StateLicensed

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) License Requirements in North Dakota

Verified · July 2026
Training hours
110 hrs
Upfront cost
$104
Exam
NREMT EMT Cognitive Examination, NREMT Psychomotor (Practical) Examination
Renewal cycle
Every 2 years
Issuing board
North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Emergency Medical Systems (EMS Unit)

How to get licensed

  1. 1

    Meet the prerequisites

    Be at least 16 years old, pass a criminal background check. Per N.D. Admin Code 33-36-01, individuals sixteen years of age or older who are NREMT-certified as EMTs are eligible for North Dakota licensure (the minimum age is higher, 18, for paramedic licensure). Applicants must complete a Criminal Conviction Statement disclosing convictions, license/certification denials, disciplinary actions, and pending investigations, and must authorize the EMS Unit to perform a criminal background check; applicants unwilling to disclose their social security number must instead supply an official current criminal history background check. Registration form PDF has moved since research (2026-07-13 sweep); content verified via Wayback snapshot 2025-12-22. Check hhs.nd.gov EMS forms page for the current-year form. The legacy EMS registration form PDF was retired in a site restructure; the citation above is the Department's current EMS certification and licensure page. [4]

  2. 2

    Complete approved training

    Complete 110 hours of training at a state-approved program. N.D. Admin Code Article 33-36-01 requires completion of a Department of Transportation-based approved EMT course consisting of at least 110 hours of didactic and practical instruction; individual ND programs commonly run closer to 150 hours based on National EMS Education Standards. The official ndlegis.gov PDF of 33-36-01 could not be parsed by this session's fetch tool (binary/compressed stream), so this figure was confirmed via search-engine-cached quotations of the regulation and secondary EMS training sources. [1]

  3. 3

    NREMT EMT Cognitive Examination

    Pass the NREMT EMT Cognitive Examination (fee: $104). North Dakota requires EMT candidates to complete NREMT certification (cognitive and practical/psychomotor exams) as part of the state licensure process. $104 is NREMT's published national EMT cognitive exam fee. [1]

  4. 4

    NREMT Psychomotor (Practical) Examination

    Pass the NREMT Psychomotor (Practical) Examination. Required alongside the cognitive exam for NREMT certification, which North Dakota licensure is built on. No separate NREMT-published national fee for the psychomotor component was found; it is typically coordinated through the candidate's training program, so left null. [1]

  5. 5

    Submit your application

    Submit your application to North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Emergency Medical Systems (EMS Unit). [2]

  6. 6

    Receive your license

    Once your application is approved, North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Emergency Medical Systems (EMS Unit) issues your Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for North Dakota.

Fees

Fee Amount
Application fee [2] None specified
License fee [2] None specified
Renewal fee [2] None specified
NREMT EMT Cognitive Examination [1] $104
NREMT Psychomotor (Practical) Examination [1] None specified

No published state application, license, or renewal fee amount for individual EMT personnel licensure was located on official North Dakota HHS pages, EMS registration forms, or the ndlegis.gov 33-36-01 regulation text available to this session (North Dakota publishes fee schedules for EMS agency/ambulance-service licensure, but a comparable personnel-level fee schedule was not found). Left null rather than guessed; should be rechecked directly with the EMS Unit (dems@nd.gov).

Renewal & continuing education

Renew every 2 years. 40 continuing education hours required per cycle.

North Dakota EMT licenses are on a 2-year cycle, with all licenses expiring June 30. North Dakota follows the NREMT National Continued Competency Program (NCCP) hour structure, requiring 40 hours of continuing education for the EMT level (compared to 16 for EMR, 50 for AEMT, and 60 for Paramedic). This session's direct fetch to the hhs.nd.gov renewal-requirements page returned only site navigation without the substantive content, so figures were confirmed via search-engine-cached quotations of the official page.

Reciprocity

Endorsement/reciprocity from another state is available. Participates in: EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact (REPLICA).

North Dakota's EMS Personnel Certification and Licensure page links directly to the North Dakota Century Code chapter enacting the EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact, and North Dakota is confirmed as a current commissioner/member state on the compact commission's own state page (emscompact.gov/the-commission/commissioners/north-dakota) as of the accessed date. Because North Dakota licensure is built on NREMT national certification, out-of-state applicants holding current NREMT certification are generally eligible for ND licensure without re-examination; full endorsement procedure details were not fully retrievable from this session's fetch of hhs.nd.gov due to page truncation.

3 state-approved training providers in North Dakota — browse programs and compare schools on tradecolleges.org.

Cost calculator

  • $104
Total$104

Frequently asked questions

Does North Dakota require the NREMT exam to become an EMT?

Yes. North Dakota licensure requires NREMT certification, which includes passing both the NREMT cognitive exam ($104, via Pearson VUE) and the NREMT psychomotor (practical) exam, after completing an approved EMT course of at least 110 hours.

How old do you have to be to become an EMT in North Dakota?

16 years of age or older, provided the applicant is NREMT-certified as an EMT -- North Dakota's minimum age for EMT licensure is lower than the 18-year minimum required for paramedic licensure.

Is North Dakota part of the EMS Compact (REPLICA)?

Yes. North Dakota is a confirmed current member state of the EMS Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact, per the compact commission's own commissioners page.

How often do North Dakota EMT licenses need to be renewed?

Every 2 years; all North Dakota EMS licenses expire June 30. North Dakota follows the NREMT National Continued Competency Program structure, requiring 40 hours of continuing education for the EMT level.

Does North Dakota require a background check for EMT licensure?

Yes. Applicants must complete a Criminal Conviction Statement disclosing any convictions, license/certification denials, disciplinary actions, or pending investigations, and must authorize the EMS Unit to run a criminal background check.

Sources

  1. [1] ndlegis.gov/prod/acdata/pdf/33-36-01.pdf — accessed 2026-07-12
  2. [2] hhs.nd.gov/ems-personnel-certification-and-licensure — accessed 2026-07-12
  3. [3] hhs.nd.gov/health/epr/ems-personnel-renewal-requirements — accessed 2026-07-12
  4. [4] hhs.nd.gov/ems-personnel-certification-and-licensure — accessed 2026-07-27
  5. [5] emscompact.gov/the-commission/commissioners/north-dakota — accessed 2026-07-12