Every deadline, width and penalty here was read on September 23, 2026, off the city's own page or the municipal code that city hosts, and each one is quoted and linked beside the line it supports. Cities amend these ordinances between winters and several publish the deadline on a seasonal page that changes in autumn, so the link beside a line is what governs on the day.

North Dakota Sidewalk Snow Removal: 24 to 72 Hours

Q: Does snow have to be cleared from the sidewalk or the street in North Dakota?

The rules collected here are sidewalk rules, and the great majority of North Dakota cities publish a second one about where the snow may go once it has been moved, most often forbidding it on the travelled part of the road. Both come off the same city pages linked below, and the North Dakota cities that publish only the second are listed as such rather than folded in with the rest.

Q: Which cities in the country give you the least time?

St. Louis, Santa Fe, Sheridan, where the ordinance allows no hours at all. Above them, 57 of the 150 cities that count in hours give twelve hours or less, 74 give exactly a day, and 18 give more than a day. The widest gap inside a single state is Maine, from four hours to three days.

Nothing

What state law sets

37 states are in the same position

24 to 72h

The range across its cities

[object Object] is the tightest

7 of 7

Cities with an ordinance

6 clear it themselves and bill

September 23, 2026

Read

5 publish a penalty

The short answer

North Dakota runs from a day in Bismarck to three days in Minot

North Dakota has no sidewalk clearing statute at all. The clock is a city's instead, and five North Dakota cities count in hours. The tightest is Bismarck at a day and the loosest Minot at three days, a gap of 48 hours inside one state. Nationally the deadlines run from no hours at all to three days across 150 cities, and no state legislature anywhere has put a number on it.

The city named on each line below is the one that publishes the rule and the one that answers questions about it. 53 cities nationally also publish a page for reporting a walk that has not been cleared.

Nothing at state level7 of 7 cities with an ordinance5 counting in hours6 clear it themselves

City by city, in each city’s own words

The 7 North Dakota cities that publish an ordinance

Five North Dakota cities publish a count of hours, and each one below is quoted from the ordinance or the city page it was read from. A day is the commonest figure in North Dakota as it is nationally: 74 of the 150 cities that count in hours land on exactly that.

Each card below carries what that city published and nothing else: the deadline in its own sentence, the sentence it was read from, and the width, the penalty and the wording about ice where the city printed them. The chip is a band derived from the wording for sorting, not a restatement of it.

Bismarck
13h to 24h
within 24 hours after the snow falls or ice forms
The owner of any lot or parcel of land abutting any sidewalk shall: a. Keep the sidewalk clean and unobstructed at all times. b. Remove snow and ice within 24 hours after the snow falls or ice forms, and keep the sidewalk free of ice and snow.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
The owner of any lot or parcel of land abutting any sidewalk
What it says about ice
Sand may be used to make the area safe for pedestrian travel if removal of ice is impracticable.
- Penalty a fine or penalty not to exceed $1,500.00, and imprisonment not to exceed thirty days for one offense
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Section 10-03-04
- Published by Bismarck Public Works
Title 10 Public Places and Property Franchises, 10-03-04 Removal of Snow and Ice, City of Bismarck Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026
Grand Forks
13h to 24h
within twenty-four (24) hours after the same has fallen or accumulated
The superintendent of streets may remove or cause to be removed all snow and ice from the sidewalks and approach walks adjacent to any such building, or grounds, or premises whose owner or occupants shall refuse or fail to remove such snow and ice within twenty-four (24) hours after the same has fallen or accumulated, at the expense of such owner or occupant.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
The owner or occupant of any building, grounds or premises within the limits of the city
What it says about ice
However, no person shall be required to remove snow and ice during the continuance of any snowstorm.
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Section 16-0301
- Published by Grand Forks Public Works
16-0301. Snow and ice, Removal from sidewalks, Grand Forks City Code, read September 23, 2026
Mandan
13h to 24h
within 24 hours after the same has fallen or accumulated
The owner of every lot or parcel of land within the city along which sidewalks have been constructed shall clear the sidewalks on or along such lots or parcels of land of all accumulations of snow and ice within 24 hours after the same has fallen or accumulated.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
The owner of every lot or parcel of land within the city along which sidewalks have been constructed
What it says about ice
The owner shall keep such sidewalks free from accumulation of snow and ice, provided that no person shall be required to clear such sidewalks during the continuance of a snow storm.
- Width one-half of the distance across the alley or public way or to the gutter line of the street, where the sidewalk runs to an alley or other public way
- Penalty a fine not exceeding $1,500.00 and imprisonment not to exceed 30 days, or both
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Section Sec. 16-2-1
- Published by City of Mandan
Sec. 16-2-1. Duty of owner to remove snow and ice, Mandan Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026
Dickinson
Over 24h
within 72 hours after the ice forms or the snow ceases to fall thereon
It shall be the duty of the owner or occupant of each lot in the City to remove from the sidewalk in front of or along such lot any ice or snow which forms, accumulates or obstructs such sidewalk within 72 hours after the ice forms or the snow ceases to fall thereon.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
the owner or occupant of each lot in the City
What it says about ice
provided that where the ice accumulated is of such character as to make removal thereof impossible, the sprinkling of ashes, salt or sand thereon within the time specified for removal in such manner as to make such sidewalk safe for the travel of pedestrians thereon shall be deemed a compliance with the provisions of this section
- Penalty an infraction, punishable by the general penalty provided in Section 1-8
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Section Sec. 50-25
- Published by City of Dickinson
Sec. 50-25. Removal of snow and ice, Dickinson Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026
Minot
Over 24h
within seventy-two (72) hours after the conclusion of a snow storm
The owner or occupant of a property shall remove snow and ice within seventy-two (72) hours after the conclusion of a snow storm from any sidewalks and pedestrian curb ramps along or in front of any building, home, grounds, or premises.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
The owner or occupant of a property
What it says about ice
The owner or occupant of any building, home, grounds, or premises abutting a street, shall keep the sidewalk, including any pedestrian curb ramps, abutting such premises reasonably clear of snow and ice.
- Penalty a criminal infraction punishable with a fine of one hundred and fifty dollars ($150.00)
- Section Sec. 28-87
- Published by City of Minot
Sec. 28-87. Failure to remove snow or ice from sidewalks; penalty, Minot Code of Ordinances, read September 23, 2026
Fargo
By the clock
on or before nine o'clock p.m.
The owner or occupant of any building or grounds within the city fronting upon or adjoining any street, when a sidewalk exists, shall clear the sidewalk in front of or adjoining such building and grounds or unoccupied lot or building, as the case may be, of snow and ice to the width of such sidewalk on or before nine o'clock p.m.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
The owner or occupant of any building or grounds within the city fronting upon or adjoining any street
- Width to the width of such sidewalk
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Section 18-0301
- Published by Fargo Public Works
18-0301. Removal of snow and ice from sidewalks, Fargo Municipal Code, read September 23, 2026
West Fargo
By the clock
forty-eight (48) hours from the date and time of the notice by the Superintendent of Streets
No snow, ice, or other material that may result in slippery conditions, including, but not limited to, mold, slime, dirt or mud, may be allowed to stand or remain upon any public sidewalk within the City of West Fargo.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
any person or corporation
- Penalty an infraction, punishable by a maximum fine of $1,000
- If it is not done the city may clear it and charge the property
- Section 2-0121
- Published by West Fargo Street Department
Title 02 Sidewalks and Streets, 2-0121 Snow, Ice, and Other Materials on Sidewalk Removed by Owner and Occupant of Property, City of West Fargo Municipal Ordinances, read September 23, 2026

Why one North Dakota answer does not exist

Bismarck and Minot are 48 hours apart

A house on one side of a city line in North Dakota has a day and a house on the other has three days, which is the whole reason a state level answer to this question is no answer. 23 states carry a gap like it, the widest being Maine at 68 hours.

Neither city is wrong and neither is unusual. A sidewalk ordinance is written by a council for the street outside its own window, and nothing above it in North Dakota obliges one council to look at what the next one wrote. The figure that applies to a reader is the one their own city published, which is why every card above carries the city’s name before it carries a number.

A sidewalk cleared earlier in the day with fresh wind blown snow already lying back across the outer half of it, a plowed road to one side and an unbroken snow field to the other — Almost every hour count on these pages runs from the end of the snowfall rather than from its start, which is the one drafting choice the ordinances broadly share. What counts as the end of it, and what a fresh drift across a cleared walk does to the clock, is left to the wording each city chose, and that wording is quoted in full on the state pages. “Snow drifting onto a shoveled sidewalk, Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, 2024-01-20”, Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0

What North Dakota itself did

North Dakota has written nothing on this

Nothing in the North Dakota statutes was found setting a sidewalk clearing deadline, which leaves the question to the cities below.

That is the national pattern rather than a North Dakota quirk. 13 of the 50 legislatures have a statute that touches sidewalk snow at all, 10 of those do nothing but let a city decide, and not one of them sets a deadline. The clock is a municipal ordinance everywhere in the country.

Nothing at state level

No North Dakota statute was found on this

has no sidewalk clearing statute at all

What happens if it is not done

A bill or a penalty, depending on the North Dakota city

Six North Dakota cities publish a rule letting the city clear the walk and put the cost on the property. That is the commoner enforcement route nationally: 102 of the 187 cities with an ordinance carry one, against 105 that publish a penalty.

Five North Dakota cities print a penalty beside the rule, four of them as a dollar figure and the rest as the class of offence the ordinance creates. Each is reproduced below in the words its own ordinance used.

Both routes are printed on the cards above in the sentence each was read from, because a penalty clause paraphrased is a different statement than the one the city made. Where a city publishes a page for reporting a walk that has not been cleared, that link is on its card too.

How North Dakota compares

The same question in the other forty nine

150 cities nationally count in hours, and the counts run from no hours at all to 72. 74 land on exactly a day, 57 give twelve hours or less, and 18 give more than a day. A further 22 set a time of day or a depth of snow rather than a count of hours at all.

The bar splits those 150 cities by how long they allow, and the table beneath it orders the states by how tight their tightest city is, which is a different ranking from how much snow a state gets.

3 of 150No hours allowed
23 of 150Six hours or less
31 of 150Within twelve hours
75 of 150Within a day
18 of 150More than a day

Fifty states and 267 cities, read September 23, 2026.
State	What the legislature did	What its cities do	With an ordinance	Tightest city
Missouri	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	ImmediatelySt. Louis
Wyoming	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 3	ImmediatelySheridan
New Mexico	A cross reference	Cities count in hours	1 of 4	ImmediatelySanta Fe
Michigan	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	2hMarquette
Maryland	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	3hAnnapolis
Massachusetts	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	3hBoston
Pennsylvania	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	3hErie
Virginia	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 7	3hRoanoke
Connecticut	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	4hDanbury
Ohio	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	4hAthens
New York	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	4hNew York City
Maine	A city may	Cities count in hours	4 of 8	4hWaterville
Vermont	A city may	Cities count in hours	1 of 6	4hWinooski
Rhode Island	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	5hNewport
Indiana	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	6hWest Lafayette
Nebraska	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	8hFremont
New Jersey	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	8hJersey City
Utah	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	8hPark City
Iowa	Owner duty, no clock	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	10hAmes
Kansas	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	12hSalina
Delaware	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	12hMilford
Washington	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 4	12hSeattle
California	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	1 of 2	12hSouth Lake Tahoe
North Dakota	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	24hBismarck
Wisconsin	The city clears it	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	24hGreen Bay
Colorado	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hAurora
Illinois	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hChampaign
Minnesota	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hDuluth
Montana	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	24hBillings
South Dakota	A city may	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	24hWatertown
Oklahoma	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 7	24hTulsa
West Virginia	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 4	24hMorgantown
Alaska	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 3	24hSeward
Idaho	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 3	24hIdaho Falls
Texas	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 7	24hAmarillo
Arizona	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	1 of 5	24hFlagstaff
Oregon	Nothing at state level	Required, no time named	2 of 3	None published
Arkansas	Nothing at state level	Set by the clock or a depth	1 of 7	None published
Kentucky	Nothing at state level	Set by the clock or a depth	1 of 3	None published
Tennessee	Nothing at state level	Required, no time named	1 of 4	None published
Alabama	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Florida	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Georgia	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Hawaii	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 2	None published
Louisiana	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 6	None published
Mississippi	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Nevada	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
New Hampshire	A city may	No city rule found	0 of 7	None published
North Carolina	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 4	None published
South Carolina	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published

North Dakota sidewalk snow removal questions

How long do you have to shovel your sidewalk in North Dakota?

North Dakota has no sidewalk clearing statute at all. The clock is a city's instead, and five North Dakota cities count in hours. The tightest is Bismarck at a day and the loosest Minot at three days, a gap of 48 hours inside one state. Nationally the deadlines run from no hours at all to three days across 150 cities, and no state legislature anywhere has put a number on it. Five North Dakota cities publish a count of hours, and each one below is quoted from the ordinance or the city page it was read from. A day is the commonest figure in North Dakota as it is nationally: 74 of the 150 cities that count in hours land on exactly that.

Does North Dakota have a state law about clearing sidewalks?

Why do two North Dakota cities give different deadlines?

A house on one side of a city line in North Dakota has a day and a house on the other has three days, which is the whole reason a state level answer to this question is no answer. 23 states carry a gap like it, the widest being Maine at 68 hours. Bismarck writes: “The owner of any lot or parcel of land abutting any sidewalk shall: a. Keep the sidewalk clean and unobstructed at all times. b. Remove snow and ice within 24 hours after the snow falls or ice forms, and keep the sidewalk free of ice and snow.”

Will the city clear my sidewalk in North Dakota?

Six North Dakota cities publish a rule letting the city clear the walk and put the cost on the property. That is the commoner enforcement route nationally: 102 of the 187 cities with an ordinance carry one, against 105 that publish a penalty. Bismarck sets it out this way: “Should snow and ice not be removed in the manner required, it shall be removed under direction of the director of public works or city engineer, and costs assessed to the abutting property pursuant to Chapter 40-29, N.D.C.C.”

What is the fine for not shovelling a sidewalk in North Dakota?

Five North Dakota cities print a penalty beside the rule, four of them as a dollar figure and the rest as the class of offence the ordinance creates. Each is reproduced below in the words its own ordinance used. Bismarck prints a fine or penalty not to exceed $1,500.00, and imprisonment not to exceed thirty days for one offense: “Except as provided in subsections 2 and 3, the fine or penalty for the violation of any ordinance, resolution, or regulation shall not exceed $1,500.00, and the imprisonment shall not exceed thirty days for one offense.”

Does snow have to be cleared from the sidewalk or the street in North Dakota?

Which cities in the country give you the least time?

How current is this?

Sidewalk snow removal rules in every state

North Dakota ice damsWhat builds at the eaves while the walk is being cleared, and the conditions that put it there.North Dakota ground snow loadThe other winter number a city sets and the state usually does not, and who publishes it where.North Dakota snowpackWhat is actually on the ground this winter, measured daily, against the years behind it.North Dakota frozen pipesThe other thing a long cold spell does to a building, and the temperatures it starts at.

North Dakota read September 23, 2026: the municipal code and the city published pages of the 7 cities above. Every deadline, width, penalty and duty above links to the document it was published in and is reproduced in that document’s own wording. An hour count on this site is a sorting key derived from a city’s sentence and never a replacement for it. Councils amend ordinances on their own schedule, so the section linked beside a line is what governs on the day. What a particular property owes, and to whom, is a question for the city that published the ordinance.