North Dakota
North Dakota
Final grade: C+
Exclusion Grade
C-
Relevance Grade
A-
Due Process Grade
D
Strengths
- Boards may only use directly related crimes and must consider evidence of rehabilitation.
Areas of Improvement
- Strengthen safeguards for due process by requiring a petition process and placing the burden of proof on the state.
- Ban agencies from relying on arrest records or old convictions.
North Dakota ranks highly in the Relevance category, but weak Exclusion and Due Process scores drag its final grade to a C+. The state has two main paths to disqualify applicants. First, boards may deny licenses if they determine that an offense has a “direct bearing” on the occupational license. In addition, applicants may still be denied if the board determines that they have “not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust.” However, if at least five years have passed since an ex-offender completed their sentence or was released from prison and has not committed another crime, this creates “prima facie evidence of sufficient rehabilitation.”
Exclusion
| Overarching ban on blanket bans | Yes |
| Ban on considering arrest records | No |
| Ban on considering post-conviction relief records | No |
| Time limit | No limit |
| Ban on vague, discretionary character standards | No |
Relevance
| Relationship between the crime and the license sought | "Direct bearing" |
| Required factors for consideration | |
| Rehabilitation | Yes |
| Time elapsed since crime was committed | Yes |
| Age when crime was committed | No |
| Employment History | No |
| Testimonials | No |
Due Process
| Petition Process | Yes |
| Burden of Proof | Both unspecified |
| Right to appeal | Yes |
| Written notice requirement | Yes |