Penalty for driving while license suspended or revoked - Impoundment of vehicle number plates - Authority of cities
N.D. Cent. Code § 39-06-42
in effect39-06-42. Penalty for driving while license suspended or revoked - Impoundment of
vehicle number plates - Authority of cities.
1. Except as provided in section 39-06.1-11, an individual who operates a motor vehicle
on a highway or on public or private areas to which the public has a right of access for
vehicular use in this state while an individual's operator's license is suspended or
revoked in any jurisdiction is guilty of a class B misdemeanor for the first, second, or
third offense within a five-year period. Any subsequent offense within the same
five-year period is a class A misdemeanor.
2. If the suspension or revocation was imposed for violation of section 39-08-01 or
equivalent ordinance or was governed by section 39-06-31 or chapter 39-20, the
sentence must be at least four consecutive days' imprisonment and a fine as the court
deems proper. The execution of sentence may not be suspended or the imposition of
sentence deferred under subsection 3 or 4 of section 12.1-32-02. Forfeiture of bail is
not permitted in lieu of the defendant's personal appearance in open court for
arraignment on a charge under this subsection.
3. A court may dismiss a charge under this section upon motion by the defendant if the
defendant's operator's license is reinstated within sixty days of the date of the offense
and the defendant provides to the court satisfactory evidence of the reinstatement.
Alternatively, upon motion, a court may grant a motion to amend a charge under this
section to a violation of section 39-06-01.
4. In addition to any other punishment imposed, the court may order the number plates of
the motor vehicle owned and operated by the offender at the time of the offense to be
destroyed by the sheriff. If a period of suspension has been extended under
subsection 6 of section 39-06-17, the court may order the number plates to be
destroyed under this subsection. The offender shall deliver the number plates to the
court without delay at a time certain as ordered by the court following the conviction.
The court shall deliver the number plates to the sheriff and notify the department of the
order. An offender who does not provide the number plates to the court at the
appropriate time is subject to revocation of probation.
5. A city may authorize, by ordinance, its municipal judge to order destruction of motor
vehicle number plates by the office of the police officer that made the arrest in the
manner provided in subsection 4.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t39c06.pdf#nameddest=39-06-42Fetched: 10/16/2026