Can the North Dakota Tax Commissioner refuse to confirm whether a specific business holds a sales-tax permit?

Plain-English summary

Jon Vannett asked the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner whether three named businesses had sales-and-use-tax permits. The Tax Commissioner refused, citing taxpayer confidentiality under N.D.C.C. § 57-39.2-23(1)(a). Vannett asked the AG whether that refusal violated the open records law.

The AG said it did not. Two reasons. First, asking a question is not the same as requesting a record. The open records law (§ 44-04-18(2)) requires public entities to provide access to existing records, not to answer questions. Second, even if the inquiry were treated as a record request, confirming or denying a business's permit status would reveal that business's tax affairs and operations, which is protected confidential information under the tax-confidentiality statute.

What this means for you

If you are trying to find out whether a business has a North Dakota sales-tax permit

You are unlikely to get the answer from the Tax Commissioner directly under the open records law. You may get the answer indirectly: business records visible elsewhere may indicate sales-tax registration. You can also confirm a business's tax-collection practice by examining receipts (a business charging and itemizing sales tax is presumptively registered).

If you are filing open records requests in North Dakota

Frame your requests as requests for records, not as questions. "Please provide the application or registration record on file for [business name]" is a record request. "Does [business] have a permit?" is a question. The first triggers § 44-04-18; the second does not. The AG opinion explicitly relies on this distinction.

If you are a tax professional or government attorney

The opinion reinforces a strong reading of § 57-39.2-23(1)(a). The Tax Commissioner cannot reveal taxpayer business affairs or operations under any reporting requirement of the chapter. Permit status is treated as part of "business affairs and operations" because it inherently signals taxable activity, the obligation to collect and remit, and physical-presence threshold satisfaction.

If you are a Tax Commissioner staff member

This opinion gives you AG support to refuse routine inquiries about specific business permit status. The narrow exceptions in § 57-39.2-23 do not include public disclosure. Any decision to broaden public access "is reserved to the Legislative Assembly," per the opinion's footnote.

Common questions

Q: Why is permit status confidential when business names are public?
A: A business name is public, but linking a name to a tax-permit status reveals confidential information about the business's tax obligations and operations. The statute protects business affairs reported under the tax chapter, and the AG treats permit status as part of those affairs.

Q: Can I find this information through any official channel?
A: The Tax Commissioner is the official source. The opinion does not address other state databases. Some indirect indicators exist (does the business charge sales tax on receipts?), but those are not authoritative confirmations.

Q: Does this opinion mean any tax-related question is confidential?
A: No. The opinion is specific to information protected under § 57-39.2-23(1)(a). Other tax records (e.g., property tax assessments) are subject to different rules and are typically more accessible.

Q: Could the legislature change this?
A: Yes. The opinion notes that any decision to include the public as an exception under § 57-39.2-23 is "reserved to the Legislative Assembly." A statutory amendment could open up permit-status disclosure.

Q: What if I'm asking about my own business?
A: A taxpayer's own information is generally accessible to that taxpayer through standard tax-account procedures. The opinion concerns third-party requests, not first-party access.

Q: What if I'm a business considering doing business with another company?
A: Standard due diligence (W-9, references, public records about lawsuits, UCC filings) is your toolkit. Asking the Tax Commissioner directly is not.

Background and statutory framework

North Dakota's open records law (N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18) starts from a strong presumption of openness: "Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, all records of a public entity are public records, open and accessible." But § 44-04-17.1(8) recognizes that federal statutes, federal regulations, and state statutes can render records confidential.

For tax matters, § 57-39.2-23(1)(a) is the operative confidentiality provision. It bars the Commissioner and individuals with administrative duties from "divulg[ing] or mak[ing] known in any manner whatever" the business affairs, operations, or information obtained from any person under reporting requirements of the chapter. The narrow statutory exceptions do not authorize general public disclosure of permit status.

The opinion also rests on the records-vs-questions distinction in § 44-04-18(2). Public entities must provide access to existing records but are not obligated to answer arbitrary questions. This procedural point is often dispositive: framing matters.

Citations and references

Statutes:
- N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 (Open records law)
- N.D.C.C. § 57-39.2-23 (Sales tax confidentiality)

Prior AG opinions:
- N.D.A.G. 2003-O-11, Tax Commissioner cannot release information revealing business affairs
- N.D.A.G. 2018-O-23: questions are not record requests

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/the-north-dakota-attorney-general-issued-an-opinion-to-the-grand-forks-police-department-2/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2026-O-09.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA

OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
www.attorneygeneral.nd.gov
(701) 328-2210

Drew H. Wrigley
ATTORNEY GENERAL

OPEN RECORDS AND MEETINGS OPINION
2026-O-09

DATE ISSUED: April 27, 2026

ISSUED TO: Office of the State Tax Commissioner

CITIZEN'S REQUEST FOR OPINION

Jon Vannett requested an opinion from this office under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-21.1 asking whether
the Office of the State Tax Commissioner violated N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 by refusing to disclose
whether specific businesses have sales and use tax permits.

FACTS PRESENTED

On May 21, 2024, Mr. Vannett submitted a webform inquiry to the North Dakota Office of State
Tax Commissioner (State Tax Commissioner) asking whether three named businesses have
North Dakota sales and use tax permits. On May 22, 2024, the State Tax Commissioner denied
the request, stating the requested information was protected from disclosure because the
information was confidential taxpayer information under N.D.C.C. § 57-39.2-23(1)(a).

ISSUE

Whether the State Tax Commissioner violated N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 by refusing to disclose
whether specific businesses had sales and use tax permits.

ANALYSIS

"Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, all records of a public entity are public
records, open and accessible for inspection during reasonable office hours." A "'confidential
record' means all or part of a record or meeting that is either expressly declared confidential or is
prohibited from being open to the public." A "record" is defined as "recorded information of
any kind . . . which is in the possession or custody of a public entity or its agent and which has
been received or prepared for use in connection with public business or contains information
relating to public business."

In this case, Mr. Vannett did not request a specific document but asked for information about
three businesses. The open records law requires public entities to provide access to existing
records, not to answer questions. The State Tax Commissioner explained that, while Mr.
Vannett's inquiry is not a proper open records request, even if it were considered a request for
records, any responsive information is confidential under N.D.C.C. § 57-39.2-23(1)(a) and not
subject to disclosure.

Section 57-39.2-23(1)(a), N.D.C.C., provides, in relevant part "[t]he commissioner or an
individual having an administrative duty under this chapter may not divulge or make known in
any manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or information obtained from any person
under any reporting requirement of this chapter[.]"

Confirming whether a specific business holds a sales and use tax permit would necessarily reveal
the business's affairs and operations within the meaning of N.D.C.C. § 57-39.2-23(1)(a). A prior
opinion interpreting this statute concluded that the Tax Commissioner may not release
information that reveals a taxpayer's business affairs or operations, including the identity of
businesses engaged in sales-tax-related activity. Consistent with that interpretation, the
existence or nonexistence of a permit inherently communicates whether a business is engaged in
taxable transactions in North Dakota, whether it is required to collect and remit tax, and whether
its activity meets the state's physical presence threshold. Because permit status reflects these
protected aspects of a business's affairs and operations, it is confidential taxpayer information
and may not be disclosed.

Section 57-39.2-23, N.D.C.C., contains only a few narrow exceptions, none of which permits
disclosure of the specific sales tax information to Mr. Vannett.

The State Tax Commissioner has a statutory duty to maintain the confidentiality of the requested
tax information under N.D.C.C. § 57-39.2-23. Accordingly, it is my opinion that the State Tax
Commissioner did not violate the open records law by refusing to answer the requester's
questions.

CONCLUSION

The State Tax Commissioner did not violate the open records law by refusing to disclose
whether specific businesses held sales and use tax permits. The information requested is
confidential under N.D.C.C. § 57-39.2-23(1)(a).

Drew H. Wrigley
Attorney General

cc: Jon Vannett