How to File for Custody in North Dakota: Forms, Fees, and Step-by-Step Process

Filing for custody in North Dakota involves a specific sequence of forms, service requirements, and mandatory deadlines that trip up self-represented parents regularly. The process differs depending on whether you're filing as part of a divorce or as an unmarried parent establishing parental rights. Here's the step-by-step for both tracks.

Married Parents: Custody Through Divorce

If you're married, custody is established as part of the divorce proceeding. You don't file a separate custody case — the parenting plan is incorporated into the divorce judgment. The process:

Step 1: Draft the pleadings. Prepare the Summons (Form 1), Complaint (Form 2), and Confidential Information Form (Form 6). These are available for free on the North Dakota Legal Self-Help Center at ndcourts.gov. The Complaint must include allegations about the children — how many, their ages, and what custody arrangement you're seeking.

Step 2: Serve the other parent. In North Dakota, you must serve the Summons and Complaint on the other spouse before filing with the court. Service can be done by a sheriff, private process server ($50–$75), or the other spouse can sign an Admission of Service (Form 7) to waive formal service.

Step 3: The 21-day response window. After being served, the other parent has exactly 21 days to file a written Answer. If they don't respond, you can move for a default judgment.

Step 4: The 30-day compulsory meeting. Within 30 days of service, both parents must meet to prepare a Joint Informational Statement under Rule 8.3. This meeting requires exchanging paystubs, tax returns, and basic financial information. The filed Informational Statement goes to the court along with your pleading packet.

Step 5: File with the District Court. Within 7 days of the compulsory meeting, file the complete packet with the court. The plaintiff's filing fee is $160. The defendant's answer fee is $100. If you can't afford the fees, submit a Fee Waiver Request with proof of financial hardship.

Step 6: Automatic mediation referral. Within 10 days of filing, the court clerk refers any contested custody or parenting time issues to the Family Law Mediation Program. Up to six hours of mediation are state-funded.

Unmarried Parents: Establishing Parental Responsibility

If you're not married to the other parent, you file a separate action to establish parental rights and responsibilities. North Dakota has jurisdiction under the UCCJEA only if the state is the child's "home state" — meaning the child has lived in North Dakota with a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before filing (or since birth, if the child is under six months).

The forms are different (the Self-Help Center has a separate packet for establishing parenting responsibility), but the process follows the same basic structure: draft pleadings, serve the other parent, attend the compulsory meeting, file with the court, and proceed through mediation or trial.

Paternity note: If paternity hasn't been legally established — for example, the father's name isn't on the birth certificate and there's no acknowledgment of paternity on file — that must be resolved before or simultaneously with the custody filing. The court can order genetic testing if paternity is disputed.

The North Dakota Residency Quirk

For divorce cases, North Dakota allows a spouse to file before meeting the six-month residency requirement. However, the court cannot enter a final decree until the plaintiff has been a North Dakota resident for six consecutive months. This means you can start the process immediately, but finalization may be delayed if you recently moved to the state.

For unmarried parent custody cases, the UCCJEA home-state rule applies — the child (not the parent) must have lived in North Dakota for six months.

Court Self-Help Forms: What They Don't Tell You

The ndcourts.gov Legal Self-Help Center provides the blank forms for free, and they're legally sufficient for filing. But the forms come with a critical disclaimer: they are "not official court forms," judges "are not required to accept them," and you use them "at your own risk." Court clerks are legally barred from helping you fill them out.

The forms don't explain:

• How to calculate child support using the state's macro-enabled Excel workbook
• What language to use in the parenting plan to satisfy the seven mandatory elements
• How to structure a holiday rotation that the judge will approve
• What to bring to the compulsory meeting or how to prepare the Joint Informational Statement

For the full walkthrough — from drafting pleadings through the compulsory meeting, mediation, and parenting plan submission — the North Dakota Custody & Parenting Plan Guide fills the gaps the self-help forms leave open.

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