Search Cass County, ND Property Records

In Cass County, North Dakota, while the County Recorder maintains the legal title history and instruments (deeds/liens), cities and townships hold operational property records, including zoning permits, site plans, and building inspection files.

Cass County residents see typical home prices at $245,800.00, while renting a space usually costs $688.00 each month.

Median household earnings reach $91,250.00, which helps families manage both necessities and aspirations. At the same time, property taxes of 0.9% contribute to the community’s growth and well-being.

In Cass County, ND, the County Recorder’s Office uses the statewide North Dakota Recorders Information Network (NDRIN) website for users to obtain digital images of deeds, mortgages, and other real estate instruments.

For tax assessments, building details, valuation data, and comparable sales, the County Assessing Office supports instant searches through the Property Information and Sales system. Searches often rely on property addresses, legal descriptions, or parcel IDs for accuracy.

County and municipal offices also allow individuals to request certified real estate documents, local tax rolls, subdivision maps, or code compliance files, usually by mail, email, or in person.

A major challenge is identifying property boundaries for land that is not part of a standard subdivision. When parcels are described using complex metes and bounds, the county often requires these areas to be formally surveyed and replatted, which leads to the creation of “Auditor’s Lots.”

As a result, a researcher may search for a historical deed under an older parcel ID, only to discover that the parcel ID is now obsolete.

PropertyChecker tackles this issue by linking historical and current parcel data. It can enable researchers to track changes in parcel boundaries and IDs over time. They can quickly identify the current designation without manually searching through county records.

Property Ownership and Title Information

For comprehensive ownership and title research, individuals should consult the Cass County Recorder’s Office. This office records documents detailing property transfers, legal ownership, mortgages, and liens, and uploads them to the North Dakota Recorders Information Network (NDRIN) website.

On the NDRIN website, users can search for the most recent warranty or quitclaim deed. These documents indicate who transferred the property to the current owner and the date of transfer.

For historical research, the County Recorder’s historical indexes of old physical tract, deed, and mortgage books can provide information about title documents recorded before 1999.

Property Sales and Transaction History

Using the Sales Search option in the Cass County Assessing Office’s Property Information and Search system, one can obtain comparable sales data to verify property valuations.

For example, a homeowner in an unincorporated area can look for three to five similar homes (similar square footage and age) sold in the last 12 months. They may record the true and full value and sales price from these listings to demonstrate that their home is over-assessed.

PropertyChecker expands this search by aggregating property records across multiple townships and neighboring counties. By providing broader datasets, including pricing patterns, historical sales trends, and assessment variations, the platform empowers homeowners to build a stronger case when challenging an over-assessment.

Property Tax Assessment and Payment Records

The Cass County Assessing Office identifies and values all real properties at their true and full market value as of February 1st of each year, while the County Finance Office is in charge of collecting real property taxes.

Users may verify property market, assessed, and taxable values through the Property Information and Sales system available on the County Assessing Office website. The County Finance Office also operates the Research and Pay Property Taxes portal, which typically provides current-year tax statements, true and full value histories, and payment details.

If a property owner disagrees with the valuation, they can submit a formal appeal to the Cass County Board of Equalization.

Property Characteristics and Parcel Details

Physical details for properties and parcels in Cass County are accessible through the Real Estate Search option within the County Assessing Office’s Property Information and Sales system.

This feature enables individuals to locate specific properties using an address, parcel number, section-township-range, block and lot, or subdivision. Typical records available include the original construction date, square footage, basement finish, and garage size.

Zoning, Land Use, and Planning Records

The Cass County Planning Office handles subdivision applications, variances, conditional use permits (CUPs), re-zoning requests, and zoning ordinances for most rural areas and townships.

The office may assist with interpreting the County Comprehensive Plan and the County Zoning Ordinance.

Legal Documents Affecting Property

Users can access legal documents affecting properties in Cass County via the North Dakota Recorders Information Network (NDRIN) website.

This is the official, subscription-based service used by the Cass County Recorder’s Office, along with 49 other counties in North Dakota, to provide access to recorded real estate documents.

Through the NDRIN website, researchers can locate deeds, liens, mortgages, plats, surveys, restrictive covenants, and corner monument records dating back to 1986. Users can search for documents by grantor/grantee name, instrument number, or book and page number.

Building Permits, Inspections, and Construction Records

For properties within Cass County’s incorporated cities, the respective city’s building or inspections department typically maintains building permits, inspections, and construction documents.

Many cities offer online systems, such as the City of West Fargo Building and Inspection Department’s Citizen Portal, which allows users to search for permits and track inspection and plan review results.

Maps and Visual Property Data

The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Division of the Cass County Information Technology Department provides the Cass County Geo Hub, where researchers can access a variety of maps, applications, and GIS data.

Users can activate and explore different layers of information, such as property ownership lines, elevations, road conditions, fire districts, and river flooding risks. Cass County encompasses an extensive geographic area of about 1,765 square miles and maintains GIS data for over 74,000 parcels.

In Cass County, North Dakota, parcel searches can be conducted through two tools.

The first is the Real Estate Search on the Property Information and Sales system, operated by the County Assessing Office. The search form accepts:

Parcel Number (supports percent sign as a wildcard)

Physical Address (optional City filter and County Street Names Only checkbox)

• Block-Lot

• Sec-Twp-Rng (Section, Township, and Range fields)

• Subdivision

• Lot Area in acres (minimum and maximum slider)

Results can be filtered by All Parcels or Parcels with Photos Only.

The second tool is the Research and Pay Property Taxes portal, operated by the County Finance Office, which accepts an Address, Statement Number, or Parcel Number to locate a property.

Displayed here are charts summarizing the county's tax rates, accompanied by insights into median home values, income figures, and rent rates.

Median Rent

$688.00

North Dakota	$688.00
National	$840.25

• +0.0 %
  vs North Dakota
• -18.1 %
  vs National

Median Home Value

$245,800.00

North Dakota	$131,900.00
National	$173,750.00

• +86.4 %
  vs North Dakota
• +41.5 %
  vs National

Median Household Income

$91,250.00

North Dakota	$76,250.00
National	$65,108.00

• +19.7 %
  vs North Dakota
• +40.2 %
  vs National

Median Property Tax Rate

0.9%

North Dakota	0.81%
National	0.74%

• +11.1%
  vs North Dakota
• +21.6 %
  vs National

Unemployment Rate

1.14%

North Dakota	1.59%
National	2.87%

• -28.3 %
  vs North Dakota
• -60.3 %
  vs National

Renter Occupied Housing

13.75%

North Dakota	19.11%
National	21.81%

• -28.0 %
  vs North Dakota
• -37.0 %
  vs National

The official registrar of deeds in the county is the Cass County Recorder’s Office. This office holds permanent records of various real estate instruments, including deeds, mortgages, assignments, releases, satisfactions, liens, subdivision plots, auditor’s lots, and restrictive covenants.

The Cass County Assessing Office uses recorded land descriptions, including auditor’s lots, to determine precise parcel boundaries and update property tax records to reflect current property characteristics.

Individuals can search, preview, and print real estate documents from 1986 to the present through the North Dakota Recorders Information Network (NDRIN) website.

For those who want to obtain copies of documents, they can order them by email, mail, or in person. They need to pay $1 per page for uncertified copies, while certified copies cost $5 for the first page and $2 for each additional page.

Moreover, the office maintains public computers in its vault area at the Cass County Courthouse for in-person research.

Municipal property records across Cass County's 50 townships and 27 incorporated cities focus heavily on localized assessment, land-use planning, and building compliance.

For instance, townships and cities often track special assessments, which are taxes levied for specific local improvements (e.g., street paving, sewer upgrades).

• Addison Township

• Alice City

• Amenia City

• Amenia Township

• Arthur Township

• Ayr City

• Ayr Township

• Barnes Township

• Bell Township

• Berlin Township

• Briarwood City

• Buffalo Township

• Casselton Township

• Clifton Township

• Cornell Township

• Davenport Township

• Dows Township

• Durbin Township

• Eldred Township

• Empire Township

• Erie Township

• Everest Township

• Fargo Township

• Gardner City

• Gardner Township

• Gill Township

• Gunkel Township

• Harmony Township

• Harwood Township

• Highland Township

• Hill Township

• Howes Township

• Hunter Township

• Kinyon Township

• Lake Township

• Leonard Township

• Maple River Township

• Mapleton Township

• Noble Township

• Normanna Township

• North River City

• Page Township

• Pleasant Township

• Pontiac Township

• Prairie Rose City

• Raymond Township

• Reed Township

• Rich Township

• Rochester Township

• Rush River Township

• Stanley Township

• Tower Township

• Walburg Township

• Warren Township

• Watson Township

• Wheatland Township

• Wiser Township

Note: Cities and townships listed without links currently do not have their own official websites.

• Argusville City
• Arthur City
• Buffalo City
• Casselton City
• Davenport City
• Enderlin City
• Fargo City
• Frontier City
• Grandin City
• Harwood City
• Horace City
• Hunter City
• Kindred City
• Leonard City
• Mapleton City
• Oxbow City
• Page City
• Reile's Acres City
• Tower City
• West Fargo City