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Filing for divorce in North Dakota

What you file, where you file, what it costs, and the rules that catch people out. Compiled from North Dakota court and statute sources.

How to read these entries.

This is general legal information compiled from state court websites, state statutes, and official self-help materials. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone.

Why we publish it. Most people meet the family law system once, at the worst moment of their life, knowing nothing about it. That gap is where people get overcharged and poorly served. This page exists so you can walk in already knowing roughly how your state works, ask sharper questions, and recognize when an answer does not sound right. It is here to help you hold your attorney to a standard, not to replace what they do.

Talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. That is the normal path, not a fallback for when something goes wrong. Nothing here can account for the facts of your marriage, your finances, or your children, and those facts are usually what determines the outcome. Many states also have free legal aid and court self-help centers, and we link to them by state.

Verify before you rely on anything. Every entry cites its source. Follow that citation to the official state site and confirm it still says what we say it says, and that it applies to your situation. Filing fees, form numbers, e-filing rules, and local standing orders change frequently, and a form number that was right last year can get your filing rejected today.

The same state can treat you very differently depending on whether your spouse agrees, whether you have minor children, whether you file jointly or alone, and which county or judge hears it. Waiting periods run from filing in some states and from service in others. Deadlines described here as fixed are the statutory default, and a judge may still have narrow discretion in an emergency.

If you are in danger, do not wait on any of these timelines. An order of protection is a separate and much faster process than a divorce, and it does not depend on any waiting period described on this page.

Your roadmap
What you file
Form 1 Summons and Form 2 Complaint
Form 3 Settlement Agreement
Form 4 Exhibit A, Confidential Property and Debt Listing
Form 5 Exhibit B, Parenting Plan, if you have children
Form 6 Confidential Information Form, and Form 7 Admission of Service
Form 8 Affidavit of Proof, your sworn statement supporting the grounds
Forms 9 and 10, the proposed Findings and Judgment, with Form 11 Notice of Entry after
Petition for Waiver of Filing Fees with a financial affidavit
Where you fileDistrict court in the county where your spouse lives, or your own county if your spouse is out of state.
What it costs$160 as of July 2025, plus $25 to $75 for service. Waivable.
The sequence
1. Download the free DNC packet without children or DWC packet with children from ndcourts.gov. If you have children, you must run the state child support calculator.
2. Note North Dakota's unusual order. In a contested case you serve the Summons and Complaint on your spouse before filing anything with the court.
3. In an agreed case, both spouses sign the Admission of Service instead, which waives formal service and gets filed with the completed packet.
4. For contested cases, meet with your spouse within 30 days of service to prepare a joint informational statement and preliminary property and debt listing, exchanging pay stubs, tax returns, and account documentation.
5. File everything within 7 days of that meeting. Your case may be referred to the Family Law Mediation Program, which provides up to 6 free hours.
6. For an uncontested case you file the entire agreed packet at once, and the judge often signs the Judgment and Decree without any court appearance.
There is no statutory waiting period, but the decree cannot enter until the six-month residency requirement is met. District courts typically order both parents to complete a parent education course such as Parents Forever.
Court forms

North Dakota files a Summons and Complaint for Divorce in the district court, using the ND Legal Self Help Center packets. The filing fee is $160 statewide, waivable for low-income filers. A summary path exists when combined net assets stay under $50,000.

North Dakota Courts: divorce self-helpFree official divorce packets (Forms 1 to 10) for uncontested cases, with and without children.
State rules and gotchas

No waiting period, but you must be a resident six months to finalize Verified Jul 2026

North Dakota has no mandatory cooling-off period, so an uncontested divorce can finish in 30 to 90 days. The main timing constraint is residency: one spouse must have lived here six months before the court can enter the decree, though you can file earlier and let the clock run.

Source: N.D.C.C. Sections 14-05-17 and 14-05-09.1. Confirm the current rule with the court before relying on it.

It is a "kitchen sink" state: everything you own is on the table Verified Jul 2026

North Dakota puts all property either spouse owns into the pot, whether acquired before or during the marriage and whether held jointly or individually. Judges start from a presumption of equal division and then adjust under the Ruff-Fischer guidelines, so premarital assets and inheritances are not automatically safe.

Source: N.D.C.C. Section 14-05-24. Confirm with the court.

Permanent alimony is off the table Verified Jul 2026

Unlike many states, North Dakota law does not allow permanent spousal support. Awards are meant to be rehabilitative and time-limited, typically running a fraction of the marriage length and ending on remarriage or a long-term new relationship, so do not plan around lifetime maintenance.

Source: N.D.C.C. Section 14-05-24.1. Confirm with the court.

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