A certificate of authority must be issued to an applicant who successfully passes the examination of the board and complies with the other provisions of this chapter, upon the payment of the registration fee fixed by the board not exceeding one hundred dollars, which must be in addition to the examination fee. A certificate is valid for five years after the date thereof. A certificate must be renewed by the board upon application, made within thirty days prior to the expiration date, accompanied by payment of a fee fixed by the board not exceeding one hundred dollars and an affidavit that the applicant has and maintains in the applicant's business a complete tract index and all instruments of record in the office of the recorder in and for the county in which the applicant has the applicant's place of business or has been engaged in good faith in the preparation of such records for not less than six months.
N.D.C.C. § 43-01-14