakota Department of Agriculture (the Apiary page names her as the contact for anyone having difficulty with hives) • 701-328-4765 • Mailing/physical address: North Dakota Dept of Agriculture, 600 E Boulevard Ave Dept 602, Bismarck ND 58505-0020 (NDDA Information for Beekeepers page)
Instruments
Registration (beekeepers-license · issued by the destination side)
Fee$5 (per-year) — The fee for a beekeeper's license is five dollars (NDCC § 4.1-16-06). In addition to the license fee, an applicant must submit a colony assessment in an amount equal to fifteen cents multiplied by the maximum number of colonies listed in the application (NDCC § 4.1-16-07).
Validity windowA beekeeper's license issued under this chapter expires on December thirty-first and is not transferable (NDCC § 4.1-16-04). If bees leave the state for a portion of the year, the license must be renewed before hives are brought back into the state; if hives are in state year-round, the license should be renewed prior to January 1st (NDDA Apiary page).
Notice deadlineBefore placing or locating hives in this state, a beekeeper shall notify the agriculture commissioner of the location of each apiary — to the nearest section, quarter section, township, and range (or, in a city, the lot, block, and addition), or using satellite navigation system coordinates — and the name of the person who owns or leases the property on which the apiary is located; the notification may be in written or electronic format (NDCC § 4.1-16-08).
Lead timeBeekeeping License Applications are due before entry into the state. NDDA attempts to issue licenses quickly; applicants should plan on submitting the application at least 2 weeks prior to the estimated arrival in the state (NDDA Information for Beekeepers).
What the certificate must stateThe license application must include: the applicant's name, address, and telephone number; the maximum number of colonies to be located in or placed in this state; and the name, address, and telephone number of a resident agent authorized to accept service of process. As a condition of licensure the applicant declares that an apiary will not be placed without first obtaining the property owner's consent, and that an apiary will be relocated at the commissioner's request on the conditions stated in § 4.1-16-02(4)(b) (NDCC § 4.1-16-02).
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsBefore a person may act as a beekeeper in this state, the person must be licensed by the agriculture commissioner (NDCC § 4.1-16-02(1)). The beekeeper applies: print and mail the Application for Beekeeper's License and the Application for Registration of Apiary Locations with the license fees, or complete the whole license process online at ole.ndda.nd.gov (NDDA Information for Beekeepers).
Health / inspection certificate (health-certificate · issued by the origin side)
Fee$0 (per-inspection) — 'Inspections- All inspections and certificates are free.' (NDDA Information for Beekeepers). NDCC § 4.1-16-13 authorizes the commissioner to charge a fee to cover the costs of a certificate inspection; NDDA's published position is that inspections and certificates are free.
Validity windowNot published / not yet checked
Notice deadlineNot published / not yet checked
Lead timeNot published / not yet checked
What the certificate must stateThe health inspection is for hives traveling to states that require a health certificate prior to entry; in inspections NDDA looks for pests and diseases such as Varroa mites, American foulbrood, European foulbrood, chalk brood and small hive beetles (NDDA Apiary page). The agriculture commissioner, at the request of a beekeeper, inspects an apiary for the purpose of issuing a certificate of inspection or other official document or validation (NDCC § 4.1-16-13). What the certificate must state for a given move is set by the destination state's requirements, which the beekeeper is told to check before requesting the inspection (NDDA Information for Beekeepers).
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsThe beekeeper requests the inspection: the health certificate inspection is done at the request of the beekeeper, and a beekeeper who needs one after the license has been issued is told to call the department (NDDA Apiary page; NDDA Information for Beekeepers). The commissioner inspects and issues the certificate (NDCC § 4.1-16-13).
Ant-free or equivalent certification (california-pre-inspection · issued by the origin side)
FeeNot published / not yet checked
Validity windowNot published / not yet checked
Notice deadlineNot published / not yet checked
Lead timeParticipating beekeepers are asked to contact NDDA at least two weeks before they would like their inspection (NDDA Pre-Inspection Program page).
What the certificate must stateNDDA conducts California pre-inspections in North Dakota for beekeepers shipping directly to California, under published Pre-Inspection Protocols and a Pre-Inspection Compliance Agreement; only colonies present at the time of inspection can be certified. The information needed up front is the beekeeper's name, phone number, and email address, the counties in California the beekeeper plans to visit, the entry station the beekeeper plans on using, and the dates the beekeeper expects to stockpile (NDDA Pre-Inspection Program page).
Origin history requiredNot published / not yet checked
Who applies / who signsThe beekeeper shipping directly to California contacts NDDA to participate. The program began in 2018 as an NDDA/CDFA pilot with California inspectors pre-inspecting in North Dakota; since 2020 NDDA conducts all the inspections itself (NDDA Pre-Inspection Program page).
Moving bees — the rules around the instruments
Passing throughNot published / not yet checked
Border and destination inspectionNo border-station inspection regime for incoming bees is published. The published inspection reality is in-state: NDDA staff routinely travel the state to check hives for pests, diseases and compliance with state law; external inspections check that hives are registered and have signs posted, and can be random or complaint-driven (NDDA Apiary page; NDDA Information for Beekeepers page).
County layerNot published / not yet checked
Recognition of other states' certificatesNot published / not yet checked
Consequences, as publishedNDCC § 4.1-16-17: a person violating chapter 4.1-16 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor and, in addition to criminal sanctions, is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars per violation. An apiary not identified as § 4.1-16-09 requires may be seized (§ 4.1-16-09(2)); an unidentified apiary, after published notice in the official newspaper of the county where it is located and at least six days, may have all colonies, hives and beekeeping equipment seized and sold at auction or destroyed unless the beekeeper claims the property and pays the commissioner's costs (§ 4.1-16-10). Bees, hives, or beekeeping equipment transported or maintained in violation of the chapter may be confiscated and disposed of under a court or administrative order unless claimed with costs and civil penalties paid (§ 4.1-16-11).
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