Pay Stub Requirements in North Dakota
At a glance
| Governing law and coverage | N.D. Admin. Code § 46-02-07-02(10) applies to every employer under the minimum-wage order; ch. 34-06 definitions exclude ridesharing participants, political-subdivision firefighters/sworn officers, and commission-paid outside sales (§ 34-06-01) |
|---|---|
| Must provide a statement and when | Employer must furnish each employee a check stub or pay voucher every pay period; no separate payday, payment-date, or request deadline stated (§ 46-02-07-02(10)) |
| Pay period, employer, and employee identification | No pay-period start/end dates, payment date, employer name/address/phone, employee name/ID, or SSN field stated (§ 46-02-07-02(10)) |
| Gross earnings, hours, rates, and pay basis | Must show hours worked and rate of pay; no express gross-pay, overtime-breakdown, salary, commission, piece-unit, or other pay-basis field stated (§ 46-02-07-02(10)) |
| Deductions, net pay, allowances, and other required items | Must show required state/federal deductions and any authorized deductions; no express net pay, additions, allowances, tips, leave balance, or employer-contribution field stated (§ 46-02-07-02(10)) |
| Electronic delivery, consent, printing, and storage | Electronic stub/voucher allowed if employee has access and can print; no express consent, opt-out, paper-on-request, saving, or post-employment access rule stated (DOLHR guidance) |
| Employee copy access and employer retention | Current statement must be furnished each pay period. Statement rule states no historical inspection/copy process, response deadline, copy fee, or stub-retention period; commissioner may inspect employer payrolls (§§ 46-02-07-02(10), 34-06-02) |
| Enforcement, damages, penalties, and deadlines | Violation of ch. 34-06 or a rule issued under it is a class B misdemeanor (§ 34-06-19); commissioner may inspect payrolls and investigate compliance (§§ 34-06-02, 34-06-17). No statement-specific worker damages formula or cure stated |
Requirements one by one
A check stub or voucher is due every pay period
Section 46-02-07-02(10) says: “Every employer must furnish to an employee each pay period a check stub or pay voucher.” The same sentence supplies the whole required field list: hours worked, rate of pay, required state and federal deductions, and any authorized deductions.
N.D.C.C. § 34-06-01(2) broadly defines an employee while excluding a ridesharing participant and political-subdivision firefighters and sworn law enforcement officers. The chapter's occupation definition separately excludes commission-paid outside salespeople.
That compact list does not expressly require pay-period dates, party names or addresses, gross or net pay, separate overtime figures, piece-rate units, commissions, tips, allowances, leave balances, or employer contributions. A payroll system may show those items, but this provision does not add them to the state statement mandate.
Electronic delivery must remain usable
The Department of Labor and Human Rights permits an electronic stub or voucher “so long as the employee has access and the ability to print the information.” The guidance states no separate employee-consent or opt-out procedure, but an electronic portal that the employee cannot access or print from does not meet the agency's stated condition.
The chapter supplies criminal and agency enforcement
N.D.C.C. § 34-06-19 makes a violation of chapter 34-06 or a rule issued under it a class B misdemeanor. Section 34-06-02 separately authorizes the labor commissioner to inspect employer payrolls and other records and require a full statement of wages, hours, and working conditions.
That inspection authority appears in N.D.C.C. § 34-06-02(2)-(3); it runs to the commissioner, not directly to an employee.
Those provisions do not state a pay-stub-specific employee damages amount, per-day or per-pay-period recovery, attorney-fee award, cure period, or private limitations period. The current statement rule also does not state a historical employee-copy procedure or a period for retaining the stub itself.
What trips people up
“Recordkeeping” is the heading of subsection (10), but its operative command is employee-facing: the employer must furnish a stub or voucher every pay period. The commissioner's separate right to inspect payrolls is an agency enforcement power, not a current or former employee's right to demand old copies.
The field list is also narrower than many payroll products. Gross pay and net pay may be operationally useful, but they are not named in subsection (10)'s four required categories.
Common questions
Does the stub need to identify the pay period?
The rule requires a statement each pay period but does not expressly require the statement to print the period's beginning or ending date.
Can the employer use an online payroll portal?
Yes, if the employee can access the information and print it. The agency does not state a separate consent or paper-opt-out process in this guidance.
Must the stub show gross and net pay?
Not under the express North Dakota field list. It names hours, rate of pay, required state and federal deductions, and authorized deductions.
Can a former employee demand old stubs under this rule?
The statement provision does not state a former-employee inspection or copy procedure, response deadline, copy fee, or post-employment access period.
Statutes and sources
- N.D. Admin. Code § 46-02-07-02(10). Statement timing and required fields. Official administrative-code chapter (accessed July 14, 2026).
- N.D.C.C. §§ 34-06-01, 34-06-02, and 34-06-19. Coverage definitions, commissioner inspection authority, and the chapter's misdemeanor penalty. Official Century Code chapter (accessed July 14, 2026).
- North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights guidance. Electronic statements must remain accessible and printable. Official agency brochure (accessed July 14, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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