North Dakota Egress Window Code Requirements

The core requirement (IRC R310)

A finished basement needs an egress window in each bedroom. If the basement has no bedrooms at all, it still needs at least one egress opening. The window also has to be operable from the inside without keys, tools, or special knowledge.

The "net clear opening" trap

This is where most do-it-yourself jobs go wrong. The 5.7 square feet is the net clear opening — the actual hole a person can climb through when the window is fully open — not the nominal window size on the box. The frame, the sash, and the way the window opens all eat into that number. A window advertised as "egress size" can still fail inspection if the operable opening doesn't measure up. Sizing to the net clear opening, not the rough opening, is the single most important measurement on the job.

Window well rules

Where the window is below grade, a window well is required. The well must provide a minimum horizontal area of 9 square feet, with a minimum projection and width of 36 inches, and it must allow the window to open fully. Wells deeper than 44 inches must have a permanently affixed ladder or steps. If the home has drain tile, the well must drain to it.

One detail homeowners miss: if the egress window sits below a deck, porch, or other overhead obstruction, there must be at least 36 inches of height in the clearance above the well.

Main-floor sleeping rooms

Egress is still required in every sleeping room on the main floor, though the net clear opening can be reduced to 5 square feet there.

Permits and inspections in Bismarck

A basement finish or egress window install requires a building permit — work done without one can affect your home's insurability and resale, since buyers can check the City's building records. The good news: most residential permits are issued within one business day. The fee is calculated from your project's bid amount — $67.75 for the first $2,000 plus $8.40 per additional $1,000, which puts a typical egress install around $85 to $110.

There are two required inspections. The framing inspection happens after all framing is in place — and final framing approval isn't given until the plumbing, mechanical, and electrical trades are complete. The final inspection covers all permitted work and closes out the permit; schedule it at least 24 hours ahead through the City of Bismarck building inspections office (701-355-1465).

Important: the City of Bismarck does not issue temporary Certificates of Occupancy, and you cannot legally occupy the finished space until the Certificate is issued. Plan the timeline so the final inspection happens before anyone moves into that new basement bedroom.

Mandan and the surrounding Morton County jurisdictions follow the same ND state code, but the permit office and inspection scheduling differ — confirm the process with your local jurisdiction before you start. For the full walkthrough with worked fee examples, see the Bismarck egress permit guide.

What fails inspection most often

The recurring failures are predictable: a window well built too small to let the window fully open, a net clear opening that comes up short of 5.7 square feet, a sill set higher than 44 inches, a deep well missing its required ladder, and no drainage tied into the home's drain tile. Each of these means a callback, a re-inspection, and lost time — which is the main reason the cutting and sizing are worth handing to someone who does it to code every week.

Sources

• Opening sizes, sill height, bedroom requirement, main-floor reduction, frost depth, permit turnaround, and the no-temporary-CO rule: City of Bismarck Building Inspections FAQ.
• Inspection sequence: City of Bismarck Required Inspections.
• Permit fee calculation: Residential Permit Fees (revised 1/01/25).
• Code edition: ND Commerce — State Building Code (2024 IRC effective 1/1/2026).