Fee waivers

Fee Waiver Application

Academic Fee Waiver Application Guidelines
Thank you for your interest and request for information pertaining to Academic Fee Waivers. Please read the following information carefully, for further assistance contact the Fee Management Office at 701-623-4730 ext 3426.

The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA), Public Law 108-447, provides the National Park Service statutory authority to allow "outings conducted for non-commercial educational purposes by schools or bona fide academic institutions" to obtain a waiver of park entrance fees.

Commercial enterprises are not eligible for fee waivers, but school groups using a commercial vehicle for transportation only may apply for a fee waiver. Fee Waiver Qualification Standards: Academic Fee Waivers (formally Educational Fee Waivers) are not granted automatically. Applicant groups must submit an application and meet criteria for approval of their request.

The National Park Service has established the following three criteria as requirements for approval of an entrance fee waiver request. Please read carefully:

1. Eligibility:
National or international applicants must prove they are a school or bona fide academic institution by submitting one of the following types of documentation: 

- A statement confirming educational or scientific tax exemption from the IRS or the applicant's national, state, or local tax authority; or

-  A statement, from a bona fide academic institution meeting one of these eligibility standards, confirming that the group is visiting for the purpose of providing transferable academic credit based on a curriculum; or

- A statement of accreditation or recognition as an educational institution from a legitimate international, national, regional, state, or local authority for the applicant's location.

2. Educational Purpose of the Visit 

- Applicants must provide a written statement (documentation) verifying that the visit supports a specific curriculum for which academic credit is offered. Documentation such as the course syllabus or a copy of the school's course catalog or handbook will satisfy this requirement.

3. Relevance of Park Resources or Facilities

- To simply state the trip objectives are for "educational purposes" is insufficient. There must be a direct relationship between the purpose of the visit and the use of the park. Applicants must provide a written statement identifying the park resources and/or facilities that will be used to support the educational purpose of the visit, and how they are relevant to that purpose. A course outline, lesson plan, or copy of the course curriculum meets this requirement.  

Submission of Applications All applications for fee waivers must be received by the Fee Management Office at least three weeks in advance of the anticipated visit.

Applications that are incomplete or do not meet required criteria may be denied.

While you can still mail or fax your application to the address below we prefer using email. To email: please send your completed application to the Fee Office at [e-mail] 

Mailing Address
Theodore Roosevelt National Park                   
Fee Management Office                          
P.O. Box 7
Medora, ND 58645
Fax [phone]

Additional Information:  

Entrance station personnel are not authorized to grant fee waivers at time of arrival. Groups arriving without an approved fee waiver will be charged an entrance fee based on the fee schedule established for the type of group entering the park.

When a planned visit is recreational, you enter as an "organized non-commercial" group. Service, civic, and fraternal organizations e.g. Scouting, Rotary, Elks, etc. do NOT qualify for an Academic Fee Waiver, unless they meet the Fee Waiver Qualification Standards listed above.

As they are already exempt, bona fide educational groups of children less than 16 years of age do not need a fee waiver, however a waiver is required for the free entry of adults accompanying the students. A reasonable number of chaperones, drivers, and teachers will be admitted free to accompany the students.

Pursuant to the FLREA, academic fee waivers are granted only for entrance fees and do not apply to Expanded Amenity or Camping fees. Group camping reservations may be made for the campgrounds by calling 701-623-4466 for the South Unit and 701-842-2333 for the North Unit. All other campsites are on a first come first serve use basis.