Summary — SB 2381 (North Dakota) — Driver's license fees
Status: Introduced March 12, 2025. Second reading — failed to pass (yeas 24, nays 68).
Purpose
- To amend multiple sections of the North Dakota Century Code that govern driver’s license, commercial license, and related record fees—both to change specific fee amounts and to consolidate fee references into a single code section (39‑06‑49). The bill directs revenue into the state highway fund and requires periodic reporting.
Key provisions and changes
- Consolidation: Several commercial-license provisions are revised to reference the fee schedule in section 39‑06‑49 rather than hard‑coding amounts in multiple places (e.g., 39‑06.2‑07, 39‑06.2‑08, 39‑06.2‑09, 39‑06.2‑09.1, 39‑06.2‑13.1, 39‑06.2‑19).
- Increases to multiple fees (selected examples as presented in bill text):
- Nondriver photo ID application: from $8 → $20.
- Written testing for operator’s license: from $5 → $10.
- Actual ability (skills) testing: noncommercial $5 → $10; commercial $10 (unchanged or clarified).
- Application for noncommercial operator’s license: from $15 → $30; renewal similarly $15 → $30.
- Substitute ID/operator’s license: from $8 → $16 (except $3 → $6 when correcting name/address).
- Reinstatement after suspension or revocation: from $50 → $100 in many cases; in some specified serious violation cases the fee would increase from $100 → $200.
- Commercial license endorsement fee listed as $6 per endorsement (appears retained).
- Fees for driving records, operating record abstracts, accident reports adjusted (examples: driving record for employer shows $5 → $6 in some drafts).
- Fee deposit and reporting:
- All money received under the chapter continues to be deposited monthly into the state highway fund.
- The Department must provide a biennial report to the Legislative Assembly on revenues collected, expenditures, and the balance of the highway fund.
- Administrative/identity security: Applications for commercial licenses/permits must be accompanied by required fees and documentary evidence (identity, DOB, legal presence, SSN or equivalent, proof of residence) as required by the director. The bill also preserves issuance/renewal rules for nondomiciled commercial licenses.
Who would be affected
- North Dakota residents and nonresidents applying for or renewing driver’s licenses, commercial driver’s licenses, nondriver IDs, and permits.
- Commercial drivers and employers who request driving‑record information.
- Department of Transportation (administrative implementation) and the state highway fund (expected revenue increases).
- Individuals subject to license suspensions/revocations (higher reinstatement fees in many scenarios).
Fiscal impact
- The amendments raise many user fees, which would increase revenue deposited to the state highway fund. The bill requires a biennial accounting of those revenues and expenditures. The bill text does not include an explicit revenue estimate.
Procedural notes / caveats
- The provided bill documents appear to contain unrelated or truncated inserts (materials from other states and amendments) and multiple draft/amendment versions; where multiple amounts appear, the bill's committee/first‑engrossed language shows the principal fee changes noted above.
- SB 2381 did not advance past the second reading (failed to pass). If reintroduced or further amended, final fee amounts and cross‑references could change.
