2025 North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage
The 2025 North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage is $4.86.
Effective 2025-01-01Source: North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)Verified 2026-09-01
Compared with 2024
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2024.
| Item | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum cash wage | $4.86 | $4.86 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers of tipped employees in North Dakota subject to state minimum wage law
What changed this year, and why
The 2025 minimum cash wage for tipped employees in North Dakota is $4.86 per hour. Employers must ensure that tipped employees receive at least the full minimum wage when cash wages and tips are combined.
Common questions
- Who qualifies as a tipped employee in North Dakota?
- A tipped employee is a service employee who regularly receives tips from customers.
- What record-keeping is required for tipped employees?
- Employers must keep written records showing that each tipped employee receives at least the full minimum wage when cash wages and tips are combined.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Tips needed per hour takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
Who counts as a tipped employee
In North Dakota, a worker counts as a tipped employee if they work in an occupation where they regularly receive tips exceeding a set monthly amount from customers. Under N.D. Admin. Code ยง 46-02-07-03, the employee must be providing direct, personal, face-to-face service to customers who then show appreciation by tipping. Services such as cooking and dishwashing do not qualify, because they are not performed face-to-face for the customer's direct benefit. If your job in North Dakota meets this threshold, your employer may pay you the lower direct cash wage of $4.86 per hour and claim a tip credit, provided the other rules on notice, recordkeeping, and the wage floor are followed. If your occupation does not customarily produce enough tips to pass the monthly threshold, you are not a tipped employee under North Dakota law and your employer must pay you at least the full state minimum wage with no tip credit.
A tipped employee is any service employee in an occupation in which he or she receives more than thirty dollars per month in tips.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
What a tip credit is, and the cash wage underneath it
North Dakota allows employers to take a tip credit equal to 33% of the minimum wage when paying tipped employees. This means the employer can pay a direct cash wage of $4.86 per hour instead of the full minimum wage, with the employee's tips making up the remainder. The tip credit represents the difference between what the employer pays directly and what the employee must receive in total when tips are added. Employers must keep written records showing that each tipped employee receives at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked when the direct wage and tips are combined. If an employee's tips plus the $4.86 direct wage do not reach the minimum wage in a given pay period, the employer must make up the difference to ensure the employee receives at least the full minimum wage. This system applies only to workers who qualify as tipped employees under North Dakota law.
Employers may utilize a tip credit of 33% of the minimum wage for tipped employees. With the tip credit applied, the minimum direct wage payable to a tipped employee is $4.86 per hour
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
When the tips do not get you to the minimum wage
When a tipped employee in North Dakota does not earn enough in tips to reach the minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. The state requires employers to maintain written records verifying that tipped employees receive at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked when the direct wage and tips are combined. If an employee's $4.86 per hour direct wage plus their tips fall short of the minimum wage in any pay period, the employer must pay additional cash to bring the employee's total compensation up to at least the minimum wage. This guarantee applies to every hour worked, so employers cannot average shortfalls across different pay periods or work weeks. The recordkeeping requirement ensures that employers track whether tipped employees are actually receiving the full minimum wage and can demonstrate compliance if questioned.
The employer must maintain written records verifying that tipped employees receive at least the full minimum wage for all hours worked when the direct wage and tips are combined.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
The notice an employer owes you before it takes the credit
North Dakota requires employers to inform employees in advance before taking a tip credit. The state rule states that an employer who elects to use the tip credit must tell the employee about this arrangement before it begins. This advance notice ensures that tipped employees understand they will be paid the lower direct wage of $4.86 per hour rather than the full minimum wage, with the expectation that their tips will bring their total compensation up to at least the minimum wage. Without this prior notification, an employer cannot legally claim the tip credit and pay the reduced cash wage. The notice requirement gives workers the information they need to verify they are receiving proper compensation and to raise concerns if their tips plus the direct wage do not reach the minimum wage.
An employer who elects to use the tip credit must inform the employee in advance.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
Your employer, your manager and your supervisor may not keep your tips
North Dakota law prohibits employers from keeping any portion of employees' tips. Gratuities offered to an employee by a customer belong to the employee and may not be retained by the employer. This means your boss, managers, and supervisors cannot take a cut of your tips, require you to turn over tips to the business, or use tips to offset business expenses. The rule applies regardless of whether the employer pays you the full minimum wage or uses the tip credit to pay the lower direct wage of $4.86 per hour. Even if the employer is making up the difference when your tips fall short, they still cannot take any portion of your tips for themselves. This protection ensures that tips remain the property of the employees who earn them through direct service to customers.
Gratuities offered to an employee by a customer belong to the employee and may not be retained by the employer.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
Which tip pools you can be made to join
North Dakota allows tip pooling, but only among tipped employees. Before a tip pool can be established, a vote of all tipped employees must be taken, and a majority plus one must approve. The employer must keep a written record of each vote, including the names of employees who voted and the vote totals. If a sufficient minority of the tipped employees requests a vote on pooling, one must be held, and those requesting it must provide documentation verifying the request. Tip pooling is limited to workers in occupations where they customarily and regularly receive tips, so non-tipped workers such as cooks and dishwashers cannot share in the pool. At small gaming sites with only a few tipped employees on duty, the employer can require pooling among all tipped employees at the site. Pit bosses and supervisors are not tipped employees and cannot participate unless they are dealing blackjack. Time spent in employee-only meetings about tip issues does not count as work time.
Tip pooling is allowed only among the tipped employees. A vote of tipped employees to allow tip pooling must be taken, and fifty percent plus one of all tipped employees must approve it.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
North Dakota Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Summary Poster (North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights)
- Minimum cash wage
the minimum direct wage payable to a tipped employee is $4.86 per hour
Other years
Every North Dakota Tipped Minimum Wage year · Tipped Minimum Wage in every state