# Title 48.1 — State Board of Animal Health

## Article 48.1-03 — Brand Inspection

## Chapter 48.1-03-01 — Brand Inspection

### § 48.1-03-01-01. Definitions.

The terms used throughout this title have the same meaning as in North Dakota Century Code
chapter 36-01 except:
1. "Association" means the North Dakota stockmen's association.
2. "Buying station" means a point where cattle, horses, or mules are gathered for sale and is also
referred to as a weigh station or scale.
History: Effective July 1, 2016.
General Authority: NDCC 36-01-08
Law Implemented: NDCC 36-01-08
### § 48.1-03-01-02. Feedlot registration.

1. Any person who operates a dry lot cattle feeding operation within the confines of permanently
fenced lots may make application to the chief brand inspector of the association for a
registered feedlot number and permit. After the association has received application and a fee,
an agent of the association, within thirty days, shall make investigation to determine that the
following requirements are satisfied:
a. Operator's lots must be of permanently fenced dry lot status.
b. Operator must commonly practice feeding cattle to finish for slaughter.
2. Commercial feedlots, which custom feed cattle for other persons, and do not have ownership
of the cattle, are not eligible for registered feedlot numbers and permits.
a. Producers intending to have cattle fed at a commercial lot may apply for a registered
feedlot permit individually and the operators of a commercial lot are responsible for
submitting the necessary documentation on behalf of the producers.
b. The association may issue a registration number and permit valid for ten years unless
rescinded for cause.
3. All cattle placed in a registered feedlot must be accompanied by a brand inspection certificate.
Such certificate may be a market clearance, a local brand inspection certificate, or a
recognized brand inspection certificate from another state.
a. Cattle purchased or acquired by a registered feedlot operator from a North Dakota
producer must be inspected before being mixed with other cattle and the producer shall
pay inspection costs.

b. Cattle raised by a registered feedlot operator and placed in the operator's own feedlot
must be inspected at the time they are placed in the feedlot and the regular inspection
fee shall be paid by the operator.
c. Cattle to be placed in a registered feedlot which come from outside the state, but which
are not accompanied by a brand inspection certificate, must be inspected without charge
before being mixed with other cattle.
4. The operator of a registered feedlot shall maintain certain cattle inventory records. The chief
brand inspector shall prescribe a permit form for this purpose. The form must show number of
cattle in the lot, number sold, date and place where cattle were sold, number of cattle
remaining in the lot, number of replacement cattle placed in the lot, and such other information
as may be necessary, including death losses.
a. Cattle shipped from a registered feedlot directly to the final slaughter location are not
subject to brand inspection or payment of inspection fees at the market. These cattle
must be shipped on a chief brand inspector permit form. This form must be made in
triplicate:
(1) One copy must be delivered to the brand inspector at the market along with
shipment;
(2) One copy must be sent to the chief brand inspector along with the fees no later than
ten days after the end of each quarter (quarters being March, June, September,
December) for those cattle shipped during the previous three months; and
(3) One copy must be retained by the operator.
b. If the above permit form fails to accompany shipment of cattle to market, cattle are
subject to inspection and regular fees must be charged for the service.
c. The operator of a registered feedlot shall pay an annual assessment of twenty-five
dollars plus fifty cents per head on each head shipped on the above permit form.
Operators will be billed the twenty-five dollar portion of the annual assessment by the
chief brand inspector in December for the annual assessment of the following year.
5. Cattle sold from a registered feedlot, but which are not sold for slaughter, must be inspected
and the seller bears the cost of inspection at the regular fee.
6. Registered feedlots are subject to inspection at any reasonable time at the discretion of the
chief brand inspector, and the operator shall show cattle inventory records and inspection
certificates to cover all cattle in the operator's feedlot.
7. The chief brand inspector, for good cause, may suspend or revoke a registration.
History: Effective July 1, 2016; amended effective July 1, 2024.
General Authority: NDCC 36-01-30
Law Implemented: NDCC 36-01-30
### § 48.1-03-01-03. Brand inspection.

1. When cattle, horses, or mules are offered for sale at any brand inspection point, proof of
ownership must be established by the shipper of the cattle, horses, or mules, either by a
recorded brand, bill of sale, livestock market clearance, local inspection certificate, or an
affidavit of ownership.

2. If any animal inspected bears the recorded brand of the shipper or seller and also bears a
recorded brand or brands other than the recorded brand of the shipper or seller, then the
shipper or seller may be required, at the discretion of the brand inspector, to establish
ownership of such animal by bills of sale, market clearance, local inspection certificate, or any
other satisfactory evidence of ownership.
3. A claim for feed, pasture, or gathering may not be submitted at market. All such claims must
be referred to and approved for payment from proceeds of sale by the association, unless
payment is authorized in writing by the owner of the brand carried by such livestock.
4. Sales agency, packing plant, and buying stations where inspection is conducted must furnish
necessary help, without charge, to assist the brand inspectors in handling cattle, horses, or
mules to be inspected for brands.
5. All cattle, horses, or mules entering an inspection point must be placed in pens assigned to
individual sellers and must be kept separate from all other cattle, horses, or mules until
inspected by the brand inspector and released for sale or shipment.
6. No cattle, horses, or mules may be inspected when loaded in trucks or after dark or by
artificial light, unless approved by the chief brand inspector. The chief brand inspector may
grant approval to premises which meet artificial light specifications and may extend or remove
such approval.
7. The association shall provide a sufficient and competent force of brand inspectors at
inspection points to conduct the brand inspection in an efficient and timely manner.
8. Brand inspectors may not inspect their own livestock.
9. Meat processing facility inspections:
a. The association, upon a recommendation by the chief brand inspector, shall make an
inspection of any butcher shop, buying station, locker plant, or custom meat cutting and
processing establishment where cattle are slaughtered or processed for the owner for a
fee.
b. Brand inspectors, when directed to do so by the chief brand inspector, may go upon the
premises of any such butcher shop, buying station, locker plant, or custom meat cutting
establishment, for the purpose of making physical inspection on the premises as to the
ownership or identity of animals or their carcasses.
10. Brand inspection fees and expenses are as follows:
a. A permanent inspection permit may be obtained from the association, for horses and
mules only, by payment of a twenty-five dollar inspection fee.
b. A fee of one dollar and fifty cents per head on all cattle, horses, or mules subject to brand
inspection at points where such inspection is maintained shall be paid by:
(1) The owner of the cattle, horses, or mules; or
(2) The commission firm, sales agency, buying station operator, or packing plant
company when sold by a commission firm, sales agency, or when purchased by a
buying station operator or packing plant. Upon a sale, the commission firm, sales
agency, buying station operator, or packing plant company shall:
(a) Collect and withhold from the proceeds of such sale the inspection fee; and

(b) Pay the association upon demand the entire amounts collected without any
deductions.
c. Whenever a brand inspector is required to travel to points other than the inspector's
official stations to perform local brand inspection, the shipper, owner, or consignor shall
pay the inspector mileage at the same rate per mile [1.61 kilometers] paid to state
officials, in addition to the regular brand inspection fee.
11. The following auction markets outside the state are designated official brand inspection
markets for North Dakota origin cattle, horses, and mules: Mobridge livestock auction,
Mobridge, South Dakota; Lemmon livestock market, inc., Lemmon, South Dakota; Sisseton
livestock sale co., Sisseton, South Dakota; hub city livestock sale co., Aberdeen, South
Dakota; Aberdeen livestock sales, Aberdeen, South Dakota; Herreid livestock sale co.,
Herreid, South Dakota; Glendive livestock auction, Glendive, Montana; Sidney livestock
market center, Sidney, Montana. If any of the above markets, or other markets designated by
the board, where the association provides brand inspection closes for a period of three
months or longer, the market must file a written request and follow the same criteria as listed
for new requests for brand inspection services.
a. The request must be from a market within thirty-five miles of the state border, unless
granted an exemption by the board.
b. The number of potential inspections must be at a level that is feasible for the association
to hire personnel to perform the inspection services.
c. The auction markets must file a bond with the association in an amount to assure that
any shortage of income from inspections will cover all expenses incurred in performing
the services.
d. The auction markets must agree to abide by all North Dakota livestock inspection laws
and rules. Failure to do so may result in immediate suspension or revocation of brand
inspection services.
History: Effective July 1, 2016; amended effective July 1, 2024.
General Authority: NDCC 4.1-72-01
Law Implemented: NDCC 4.1-72-01, 4.1-73-23, 4.1-74-01, 36-05-10
