Under North Dakota law, anyone who administers polygraph tests must be licensed by the North Dakota Attorney General's Office as a "detection of deception examiner."
Every examiner must use an instrument that records physiological activity with four sensors: a blood pressure cuff, electrodermal sensors and two respirator sensors. The exam results must be provided to the person being examined "within a reasonable amount of time," the law states.
To be qualified for an examiner's license, applicants must be at least 21 years old and establish themselves as "a person of honesty, truthfulness, integrity, and moral fitness," the law states. It also requires them to pass a competency test, complete a state-approved polygraph examiners course and complete not less than six months of internship training.
The license application fee is $50, and the annual license renewal fee is $35. North Dakota grants reciprocity to states with substantially equivalent licensing requirements.
Violating the law is a Class B misdemeanor.
ADVERTISEMENT
North Dakota currently has 17 licensed polygraph examiners, according to attorney general's office.
Minnesota has no polygraph examiner licensing law or polygraph examiners association, but local examiner Rollie Rust said examiners in Minnesota are typically required to be certified by the APA and, in the case of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, follow a standard operating procedure. They're also often licensed in another state, he said.
