Three methanol-assimilating, nitrate-negative yeast strains representing a hitherto undescribed species, were isolated from leaf and rotten wood samples collected in temperate forests in Hungary. Analysis of the D1/D2 large subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences placed the strains in the Ogataea clade. The three strains share identical D1/D2 and ITS sequences and significantly differ from the genetically most closely related species, Pichia pilisensis. Five substitutions in D1/D2 and more than 10% difference in the ITS regions were detected. A novel yeast species, Ogataea nitratoaversa, is proposed to accommodate these isolates. The type culture is NCAIM Y.01837(T) (CBS 10,796, NRRL Y-48,449). As the current description of the genus does not allow the inclusion of nitrate negative species, the emendation of the diagnosis of the genus Ogataea Yamada, Maeda and Mikata is proposed.