Does North Dakota require an employer to reimburse mileage?
Yes. NDCC §34-02-01 requires an employer to indemnify an employee for what the job made the employee necessarily expend or lose, which includes required driving.
North Dakota statute guide
North Dakota Mileage Reimbursement Law
North Dakota requires an employer to indemnify work expenses, with a written exclusion for tools and equipment also used outside the job.
Guide by MileagePilotUpdated Oct 19, 2026
Short answer
North Dakota Century Code §34-02-01 requires an employer to indemnify an employee for everything the employee necessarily expends or loses in direct consequence of the job, or of obeying the employer's directions. It also carves one thing out: expenses to buy or rent tools of the trade, or other equipment the employee also uses away from work. The state sets no rate for private employers, so the figure comes from the employer's method; one that follows the federal benchmark pays 76 cents per mile from July 1, 2026 and 72.5 cents per mile for the first half.
At a glance
- NDCC §34-02-01 is the duty: the employer indemnifies what the job made you necessarily expend or lose.
- The same section excludes tools of the trade and equipment you also use outside work, which is narrower than most states.
- §34-02-02 withholds indemnity for ordinary risks of the business and for a co-worker's negligence absent careless hiring.
- North Dakota sets no rate and no claim window for private employment, so a written policy carries both.
- State travelers follow the GSA figure, which is why their rate moved mid-year.
What §34-02-01 covers, and what it does not
The duty is broad: whatever an employee necessarily expends or loses in direct consequence of the job, or of following the employer's directions, is the employer's to cover. That reaches mileage a job required.
North Dakota then writes one exclusion into the section that most states leave out. The obligation does not include what you spent to buy or rent tools of the trade, or other equipment you also use outside the job. A vehicle used only for work is not that; a tool you also use at home is.
| Question | What North Dakota answers |
|---|---|
| Who owes | The employer, for what the job made you necessarily expend — NDCC §34-02-01 |
| How much | The expense. The state names no rate for private employers |
| When it is due | No statutory window; a written policy sets the deadline |
| What is excluded | Tools of the trade and equipment you also use outside the job |
North Dakota's duty is broad, with one written carve-out.
Submitting a North Dakota claim
- Record the trip, its business purpose, and who directed or authorized it.
- Keep the vehicle's role clear: a car driven only for work is not equipment you also use outside the job.
- Submit on the timeline your employer's written policy sets, since the statute sets none.
- If the employer cites the equipment exclusion, ask whether the vehicle is also used outside work.
North Dakota's own travel rate
The North Dakota Office of Management and Budget publishes these figures. State employees authorized to travel in a personal vehicle. An agency may set a lower rate.
The Office of Management and Budget follows the federal figure rather than a rate of its own, so when the federal rate rose on July 1, 2026, the state rate rose with it.
An agency may set a lower rate for its own travelers. None of that reaches a private employer, whose obligation is still the expense §34-02-01 describes.
| Applies to | Amount |
|---|---|
| January 1 – June 30, 2026 | 72.5 cents per mile |
| From July 1, 2026 | 76 cents per mile |
Source: ND OMB fiscal and administrative policy 501 and 511.
The 2026 federal business rate
The IRS moved the business standard mileage rate mid-year, so a 2026 trip prices by its date. This is the benchmark an employer's rate method usually follows.
| Period | Federal business rate | What it means for a claim here |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 – June 30, 2026 | 72.5 cents per mile | North Dakota's state travel rate followed this figure in the first half of 2026, and an employer's rate method usually adopts it too. |
| July 1 – December 31, 2026 | 76 cents per mile | This is the figure the state's own travelers moved to on July 1, 2026, and the benchmark an employer's rate method follows after that date. |
Both 2026 federal periods, and how each one reaches this state.
Official references
North Dakota Century Code 34-02-01 and 34-02-02
The indemnity duty, the tool and equipment exclusion, and the ordinary-risk exception.
North Dakota OMB: fiscal and administrative policy
Policies 501 and 511 set the personal vehicle rate for state travel.
IRS Notice 2026-10 (Jan 1-Jun 30)
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
IRS Announcement 2026-11 (Jul 1-Dec 31)
The announcement that set the federal business rate for that period.
Common questions
What does North Dakota exclude from reimbursement?
Expenses to buy or rent tools of the trade, or other equipment the employee also uses outside the job. A vehicle driven only for work does not fall under that exclusion.
What rate does North Dakota use for state travel?
State travelers follow the federal figure: 72.5 cents per mile through June 30, 2026 and 76 cents per mile from July 1. A private employer's duty is the expense, not that rate.
Do I split 2026 mileage at July 1 in North Dakota?
Only if the rate you are paid follows the federal figure: trips through June 30, 2026 price at 72.5 cents per mile and trips from July 1 at 76 cents per mile. A rate the employer sets on its own applies to the whole year, and a statutory duty is owed either way.
Continue with tools
Calculate estimated reimbursement, review official rate tables, or download log templates.