When does North Dakota require $1 million of rideshare liability?
Acceptance starts the engaged stage. From that moment until passengers are on board, chapter 26.1-40.1 requires primary liability of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death and bodily injury, and at least $25,000 for property damage. 26.1-40.1-01(3); 26.1-40.1-04(1)(a). The $1,000,000 primary liability begins when passengers are on board. 26.1-40.1-03(1).
Primary personal injury protection is required while the driver is logged on and available, during the engaged stage, and while passengers are on board. It does not wait for a passenger. Chapter 26.1-40.1 defines that coverage by reference to chapter 26.1-41. It does not set the dollar cap.
The chapter text was read from the official PDF on November 10, 2026: NDCC 26.1-40.1 (PDF). That review date is not a claim that the law changed that day.
North Dakota & the Midwest
The statute’s $1 million trigger is passengers on board. The carriers’ $1 million trigger is acceptance.
The two rows are different clocks. Passengers in the vehicle start the statutory $1,000,000. A recorded acceptance starts a lower statutory limit, even when a certificate prints $1,000,000 for that drive to the pickup.
| Trigger | What chapter 26.1-40.1 requires | What the carrier documents show |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory passenger trigger. Passengers on-board means passengers are in the vehicle under the driver’s participation in the company. 26.1-40.1-01(5). | Primary liability of $1,000,000 for death, bodily injury, and property damage. Primary uninsured coverage that meets 26.1-40-15.2. Primary underinsured coverage that meets 26.1-40-15.3. Primary personal injury protection for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians under chapter 26.1-41. 26.1-40.1-03. | Uber’s Periods 2 and 3 certificate prints $1,000,000 combined single limit from recorded acceptance, while en route to the pickup or traveling to the final destination. Lyft’s Period 3 form, NDBA3T6624548270, prints a $2,500 physical-damage deductible and no Period 3 liability figure. The statute still requires $1,000,000 once passengers are on board. |
| Carrier acceptance trigger. The engaged stage runs from the moment the driver accepts a ride request until passengers on-board begins. 26.1-40.1-01(3). | Primary liability of at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for death and bodily injury, and at least $25,000 for property damage. Primary uninsured, underinsured, and personal injury protection. 26.1-40.1-04. Acceptance does not start the statutory $1,000,000. | Uber’s certificate prints $1,000,000 combined single limit from recorded acceptance. Lyft’s Period 2 policy, NDBA2T6624548270, prints $1,000,000 combined single limit. Those figures are above the statutory floor for the engaged stage. |
Logged on, available, and with no passenger is the application-on stage. It uses the same $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 primary liability, plus primary uninsured, underinsured, and personal injury protection. It is neither trigger above. 26.1-40.1-01(2); 26.1-40.1-04. Application off means the driver is using the vehicle for personal, noncommercial reasons and is not engaged for the company. 26.1-40.1-01(1). Chapter 26.1-40.1 sets no liability or PIP dollar amount for that stage.
Coverage is primary, and the company pays from the first dollar if the driver’s policy fails
The driver, the company, or both may carry the coverage, and the primary insurer has the sole duty to defend and indemnify the liability coverage. 26.1-40.1-03(1), (5). If the driver’s policy has excluded coverage or ceased to exist, the company must provide the required coverage “beginning with the first dollar of a claim.” 26.1-40.1-03(7). Coverage may not depend on a personal insurer first denying the claim. 26.1-40.1-03(6). The chapter does not limit the company’s liability beyond the required limits. 26.1-40.1-06.
The application-on stage and the engaged stage use the same pattern. The driver, the company, or both may carry the required coverage. 26.1-40.1-04(2). For the liability coverage in that section, the primary insurer has the sole duty to defend and indemnify. If the driver’s policy excludes the required coverage or ceases, the company provides it from the first dollar. Coverage may not depend on a personal insurer first denying the claim. 26.1-40.1-04(3).
In a coverage investigation, the company or its insurer must share accident times and the driver’s log-on and log-off times with other insurers. 26.1-40.1-08.
Drivers are independent contractors if statutory conditions are met (39-34-03.1). Whether a company can be liable for a driver’s negligence beyond its insurance is unsettled.
Personal no-fault coverage can be made conditional on the rideshare coverage
Personal auto insurers “may allow no-fault insurance coverage to be conditional on” the rideshare company’s no-fault coverage. 26.1-40.1-05. The company must warn drivers that their personal policy “may not provide coverage.” 26.1-40.1-02(1). Insurers may sell rideshare endorsements. 26.1-40.1-07.
How the primary rideshare PIP coordinates with a personal no-fault policy made conditional under 26.1-40.1-05 is unsettled.
Uninsured and underinsured coverage is required in every app-on stage
Chapter 26.1-40.1 requires primary uninsured motorist coverage that meets section 26.1-40-15.2, and primary underinsured motorist coverage that meets section 26.1-40-15.3, while the driver is logged on and available, during the engaged stage, and while passengers are on board. 26.1-40.1-03(2), (3); 26.1-40.1-04(1)(b), (c). Section 26.1-40-15.2(1) requires uninsured motorist coverage “in limits set forth in section 39-16.1-11.” That sentence does not print a dollar amount. Section 26.1-40-15.3(1) requires underinsured coverage “at limits equal to the limits of uninsured motorist coverage,” and it does not restate a dollar figure. The Uber and Lyft certificates print $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. NDCC 26.1-40 (PDF).
Chapter 26.1-40.1 does not say whether uninsured and underinsured coverage must rise when liability rises to $1,000,000. The certificates print $25,000 / $50,000 on the $1,000,000 forms too. Neither certificate shows a written rejection.
Uber prints $1 million from acceptance, uninsured coverage of $25,000 / $50,000, and PIP without an amount
Uber’s North Dakota certificates are issued by Farmers Insurance Exchange, NAIC 21652, for March 1, 2026 to March 1, 2027. Uber certificate PDF.
| Certificate | Policy | Liability printed | Uninsured and underinsured printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | 606715856 | $50,000 / $100,000 / $25,000 | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident |
| Periods 2 and 3, from recorded acceptance | 606715857 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident |
| Physical damage | 606715857PD | Comprehensive and collision, $2,500 deductibles | Not applicable |
The certificates say “Personal Injury Protection included as further described in the policy” but print no PIP amount.
Lyft prints $1 million for Period 2 and no Period 3 liability figure
Lyft’s certificate SEA-004219090-05 is issued by Mobilitas Insurance Company, NAIC 16392, for October 1, 2026 to October 1, 2027. Lyft certificate PDF.
| Policy | Period printed | Limit printed | Uninsured and underinsured printed |
|---|---|---|---|
| NDBA1T6624548270 | Period 1 | $50,000 / $100,000 bodily injury, $25,000 property damage | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| NDBA2T6624548270 | Period 2 | $1,000,000 combined single limit | $25,000 / $50,000 |
| NDBA3T6624548270 | Period 3 | Only a $2,500 physical damage deductible | $25,000 / $50,000 |
No Period 3 liability figure is printed; the law requires $1,000,000 once passengers are on board. 26.1-40.1-03. The certificate says “All automobile policies evidenced above include Personal Injury Protection” but prints no PIP amount.
Primary PIP is required in the app-on stages. The dollar cap is in chapter 26.1-41.
In this chapter, personal injury protection means basic no-fault benefits as defined in 26.1-41-01(2). 26.1-40.1-01(6). Chapter 26.1-40.1 does not itself state a dollar cap. Chapter 26.1-41 sets the maximum basic no-fault benefits at $30,000 for all economic loss to any one person from any one accident. Work loss or survivors’ income loss may not exceed $150 per week. Funeral, cremation, and burial expenses are $3,500. 26.1-41-01(2). Rideshare policies must carry primary PIP during the application-on stage and the engaged stage. During the passengers on-board stage, that PIP covers drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. 26.1-40.1-04(1)(d); 26.1-40.1-03(4). NDCC 26.1-41 (PDF).
In an action against a secured person for accidental bodily injury from a secured motor vehicle in this state, that person is exempt from noneconomic damages unless the injury is a “serious injury”: death, dismemberment, serious and permanent disfigurement or disability beyond sixty days, or medical expenses over $2,500. The exemption also covers economic loss to the extent of basic no-fault benefits paid or payable, after subtracting the same elements recoverable under workforce safety and insurance law. It applies only if the injured person may qualify for basic no-fault benefits under 26.1-41-06 and is not excluded under 26.1-41-07. 26.1-41-08; 26.1-41-01(21). A court may treat unpaid or reduced medical services as a serious injury if their usual and customary value in this state exceeds $2,500. 26.1-41-01(21).
Your fault must be less than everyone else’s combined, and injury claims have 6 years
Contributory fault bars recovery only if it “was as great as the combined fault of all other persons who contribute to the injury”; otherwise damages are reduced by your share. 32-03.2-02. Liability “is several only, and is not joint,” except for people who act in concert or aid, encourage, or ratify the act. 32-03.2-02. NDCC 32-03.2 (PDF).
- Injury: 6 years. 28-01-16(5).
- Wrongful death: 2 years, accruing at the death. 28-01-18(4). NDCC 28-01 (PDF).
- No-fault benefit suits: separate limits under 26.1-41-19.
No general damages cap, but exemplary damages are capped
No general cap on compensatory damages appears in chapter 32-03.2, though the no-fault serious injury threshold limits noneconomic claims against a secured person when 26.1-41-08 applies. Exemplary damages may not exceed “two times the amount of compensatory damages or two hundred fifty thousand dollars, whichever is greater.” 32-03.2-11(4). Wrongful death actions are governed by chapter 32-21. NDCC 32-21 (PDF).
Notice to the state within 180 days, and a $500,000 per person cap
A claim against the state requires written notice to the director of the office of management and budget within 180 days after the injury is discovered, or one year for a serious injury. 32-12.2-04(1). State liability is limited to $500,000 per person and $2,000,000 per occurrence, with no punitive damages. 32-12.2-02(2). Cities, counties, and other political subdivisions have the same $500,000 / $2,000,000 cap. 32-12.1-03(2). Suits are due within 3 years. 28-01-22.1; 32-12.1-10. NDCC 32-12.2 (PDF), NDCC 32-12.1 (PDF).
Notify police immediately for injury, death, or $4,000 in damage
- Police notice: for injury, death, or apparent property damage of at least $4,000, immediately notify local police inside a city, otherwise the county sheriff or highway patrol. 39-08-09(1). NDCC 39-08 (PDF).
- Rideshare driver: must carry proof of rideshare insurance and provide it on request. 26.1-40.1-10.
- Uninsured coverage: no uninsured or underinsured coverage applies if the accident was not reported to law enforcement as soon as practicable. 26.1-40-15.6(8).
- Reports at trial: “Copies of crash reports are not admissible as evidence in any action for damages.” 39-08-13(8).
North Dakota allows fully driverless vehicles
An autonomous vehicle with its system engaged “does not require a human driver” if it can reach a minimal risk condition when a system fails. 39-01-01.2(3). The section keeps existing insurance and liability law in place. 39-01-01.2(5). NDCC 39-01 (PDF).
How chapter 26.1-40.1, written around a participating driver in a personal vehicle, applies to a driverless rideshare trip is unsettled.
Cities cannot tax or license rideshare, but airports can charge fees
A political subdivision “may not impose a tax on, or require a license for,” rideshare companies or drivers, or impose rate, entry, or operational requirements. 39-34-06(2). Companies keep a registered agent with the secretary of state. 39-34-01. A commercial service airport, one with at least 2,500 passenger boardings a year and scheduled service, may enter operating agreements covering entry, pickup, drop-off, and fees. 39-34-06(3).
What decides which policy and which limit applies
- The stage: available, engaged after acceptance, or passengers on board.
- Log-on and log-off times shared in the coverage investigation. 26.1-40.1-08.
- Your PIP claim, and which policy pays it first.
- Whether the injury meets the serious injury threshold for pain and suffering.
- Whether the accident was reported to law enforcement as soon as practicable.
- Your fault compared with everyone else’s combined.
- The 6-year injury and 2-year wrongful death deadlines, and 180-day notice for a state claim.
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