Veteran benefits in Burke County, North Dakota
- Benefits you can claim here
- 30
- Property tax rate
- 0.46
- effective rate, ACS 2023 five-year
- Your rating percentage of $9,000 taxable value, typical home
- $0
- a year at this county rate
- Veterans in this county
- 94
- US Department of Veterans Affairs VetPop2023 county model, as of 9/30/2025
What to do, in Burke County
The process is the same across North Dakota for the statewide records. Only the office and the tax rate change.
Find what applies to you
30 benefits reach Burke County. Browse them below.
Check whether you qualify
Open any benefit and answer a few questions about that one specifically.
Get your proof
A VA Benefit Summary Letter from VA.gov covers most of them, in about two minutes.
File with Burke County
Form DR-501 to the Property Appraiser before March 1. File even without your letter.
How much is a property tax exemption worth in Burke County?
The rate shown is the county's effective property tax rate - aggregate taxes actually paid divided by aggregate home value, from the Census ACS 2023 five-year file. Every overlapping levy, credit and cap is already inside it, which makes it the honest basis for sizing an exemption's dollar value.
These are example savings for a typical home in this county, not an estimate of your own bill. Your actual saving depends on your assessed value, your taxing districts, and how this exemption interacts with any others you hold.
| Effective rate | what homeowners here actually paid |
|---|---|
| Basis | ACS 2023 five-year aggregates |
| Your rating percentage of $9,000 taxable value (N.D.C.C. §57-02-08.8) | about $0 a year against the county rate |
| Total exemption (N.D.C.C. §57-02-08.8) | the entire bill — about $1,150 a year against the county rate on a typical $250,000 value, and more once your other taxing units are added |
| Where to file | Burke County County tax equalization director |
| Deadline | April 1, once, every year |
Which document does the Burke County County tax equalization director accept?
Statute sets the floor; the office picks the paperwork.
Easiest · VA Benefit Summary Letter
Sign in at VA.gov, choose Download VA Letters, then Benefit Summary — Veteran Benefits.
All 30 benefits you can claim in Burke County
All 53 North Dakota counties get the same statewide law.
licenses & fees(3)
CDL Without the Road Test — and Without the Written One for Some Specialties
North Dakota waives the CDL skills (driving) test, and for a qualifying military occupational specialty the KNOWLEDGE TEST TOO, for current active-duty, Reserve or ND National Guard members and for VETERANS WITHIN ONE YEAR AFTER DISCHARGE. You must have held a military operator's permit and operated representative commercial vehicles in the PRECEDING TWO YEARS. Apply on form SFN 60071. Written tests are otherwise still required and ordinary fees still apply.
The CDL skills test waived; the knowledge test too for a qualifying MOS
Provisional Occupational Licence for Military Spouses — Three Years, No Application Fee
A military spouse holding an out-of-state licence in good standing can practise here on a provisional licence with no examination and no application fee, valid three years. A veteran's spouse gets the same route within six months of an honorable discharge — but that one does not renew.
Provisional licence for three years with no application fee; boards must prioritise and expedite military applications
Veteran Indicator on Your Licence — Free at Renewal, $8 Any Other Time
A veteran may have an indicator of veteran status placed on the driver licence. It costs nothing if you add it when the licence is due for renewal, and $8 as a duplicate if you ask for it mid-cycle. Eligibility is 180 days of continuous federalised active duty — or the full period you were called for — plus an honorable discharge, and a veteran service officer has to verify it before the licence site will act.
No charge when added at renewal; an $8 duplicate fee when added mid-cycle
recreation(3)
Free for Life at 50%, $28 a Year Below It — the Park Pass Has Two Tiers
North Dakota gives a FREE LIFETIME state park vehicle entrance permit to a resident veteran with a 50% or greater service-related disability, and to any former prisoner of war. Below 50%, a resident veteran with any service-related disability pays $28 for an annual permit — still a discount rather than nothing. Proof is a VA benefit letter or a North Dakota DAV or POW plate; for POW status a DD214 or National Archives record. ONE THING WILL BE REFUSED: THE GOLDEN ACCESS PASSPORT IS NOT ACCEPTED.
Free for life at 50% or as a former POW; $28 a year below 50%
Priority in the Deer Gun Lottery for an Expeditionary Medal or Campaign Badge
A North Dakota veteran who received an expeditionary medal or a campaign badge during a previous deployment gets PRIORITY IN THE DEER GUN LICENCE LOTTERY in their chosen unit. In a state where the deer gun lottery is genuinely competitive and a preferred unit can take years to draw, priority is worth more than most fee waivers. A related provision covers resident armed forces members stationed outside the state. It is keyed to the MEDAL OR BADGE, not to a disability rating.
Priority in the deer gun licence lottery in your chosen unit
Hunting at $10, Fishing at $10 — From 50%
At a 50% service-related disability, the veteran combined hunting licence is $10 against the standard $62 — and the fishing licence is $10 against $27.
Veteran Combined Hunting $10 (vs $62 standard); fishing $10 (vs $27) — plus the $2 certificate
other(13)
A PTSD Service Dog, Trained in North Dakota and Paid for by the State
North Dakota helps fund a PTSD service dog for a resident veteran through the Veterans Affairs department's partnership with Service Dogs for America, using money appropriated by the 63rd Legislative Assembly and private donations. Three conditions: a PTSD DIAGNOSIS, being ENGAGED IN COUNSELLING OR THERAPY, and A DOCTOR'S RECOMMENDATION for a service dog. NO RATING THRESHOLD IS STATED, so a diagnosis rather than a percentage is what matters. The grant amount is not published — ask. Applications go through a county veterans service officer or through SDA directly.
Grant support toward a trained PTSD service dog
All Military Pay Untaxed Since 2023 — Including Bonuses and Training Pay
Since 2023 North Dakota has deducted ALL military pay from state taxable income for resident members of the armed forces on federal active duty, National Guard members and Reserve members. The breadth is the point: it covers federal pay for TRAINING, EDUCATION, MOBILIZATION AND BONUSES, as well as state pay on state active duty. Most states that exempt military pay stop at active duty and leave drill and bonus pay taxable. The state put the saving to its members at about $4 million over the 2023-25 biennium.
All military pay deducted from North Dakota taxable income
Military Retirement — Subtracted Since 2019
Military retirement benefits are subtracted from North Dakota taxable income — since tax year 2019, surviving spouses included.
Military retirement benefits, subtracted in full
The Veterans Aid Loan — $8,000, and Half Your Interest Back If You Pay On Time
A state loan of up to $8,000 at 8% over as much as 48 months, opened through your county veterans service officer rather than a bank. The part worth knowing: a borrower who repays on schedule may get half the interest back, which is what makes the headline rate misleading in the borrower's favour.
Up to $8,000 at 8% for up to 48 months, with half the interest returned to a borrower who repays on time
Hardship Grants — $5,000 a Year, Paid Straight to the Vendor
A set of grants, not loans, running off the interest on the veterans postwar trust fund: up to $5,000 in a calendar year for medical, dental, optical, hearing, transport and housing needs. The emergency-repair version adds a $7,000 lifetime ceiling and pays vendors directly, which is why it moves faster than a reimbursement scheme.
Up to $5,000 per calendar year for medical, dental, optical, hearing, transport and housing needs; the emergency-repair grant caps at $7,000 over a lifetime
Military Funeral Honors — What the State Pays the Honour Guard
Since July 2023 the state pays a congressionally chartered veterans organisation $50 for each funeral at which it renders honours. The family pays nothing and claims nothing. Knowing the stipend exists is what lets a family ask for full honours rather than accept a recording and a folded flag.
$50 paid by the state to the veterans organisation rendering honours — one organisation per funeral
Unclaimed or Indigent Remains — The State Furnishes a Military Urn
Where a veteran's remains are unclaimed or the estate cannot pay, the state health and human services department may furnish a military urn, unless the extra cost runs past the statutory reimbursement rate. A family may decline it and choose a non-military urn instead — the choice sits with the surviving spouse or nearest kin.
A military urn furnished at state expense where remains are unclaimed or the estate is indigent, subject to the statutory reimbursement rate
The State Cemetery — Free for the Spouse Too, Since 2020
Opening and closing the grave, the burial itself and the headstone are all free of charge at the state veterans cemetery at Mandan — for the veteran, for an eligible spouse and for an eligible dependent. That was not always true. There used to be a burial fee for spouses and dependents; a 2019 appropriation abolished it with effect from 1 March 2020. One fee survives: $380 for a headstone where a Guard or Reserve member and their family do not meet veteran status under federal rules.
Opening and closing, burial and headstone free of charge for the veteran, an eligible spouse and an eligible dependent — with a $380 headstone fee only where a Guard or Reserve member does not meet federal veteran status
Deployment and Custody — Temporary by Law, With an Expedited Hearing and Testimony by Video
A deploying parent can hand caretaking authority to the other parent, a family member or another nonparent by written agreement — and it is temporary by operation of law. Where it goes to court instead, the hearing is expedited if the motion is filed before deployment, and a parent who cannot attend may testify by telephone, video or internet. On return, an agreement ends sixty days after notice even if nobody signs anything.
Temporary custodial arrangements for a deployment of more than 90 days and less than 18 months: agreement or court order, expedited hearing, testimony by electronic means, and automatic termination 60 days after notice of return
A Free Ride to a VA-Authorised Appointment — 36 of 53 Counties
The state veterans department has held a federal highly rural transportation grant since October 2015 and, working with the state transportation department, contracts existing transit providers to carry veterans to VA-authorised medical appointments at no charge. The appointment can be at a VA facility or at a non-VA facility, provided the VA authorised it. Thirty-six of the state’s fifty-three counties are eligible, plus several tribal nations. The test is population density: fewer than seven people per square mile.
Transport to a VA-authorised medical appointment at no cost to the veteran, in 36 highly rural counties and several tribal nations
The Veterans Treatment Court — One, in the Northeast Central District
There is a veterans treatment court here, and there is one. It sits in the Northeast Central Judicial District and serves Grand Forks and Nelson counties. Eligibility is broader than most veterans expect on service — current or former members of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, National Guard or Reserves — but narrower than most expect on geography, because you have to live in the service area. A serving member must be available for at least 18 months and must disclose any change of station, deployment or orders.
A judicially supervised treatment and mentorship track in the Northeast Central Judicial District, serving Grand Forks and Nelson counties
Women Veterans — A Registry Card and a Survey, and the Rest Is Still Being Built
What exists here today is a Women Veteran’s Registry card, which puts you on the department’s database, and a Women in the Military survey used to gather statistics. That is the honest extent of it. The department’s own page lists conferences, association membership, newsletters and committees as ideas "in development" — not as services. Everything else it points to is federal or a national charity, not a state programme.
A registry card and a survey — with conferences, membership, newsletters and committees described by the department as in development
Caregiver Respite — and the Clause That Shuts a Veteran’s Family Out
The state family caregiver programme pays for respite, safety equipment, incontinence supplies, training and counselling at no cost to the caregiver. But its own handbook says that if the care recipient is able to receive respite or a similar in-home support service through the federal veterans department, hospice or long-term care insurance, the caregiver is NOT eligible. For a veteran household this programme is a last resort, not a first call.
Respite, supplemental safety and incontinence supplies, training and counselling at no cost — funded to a per-caregiver amount set in a Caregiver Option Plan
vehicles(5)
POW Plates — Excise Tax Off Two Vehicles, and Personalisation Free
A former prisoner of war certified by the North Dakota Veterans Affairs Office gets a distinctive POW plate on up to TWO MOTOR VEHICLES AT A TIME, with the motor vehicle EXCISE TAX EXEMPT on both and PERSONALISATION AT NO ADDITIONAL FEE. Vehicles must be a passenger vehicle, house car or pickup under 20,000 lbs registered gross weight. Apply on form SFN 2872 with NDDVA certification. Registration fee treatment follows N.D.C.C. 39-04-18(2)(o).
Excise tax exempt on up to two vehicles, with free personalisation
DAV Plates — Registration Fees Waived on Two Vehicles
A veteran with a 100% service-connected disability — or eligible under Public Law 79-663 — registers up to two vehicles of 26,000 lbs or less exempt from registration fees, with the distinctive DAV plate. The same two vehicles are also exempt from the motor vehicle excise tax when acquired, which on a new vehicle is worth far more than the annual fees: that exemption has its own record at nd-vehicle-excise-tax-exemption.
Registration fees exempt on up to two vehicles of 26,000 lbs or less, plus the excise tax exemption when the vehicles are acquired
Motor Vehicle Excise Tax — Exempt on Two Vehicles at 100%
A separate exemption from the plate benefit, and worth more. A resident disabled veteran rated 100% service connected — including by individual unemployability — pays no motor vehicle excise tax on TWO vehicles. A surviving spouse drawing Dependency and Indemnity Compensation keeps it on one.
No motor vehicle excise tax on two vehicles for a 100% service-connected disabled veteran; one vehicle for an un-remarried surviving spouse receiving DIC
Two Plates for a Family That Lost Someone — and the Second One Is the Forgotten One
The gold star plate goes to the family of a member who died on active duty during a time of military conflict. The military sacrifice plate goes to the family of a member who died OUTSIDE a combat zone while serving honorably. Both carry no additional plate fee, both may be personalised at no charge, and both are approved by the state veterans department before the transport department will issue them.
No additional plate fee and no personalisation fee on either plate — ordinary registration fees still apply
The DAV Plate Parks Without a Placard — and the Placard Itself Is Free
The transport department states that the distinctive DAV plate allows parking privileges without a separate permit. If you need a placard as well — for a vehicle you are not driving — the mobility-impaired permit costs nothing to obtain, runs on a three-year cycle for a permanent blue permit, and replaces for $3.
Accessible parking on the plate alone, and a mobility-impaired permit at no charge if you need one as well
property tax(2)
$120,000 of Building Value Exempt — and the Paraplegia Need Not Be Service Connected
North Dakota exempts up to $120,000 of the true and full value of the fixtures, buildings and improvements on the homestead of a paraplegic disabled veteran, or of a veteran awarded VA specially adapted housing. Two things make this wider than it looks: THE PARAPLEGIC DISABILITY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE SERVICE CONNECTED, and THERE IS NO INCOME TEST and no rating threshold. A physician's certificate of total disability is what evidences the paraplegia route. THE LAND REMAINS TAXABLE — the exemption is on what is built on it.
Up to $120,000 of building and improvement value exempt
Your Percentage of $9,000, Off the Taxable Value
From 50%, your rating percentage is applied to $9,000 of taxable value — recently raised from $8,100 — and once granted the credit renews itself.
Rating % × $9,000 of taxable value, off
education(2)
The Honorary Diploma — One Form, One Discharge Paper
North Dakota awards an honorary high school diploma to a veteran who left high school to serve in the Second World War, the Korean War or the Vietnam War. The process is as simple as any in this corpus: form SFN 61347 and a DD214 or other discharge paperwork, to the Department of Public Instruction's School Approval and Opportunity office. There is no fee and no deadline published, and families can pursue it on behalf of a veteran who has died.
A North Dakota honorary high school diploma
Dependent Tuition Waiver — Tuition AND Fees, No Month Cap Stated
A child, stepchild, spouse, widow or widower of a resident veteran who was killed in action, died of service-connected causes, holds a 100% service-connected disability, or was captured or missing attends the university-system institutions free of tuition and fee charges through a bachelor's degree or certificate.
Free of tuition and fee charges at university-system institutions, bachelor's or certificate — aviation flight charges excluded
Filing in Burke County
- Office
- Burke County Property Appraiser
- Form
- DR-501 for most exemptions; DR-501DV for the combat-related discount; DR-501M for a deployment exemption.
- Deadline
- March 1, every year. Missing it costs the whole tax year — there is no late route back in.
Free help in Burke County
Burke County has a County Veteran Service Officer, and their help is free. Go to them for anything touching a federal VA disability claim.
Nobody should charge you to claim the benefits on this page. Unaccredited operators charging fees for VA claims are a real and growing problem.
Common questions about Burke County veteran benefits
- What can I claim here?
- The North Dakota statewide records apply in every county. We have not researched county-level programmes here, so this page shows state law and complete geography rather than a local layer.
- What is it worth in this county?
- Dollar figures use the county's EFFECTIVE property tax rate - what homeowners there actually paid per dollar of home value, from the Census ACS 2023 five-year file. It is an estimate for sizing a saving; the levy table on your own bill governs.
- Where do I file for a veteran property tax exemption in Burke County?
- File with your County assessor. The form and deadline are on each benefit record.
- What document does the Burke County County tax equalization director accept as proof?
- The statute sets what must be proved. An office may tell you which document it prefers, but it may not add a requirement the statute does not contain. We have not researched per-county document quirks in North Dakota.
Other counties
- Adams
- Barnes
- Benson
- Billings
- Bottineau
- Bowman
- Burleigh
- Cass
- Cavalier
- Dickey
- Divide
- Dunn
- Eddy
- Emmons
- Foster
- Golden Valley
- Grand Forks
- Grant
- Griggs
- Hettinger
- Kidder
- LaMoure
- Logan
- McHenry
- McIntosh
- McKenzie
- McLean
- Mercer
- Morton
- Mountrail
- Nelson
- Oliver
- Pembina
- Pierce
- Ramsey
- Ransom
- Renville
- Richland
- Rolette
- Sargent
- Sheridan
- Sioux
- Slope
- Stark
- Steele
- Stutsman
- Towner
- Traill
- Walsh
- Ward
- Wells
- Williams
This is an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. Veterans Alliance is privately owned and is not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Geography from the US Census; veteran population from the VA VetPop2023 county model.