News Archive
Posted 08/07/2025
For immediate release: Aug. 11, 2025
For more information, contact:
Joan Zimmerman, NDSA brand recorder: (701) 223-2522 • brands@ndstockmen.org
Julie Schaff Ellingson, NDSA executive vice president: (701) 223-2522 • jellingson@ndstockmen.org
Randy Schmitt, NDSA president: (701) 537-3440 • schmittranch@hotmail.com
Brand renewal forms have been mailed
By now, North Dakota brandowners should have received their 2025 brand renewal forms in the mail. The renewal notices were mailed the first week of August. If the notices have not yet arrived, brandowners should contact North Dakota Stockmen’s Association (NDSA) Brand Recorder Joan Zimmerman to get another copy.
Brandowners have until Dec. 31, 2025, to get their brands renewed. After that, the brands are considered expired and may no longer be used, according to state law. That’s why Zimmerman urges brandowners to not delay getting the renewals completed, signed and returned to the NDSA office.
Once the renewals are processed, brandowners can expect an updated brand card, which will also come in the mail. Once renewed, the brand will be good through Dec. 31, 2030.
While the form is not difficult to complete, the NDSA has seen some common mistakes during past renewal cycles. One of them is forgetting to include the brand renewal fee or sending the wrong amount with the renewal form. The cost is $50 per brand per species per location. For example, if a producer wants to renew his or her JE-monogram brand on the left hip of horses, the cost is $50. If he or she also has that same JE-monogram brand on the right rib of cattle, the cost to renew both brands would be $100.
Another common mistake the NDSA has seen in the past is that renewal forms are missing some of the required signatures. All current brandowners must sign the renewal form, whether or not they will be continuing on the brand. For example, if John Doe and Jane Doe are both brandowners on the JE-monogram brand, both John and Jane must sign the renewal form. If John no longer wants to be a part of the brand, that change, which the NDSA refers to as a brand transfer, can happen right on the renewal form. However, both John and Jane, as the current owners, must still sign the form, attesting that both brandowners are aware and accepting of the change in ownership.
If a brand renewal is missing the corresponding fee, signatures or other required documentation, such as in the case of a deceased brandowner, the renewal form will be returned and the process will start over.
A common question that brandowners often ask is what location(s) their brand is registered in. That information, indicated with a three-letter abbreviation, will be indicated on the renewal form, along with the brand character and species. For example, LHC stands for left hip cattle, while RSH stands for right shoulder horse.
More than 16,000 renewal notices representing more than 20,000 North Dakota brands were sent last week. Once the brand renewal period is complete, the NDSA will be publishing the 2026 North Dakota Brand Record.
For more information or questions about brand renewal, call Zimmerman at (701) 223-2522 or e-mail renewalquestions@ndstockmen.org.
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