The law
North Dakota has no college NIL statute. In short: None (no college NIL statute); athlete agents, N.D.C.C. ch. 9-15.2. Rows drawn from a statute come from the enacted text on the legislature's own site; rows drawn from a school or board policy name that policy. Every source is linked under Sources, read on October 21, 2026.
What it says
| Question | What applies | Section or source |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | No state NIL statute. The agent act's "student-athlete" is an individual eligible to attend an educational institution who engages in, is eligible to engage in, or may be eligible in the future to engage in an interscholastic or intercollegiate sport | N.D.C.C. § 9-15.2-01(17) |
| Disclosure to the school | No state NIL rule. When an athlete signs an agency contract, the agent and the athlete each notify the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next scheduled athletic event, whichever is first. For Division I athletes at NDSU and UND, NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2 (2026-27 Division I Manual) require reporting noninstitutional deals of $600 or more to the clearinghouse (NIL Go) within five business days of signing | § 9-15.2-10(2), (3); NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2 |
| Banned categories | Not addressed. No North Dakota statute sets NIL categories, and no State Board of Higher Education NIL policy was found | None |
| Conflicts with team contracts | Not addressed | None |
| School and coach involvement | No state statute. UND Athletics' undated appearance-requests page says athletes may pursue NIL "outside the scope of UND Athletics" and that "the Athletic Department is not involved in the facilitation of those activities" | UND Athletics compliance page |
| Direct pay from the school | No North Dakota statute allows or bars it; it is governed by the House settlement and NCAA and conference rules | None |
| Agents and attorneys | Agents register with the Secretary of State ($250 initial, including registration based on another state's certificate; $150 renewal; valid two years). An "agency contract" covers negotiating an endorsement contract, defined as pay to use the value of an athlete's publicity, reputation, following or fame "obtained because of athletic ability or performance". The contract must be a signed record with fees, services and duration, a boldface warning and a separate eligibility acknowledgment; one resulting from unregistered conduct is void | §§ 9-15.2-01(1), (5); 9-15.2-03; 9-15.2-05(6); 9-15.2-08; 9-15.2-09 |
| High school and minors | No state NIL statute; high school NIL is set by the North Dakota High School Activities Association. The agent act covers interscholastic athletes, and a minor's agency contract must be signed by a parent or guardian, who may cancel it | §§ 9-15.2-01(17); 9-15.2-09(7); 9-15.2-11 |
| Financial literacy | Not addressed | None |
| Scholarship protection | Not addressed | None |
| Confidentiality of contracts | No NIL exemption. All records of a public entity are open "except as otherwise specifically provided by law"; the State Board of Higher Education may adopt rules protecting the confidentiality of student records and, consistent with § 44-04-18.4, trade secret, proprietary, commercial and financial information. No statute names NIL contracts | §§ 44-04-18(1); 15-10-17(7) |
| NCAA and conference penalties | Not addressed. No North Dakota law bars the NCAA, a conference or the College Sports Commission from penalizing a school or athlete | None |
| Remedies and enforcement | Under the agent act, a school or a student-athlete harmed by an agent's violation (suspension, disqualification or financial damage) may sue for damages, costs and attorney's fees; a liable agent loses any right to be paid back for what it gave the athlete and refunds what the athlete paid. Prohibited conduct is a class A misdemeanor, and the Secretary of State may impose a civil penalty up to $50,000 | §§ 9-15.2-14; 9-15.2-15; 9-15.2-16 |
| Employee status | No statute says whether college athletes are employees. For workers' compensation only, "employee" excludes "an athlete participating in a contact sport", which includes football and hockey (added by SB 2214, S.L. 2023, ch. 580, effective through 2028-08-31) | § 65-01-02(17)(b)(8) |
A legislature that has not taken up NIL
No college NIL bill appears in North Dakota's legislative record since the NCAA's interim policy took effect on 2021-07-01. The Legislative Council's bill indexes for the 2021, 2023 and 2025 regular sessions and the November 2021, January 2026 and September 2026 special sessions, and its final bill status reports for 2021 and 2023, list athletics bills on sex-designated teams, cardiac emergency plans, a workers' compensation exclusion for contact-sport athletes and a resolution to the NCAA, but no NIL measure. The question did reach the Commission on Uniform State Laws: at its 2022-06-27 meeting, the commission adopted a 2023 legislative plan of four other uniform acts, and the plan lists the Uniform Law Commission's 2021 College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act with "NO" under "Introduce?".
The agent act, and the 2021 change
North Dakota adopted the Uniform Athlete Agents Act in 2003 (SB 2157) and replaced it in 2017 (HB 1212, effective 2017-08-01) with the revised version, now N.D.C.C. ch. 9-15.2. Because its "agency contract" includes authority to negotiate an endorsement contract, an agent who signs a North Dakota college athlete for endorsement or NIL representation is within the act: Secretary of State registration before signing, a written contract with a boldface warning, notice to the athletic director, and a non-waivable 14-day cancellation right. The act also reaches people who, for pay related to the athlete's participation in athletics, advise an athlete on "finances, business pursuits, or career management decisions" (§ 9-15.2-01(2)). In 2021, SB 2047 (effective 2021-08-01) rewrote the prohibited-conduct section: an agent may give an athlete something of value that could cost eligibility only if the agent tells the athletic director within 72 hours and the athlete acknowledges the risk in a record (§ 9-15.2-13(2)). North Dakota's version lets the athlete, not only the school, sue the agent (§ 9-15.2-15).
What applies at NDSU and UND
With no statute or board policy found, NIL at North Dakota State and North Dakota (both Division I) runs on NCAA, conference and College Sports Commission rules and each school's own practice. For noninstitutional deals of $600 or more, Division I athletes report to the clearinghouse (NIL Go) within five business days of signing; see how NIL Go works. The state's open-records law starts from the rule that every public-entity record is open unless a law says otherwise (§ 44-04-18(1)), and no North Dakota statute names NIL contracts.
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| HB 1212 (65th Legislative Assembly, 2017), S.L. 2017, ch. 79 | created N.D.C.C. ch. 9-15.2, the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act, and repealed ch. 9-15.1 (the 2003 Uniform Athlete Agents Act); agency contracts include endorsement contracts; registration with the Secretary of State; passed 91-2 and 46-0, signed 2017-03-30 | 2017-08-01 |
| SB 2047 (67th Legislative Assembly, 2021), S.L. 2021, ch. 84 | amended § 9-15.2-13 at the request of the Commission on Uniform State Laws, so an agent may furnish something of value that could cost eligibility only after notifying the athletic director within 72 hours and getting the athlete's acknowledgment in a record; passed 45-0 and 90-1, signed 2021-03-22 | 2021-08-01 |
Federal law
As of 2026-10-21, S. 4668 (Protect College Sports Act) passed the Senate 77-22 on 2026-09-28 and has been held at the House desk since 2026-10-05, with no later action in the congress.gov bill status record; it is not law. North Dakota has no NIL statute, so § 121(a) would find nothing in North Dakota law that governs NCAA, conference or school NIL rules. N.D.C.C. ch. 9-15.2 calls itself a "uniform Act" (§ 9-15.2-17), the category § 121(b)(1)(A) preserves unless it conflicts with § 121(a), and registration under it would satisfy § 102's new requirement that an agent representing a student athlete in an endorsement contract "register with a State". What the bill would add in North Dakota: a 5 percent cap on agent fees for endorsement contracts (North Dakota sets no cap), a bar on agency contracts running past eligibility, a federal private right of action for athletes against agents, a duty for athletes at Division I schools to report the terms of each NIL agreement worth more than $600 within 5 days of signing, and NIL pay over $600 not already reported within 30 days (§ 101(b)(1), (5)), and federal authority for schools, conferences and collectives to pay athletes for NIL (§ 101(c)) within the revenue share cap (§ 114).
What sits on top of it
- Division I reporting. Third-party deals of $600 or more go to NIL Go within five business days, whatever the state's own rule (NIL Go, reporting a deal, level by level).
- Your school. A school can set a stricter policy than the statute, and most set the disclosure process.
- Agents. North Dakota's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in North Dakota is set by the state's athletic association, not this statute.
- Taxes. NIL taxes in plain words.
How Leave fits
In Leave, every deal thread carries a rules summary for the athlete's state and level, and keeps the contract, its dates and the disclosure deadline that applies. It is a summary, not a ruling; the school and the statute decide. Leave is software, not an agent, and takes 0% of any deal. You decide, you send.
Questions about college NIL law in North Dakota
Does North Dakota have an NIL law in 2026?
No college NIL statute. As of 2026-10-21 the Legislative Council's bill indexes for the 2021, 2023 and 2025 regular sessions and the 2021 and 2026 special sessions list no NIL bill. In June 2022 the North Dakota Commission on Uniform State Laws adopted a 2023 legislative plan that marked the Uniform Law Commission's College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act "NO" for introduction.
Can North Dakota colleges pay athletes directly?
No North Dakota statute allows or forbids it. NDSU and UND, the state's Division I schools, follow the House settlement and NCAA and conference rules on what a school may pay. UND Athletics says its athletic department is not involved in facilitating athletes' NIL deals.
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in North Dakota?
No state law requires reporting an NIL deal. NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2 and 22.2.2.2 require Division I athletes to report noninstitutional deals of $600 or more to the clearinghouse (NIL Go) within five business days of signing. If an athlete signs with an agent, N.D.C.C. § 9-15.2-10 requires the athlete and the agent to notify the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next scheduled athletic event, whichever is first.
Does North Dakota require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Registered, yes. Under N.D.C.C. § 9-15.2-03 an individual may not act as an athlete agent in North Dakota without a Secretary of State certificate of registration, and an agency contract includes one to negotiate endorsement contracts (§ 9-15.2-01(1), (5)). The fee is $250, renewal $150 (§ 9-15.2-08), and a registration lasts two years (§ 9-15.2-05(6)). The athlete may cancel within 14 days and cannot waive that right (§ 9-15.2-11).
Can an athlete sue an agent in North Dakota?
Yes. N.D.C.C. § 9-15.2-15 lets a student-athlete, as well as a school, sue an agent whose violation of the act caused a suspension, disqualification or financial damage, and recover damages, costs and attorney's fees; the agent loses any right to be paid back for what it gave the athlete and refunds what the athlete paid. The Secretary of State may also impose a civil penalty of up to $50,000 (§ 9-15.2-16).
Be your own agent. Leave.
