North Dakota License Reinstatement

Author: A. Ant, CADC-II, Licensing & Accreditation Expert

Disclaimer: This content is provided for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, regulatory, or licensing advice. Requirements change frequently. Consult qualified professionals for guidance specific to your situation.

North Dakota counts its enforcement steps in days, and most of them are fixed in rule. A substance use disorder program cited by the HHS Behavioral Health Division (BHD) gets 30 days to submit a corrective plan and 60 more to make it work. Miss that, and NDAC 75-09.1-01-26(4) says the department “shall impose a ninety-nine-day suspension.” If the problem is still there when the 99 days end, revocation follows “immediately,” and the program can’t file a new application for 365 days. Nothing in that sequence calls itself reinstatement. What the rules offer instead is a narrow path back during the suspension, and a fresh application after the bar runs out.

Type I and Type II Findings

Both definitions and every deadline in this guide come from NDAC chapter 75-09.1-01 and N.D.C.C. 50-31-05 as published by the Legislative Assembly.

Which track a program lands on depends on how BHD labels the finding. A Type I condition is a violation of an applicable law or rule that “has occurred in at least twenty-five percent of the cases reviewed.” So a documentation gap in one chart out of twelve is not, by that definition, a Type I. The same gap in four charts out of twelve is. A Type II condition is broader and more serious: “habitual noncompliance,” a Type I that’s still present on later visits, “any illegal act, or any act that threatens the health or safety of the clients” (75-09.1-01-01).

The difference shows up right away. For a Type II, 75-09.1-01-26(1) says “The department may immediately revoke a program’s license.” There is no required correction window first. For a Type I, the program gets the timed sequence below.

The Enforcement Clock, Step by Step

The row that matters most to an operator in trouble is the fifth one. Under 75-09.1-01-26(4), “At the end of the ninety-nine-day suspension, if the cited condition has been corrected, the department may issue a one-year provisional license to the program.” That is the closest North Dakota comes to a reinstatement step. It is discretionary (“may”), it gives you a provisional license rather than your old unrestricted one, and it only exists if the fix is complete before day 99. Our reading is that the suspension period is the time to finish the correction and document it, since the rule offers no second chance once revocation lands.

Subsection (3) adds that “The department may conduct another onsite review prior to issuing a license after a program has developed a plan of corrective action of any condition.” Expect that visit and be ready for it.

Notice and Appeal Rights

The statute and the rule each set out an appeal route, and the two run on the same 30-day clock. Under N.D.C.C. 50-31-05(3), the department gives written notice of the charges by registered mail, personal delivery or email before it suspends or revokes, and “Within thirty days after service of the written charges, the applicant or licensee may submit to the” department “a written request for an administrative hearing as provided in chapter 28-32.” Rule 75-09.1-01-27 frames it as “a written appeal with the department within thirty days of written notice of such a decision,” with the hearing run under NDAC chapter 75-01-03. Count from the date of service, file in writing, and keep proof of when you filed.

A Type II revocation can happen without the correction window, but we read the statute’s notice requirement as still applying before it takes effect. If you receive a notice, treat the 30 days as the only deadline that matters that month.

Coming Back After Revocation

Under 75-09.1-01-26(5), a program “is prohibited from submitting a new application to the department” “during the three hundred sixty-five days following a license revocation for any type I or type II condition.” Once the year passes, the Century Code sets the conditions for a new license. Section 50-31-05(3) says “a new application for a license may be considered by the department when the conditions upon which the revocation were based have been corrected and evidence of this fact has been satisfactorily furnished,” and that “A new license may then be granted after proper inspection has been made and the applicant has complied with all rules adopted by the department.”

In practice that means starting over with SFN 971, the notarized application whose Section 4 asks about investigations and discipline, plus the full policy manual and the $150 nonrefundable fee in N.D.C.C. 50-31-03.1. BHD also has authority under N.D.C.C. 50-06-01.7 to set application fees “not to exceed three hundred dollars,” so confirm the current amount when you refile. We base the start-over conclusion on the rules themselves, since nothing in chapter 50-31 or Article 75-09.1 describes a shortened reapplication. Build the evidence file the statute asks for before the 365 days end, so the application can go in on day 366 with proof attached. Questions go to BHD at dhsbhd@nd.gov or 701-328-8920.

Running a program while unlicensed is not a workaround. Section 50-31-02 says a person “may not establish, conduct, or maintain in this state a substance use disorder treatment program” without a license. We found no fine schedule in chapter 50-31 or in 75-09.1-01, and as we read 50-31-02 the state’s remedy is a court action against the operator.

Provisional, Restricted and Lapsed Licenses

Not every license problem starts with a citation. Rule 75-09.1-01-03 recognizes a provisional license of up to one year, a restricted license of up to 90 days, and an unrestricted license “not to exceed two years.” Licenses can’t be transferred, must be posted, and BHD may visit unannounced. A new owner or a change in level of care needs a new application under 75-09.1-01-02, and once BHD notifies an applicant that its file is incomplete, the applicant has sixty days to cure it before BHD may treat the application as withdrawn. We found no provision for reviving a license that expired without renewal, so our working assumption is that a lapsed program refiles SFN 971 as a new applicant. Confirm that with BHD before you stop admitting.

Accreditation helps on the way back. NDAC 75-09.1-01-25 says the department “shall issue a license to a program that has a current accreditation” from a nationally recognized body, with the accreditor’s most recent review and certification submitted at application. A program whose accreditation survives the licensing trouble has a strong argument at reapplication. The rule doesn’t say how it interacts with the 365-day bar, though, and we would not assume accreditation shortens it.

Psychiatric Hospital Licenses Follow Chapter 23-16

Psychiatric hospitals and hospital psychiatric units answer to the HHS Health Facilities Unit instead of BHD, and their enforcement rules sit in N.D.C.C. chapter 23-16. Section 23-16-06 lets the department suspend or revoke a hospital license for “Violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto,” among other grounds, but only after written notice “served by registered or certified mail.” Under 23-16-10, an appeal from a denial, suspension or revocation goes to the Office of Administrative Hearings under chapter 28-32. Hospital licenses run one year, and NDAC 33-07-01.1-02 allows a provisional license of up to 90 days, renewable no more than twice. Operating a hospital “without first obtaining a license” is an infraction under 23-16-11. The Health Facilities Unit takes calls at (701) 328-2352.

A Correction BHD Can Verify

Because a Type I is defined by percentage of cases, the evidence that ends one is also a percentage. In our experience a plan of correction holds up when it shows the new chart audit results alongside the new policy. Pull a fresh sample after retraining, score it against the cited rule, and send BHD the numbers with the plan. If the finding was a staffing gap, include the hire letters and the licensed addiction counselor’s board verification. The rules are also changing: HHS’s draft rewrite of Article 75-09.1 is anticipated for “July 1, 2027, pending completion of the formal rulemaking process and required approvals.” Until then, every citation is measured against the current chapters, so quote those in your response.

Frequently Asked Questions

Inside the 99-day window and need the correction documented? Contact us.

Sources

• NDAC 75-09.1-01, sections -01, -02, -03, -25, -26, -27: General standards (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
• N.D.C.C. ch. 50-31, sections 50-31-02, 50-31-03.1, 50-31-05: Substance use disorder treatment programs (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
• N.D.C.C. ch. 50-06, section 50-06-01.7: Behavioral health division fee authority (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
• HHS Behavioral Health Division: Licensing (checked October 15, 2026)
• HHS: SFN 971, Substance Abuse Treatment License Application, rev. 2-2026 (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
• HHS: Draft administrative code revisions, Article 75-09.1 (checked October 15, 2026)
• N.D.C.C. ch. 23-16, sections 23-16-04, 23-16-06, 23-16-10 and 23-16-11: Hospitals and related institutions (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
• NDAC 33-07-01.1-02: Hospital licensing rules (PDF) (checked October 15, 2026)
• HHS Health Facilities Unit: Contact the Health Facilities Unit (checked October 15, 2026)