CasewellThe law in plain words
N.D.C.C. 14-09-29 says that between the parents, "there is no presumption as to whom will better promote the best interests and welfare of the child."
A presumption is a starting assumption the court must apply. North Dakota gives neither parent one. That holds whether the parents were married or never married.
The same section lets the court award parental rights and responsibilities to whoever will best serve the child. Usually that is one or both parents. In rare cases it can be another person or an agency.
Wondering who usually ends up with custody? Our page on the chances of getting full custody in North Dakota explains what the figures can and cannot show.
Parental rights and responsibilities
In 2009, North Dakota repealed its old custody sections and adopted new terms. Under N.D.C.C. 14-09-33, any law that says "custody" now means parental rights and responsibilities.
- Decision-making responsibility: who makes choices about the child. It can cover every issue or only named ones, such as school or health care. Child support is separate.
- Residential responsibility: a parent's duty to provide the child a home.
- Primary residential responsibility: more than 50 percent of the residential responsibility. This is what most people mean by "primary custody."
- Equal residential responsibility: the child's home time is split evenly. The relocation statute treats it as its own category.
- Parenting time: the time the child spends in a parent's care. It replaces the word "visitation."
No North Dakota statute uses the phrase "full custody." People usually mean sole decision-making plus primary residential responsibility.
Under N.D.C.C. 14-09-32, each parent keeps the right to school, medical and other records. A court can restrict that right only if the order gives a reason.
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- Each scheduled parenting time: kept, late, cut short or denied
- Any violence or threat, with dates, photos and police or court papers
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Is North Dakota a 50/50 state?
No. No North Dakota statute presumes equal residential responsibility or shared decision-making.
- 2025 bills: SB 2383 and HB 1242 would have created shared or equal parenting presumptions. Both failed in the 2025 session.
- Equal time is still possible: a judge can order it when the factors support it. Parents can also agree to a 50/50 schedule in their parenting plan.
- Agreed decision-making: under N.D.C.C. 14-09-31, the court must accept the parents' decision-making agreement unless it writes findings that it hurts the child.
- No agreement: the judge allocates decision-making in the child's best interests. The order must include a way to settle disagreements.
An equal split has one practical catch. A parent with equal residential responsibility cannot move the child out of state without consent or a new court order.
The 13 best-interest factors
Under N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.2, the judge considers every factor that applies:
- the love and emotional ties between each parent and the child, and each parent's ability to give guidance
- each parent's ability to provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care and a safe home
- the child's developmental needs, now and later, and each parent's ability to meet them
- how stable each home is, extended family, time already spent in each home, and keeping the child's routine and community
- each parent's willingness and ability to encourage a close relationship with the other parent
- each parent's moral fitness, as it affects the child
- each parent's mental and physical health, as it affects the child
- the child's home, school and community records, and how a change could affect them
- a mature child's preference
- evidence of domestic violence
- anyone living in or often visiting a parent's home who may affect the child, including any history of violence
- false claims of harm to the child made in bad faith by one parent against the other
- any other factor the court finds relevant
No single factor decides the case. The judge must also ignore a service member's deployment by itself, unless it significantly affects the child.
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Your child's preference
North Dakota sets no age at which a child decides. Under factor 9 of N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.2, the test is maturity.
- The standard: the judge must find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the child can make a sound judgment. Clear and convincing means highly likely, a higher bar than usual.
- The weight: if that is shown, the court may give the preference substantial weight.
- Influence: the judge must weigh whether improper influence, such as pressure from a parent, shaped the preference.
- Talking to the judge: under N.D.R.Ct. 8.13, a judge may interview the child in chambers if both parents consent. Parents may not attend, but a record is kept.
The child's view counts as one factor among 13. The judge still makes the decision.
Mothers' and fathers' rights
Mothers and fathers start level. N.D.C.C. 14-09-29 says neither is presumed the better parent, and that applies to married and unmarried parents alike.
Under N.D.C.C. 14-20-10, a child born to a married couple is presumed to be the husband's. That also covers a birth up to 300 days after a divorce or a spouse's death.
A man is also presumed the father if he lived with the child for its first two years and openly treated the child as his. Only a court case can rebut, or overturn, these presumptions.
A case to challenge a presumed father generally must start within two years of the birth. A narrow exception applies if the couple neither lived together nor had sex around conception, and he never treated the child as his.
For what the numbers show, see whether North Dakota favors mothers or fathers. Our guides to fathers' parenting rights and rights as a mother cover the basics.
If you were never married
No North Dakota statute we found gives either unmarried parent custody at birth. An older section on custody of children born to unmarried parents was repealed in 2009. Today, N.D.C.C. 14-09-29 treats both parents the same.
Without a court order, there is no enforceable schedule. The court's self-help center says never-married parents can ask a district court to set residential responsibility and parenting time.
- Paternity first: a father needs paternity established, by a signed acknowledgment or a court order.
- Acknowledgment of paternity: both parents sign it under penalty of perjury. Once filed, it counts the same as a court ruling on paternity. Read whether a father has to sign the birth certificate.
- No cost: the state may not charge to file an acknowledgment.
- Changing your mind: under N.D.C.C. 14-20-17, a signer can cancel within 60 days. A court hearing about the child ends that window sooner.
- After that: a challenge needs fraud, duress or a material mistake of fact. It must start within two years of filing.
- No father on record: a parentage case can start at any time.
Unless support is already ordered, the court requires child support calculations in the case. That applies even if parents have their own arrangement.
Domestic violence
Serious violence creates a presumption under factor 10 of N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.2. The judge must consider any evidence of domestic violence.
- The trigger: credible evidence of one incident causing serious bodily injury or involving a dangerous weapon. A pattern of violence close in time to the case also counts.
- The presumption: the violent parent may not be awarded residential responsibility. It is rebuttable, meaning that parent may be able to defeat it with evidence.
- Overcoming it: only clear and convincing evidence that the child's best interests require that parent to have the home will do.
- The victim's trauma: a parent's suffering from the effects of abuse cannot be a reason to deny them residential responsibility.
- Parenting time: under N.D.C.C. 14-09-29, that parent gets only supervised time unless clear and convincing evidence shows unsupervised time is safe.
- Costs: the parent who committed the violence must pay court costs, lawyer fees and expert fees, unless that causes undue hardship.
- Decision-making: joint decision-making despite domestic violence requires written findings.
False abuse claims carry consequences too. A parent who makes a bad-faith false claim of harm must pay the other parent's costs and lawyer fees.
Protection orders
Since January 1, 2026, civil protection orders sit in a new chapter, N.D.C.C. 14-07.7. Filing and service cost nothing.
- Who may ask: a victim of domestic violence by a family or household member. That includes parents who share a child, whatever their relationship.
- Temporary order: if the petition shows reasonable grounds, a judge can grant a temporary order without telling the other parent first.
- Custody in the order: temporary and final orders can award temporary primary residential responsibility or set temporary parenting time.
- Hearing: set within 14 days of the temporary order, or later for good cause. The other parent must receive the papers at least five days ahead.
- The full order: the judge must find actual or imminent domestic violence.
- How long: each order states its own expiration date.
A parent can file on behalf of a minor child. The court's protection order page has the petition form.
Emergency and temporary orders
Temporary orders in a custody case normally require notice and a hearing. N.D.R.Ct. 8.2 allows an ex parte order, meaning one made without the other parent present, only in exceptional circumstances.
- What counts: a threat of imminent danger to a parent or child, or facts showing an order is needed to protect them.
- What you file: a signed declaration setting out the specific facts.
- What it covers: temporary parental rights and responsibilities, support and use of property.
- Next steps: a hearing must follow within 30 days. You must personally serve the order and hearing notice.
- With notice: a regular interim order must be heard within 30 days of filing the motion. It must allow reasonable parenting time unless evidence supports limits.
- After a final judgment: no ex parte order can change primary residential responsibility. A temporary change needs a full modification motion plus a showing of imminent danger.
For violence, a protection order is often the faster route. Under the interstate custody law, a court here can also take temporary emergency jurisdiction over an abused or abandoned child present in the state.
Moving with your child
Moving out of state needs consent or a court order. Under N.D.C.C. 14-09-07, the rules depend on your order:
- Primary residential responsibility: you need the other parent's consent or a court order, if the other parent has parenting time.
- Equal residential responsibility: you need consent, or an order allowing the move and giving you primary residential responsibility.
- No order needed: if the other parent has not used parenting time for a year. The same applies if they moved out of state and live over 50 miles away.
A judge deciding a move uses the four Stout-Hawkinson factors, according to the court's relocation guide:
- the move's likely benefits for the parent's and child's quality of life
- whether the moving parent wants to block the other parent's time
- the other parent's motives for objecting
- the harm to the other parent's relationship, and whether a realistic long-distance schedule can protect it
In a first custody case, the judge generally decides primary residential responsibility before looking at a move. The Supreme Court applied this in Emme v. Emme (2026). Once the summons is served, neither parent may take the child out of state, except briefly, without written consent or a court order.
Moving to a neighboring state? Its custody rules may differ. Read our guides for Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota.
Changing custody
Changing primary residential responsibility has time limits. They sit in N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6.
- The two-year bar: no motion within two years of the order, unless parents agreed in writing or the plan allows it.
- Exceptions: persistent, willful denial of parenting time, or a home that may endanger the child's health or development. A child living with the other parent for over six months also qualifies.
- Inside two years: the parent must show an exception and that the change is necessary for the child's best interests.
- After two years: the parent must show a material change, based on new facts or facts the court did not know. The change must also be necessary for the child.
- By agreement: a stipulated change can be approved at any time if it serves the child.
- The first gate: the judge reads the papers first. A hearing happens only if the moving parent shows a prima facie case, meaning enough evidence to justify one.
Parenting time follows a separate track. Since August 1, 2025, N.D.C.C. 14-09-24.1 covers a parent who intentionally interferes with court-ordered parenting time. Once the court finds that, make-up time follows.
- How much: generally at least the time lost. The court may award up to double.
- When: within two years of the court's finding.
- Scheduling help: the judge must consider ordering a co-parenting app for scheduling and messages.
Parenting plans, mediation and investigators
Every case to set or change parenting time needs a parenting plan. Under N.D.C.C. 14-09-30, parents write one together, or the court writes it.
The plan must cover decision-making, information sharing, the child's school residence and the full schedule. It must also cover holidays, summers, transport, exchanges and a way to settle disputes.
- Mediation: under N.D.R.Ct. 8.1, the clerk refers disputed cases to the Family Mediation Program within 10 days of filing.
- Cost: the program covers up to six hours of orientation and mediation at no cost. Extra sessions are paid, with a sliding scale available.
- Safety exceptions: an existing protection order blocks referral, unless the victim asks and strict safety steps are in place. Under N.D.C.C. 14-09.1-02, a court may not order mediation where physical or sexual abuse is or may be involved.
- Modification cases: these go to mediation only after the judge finds a prima facie case.
- Parent education: the court's scheduling order may set a deadline for a parenting class.
- Parenting investigator: in contested cases, the court can order an investigation and report. The report is due at least 30 days before the hearing.
- Guardian ad litem: an attorney who advocates for the child's best interests can be appointed.
- Parenting coordinator: the court can appoint a neutral person to help settle ongoing disputes.
Within 30 days after service, parents must meet and prepare a joint informational statement under N.D.R.Ct. 8.3.1. The court then issues a scheduling order.
Grandparents, other caregivers and an absent parent
We found no North Dakota grandparent visitation statute in force. The old one, section 14-09-05.1, was repealed in 2019.
Other caregivers still have routes:
- Parental rights and responsibilities: N.D.C.C. 14-09-29 lets the court award them to a non-parent when that serves the child.
- Domestic violence cases: a court can place the child with a suitable third person, giving priority to the nearest suitable adult relative.
- Guardianship: under N.D.C.C. 27-20.1-11, the juvenile court can name a guardian in limited situations. These include parents' written consent or a child in need of protection.
Absence alone does not end a parent's rights in North Dakota. No statute we found sets an automatic time limit, and only a court can terminate rights.
- Termination: under N.D.C.C. 27-20.3-20, grounds include abandonment. That means failing significantly, without good reason, to stay in contact or pay support.
- Adoption: under N.D.C.C. 14-15-06, consent may be skipped for a parent whose child lives with someone else. That needs a year without contact or support, without justifiable cause.
- Moving: after a year of unused parenting time, the parent with primary residential responsibility no longer needs a court order to move out of state.
How to file for custody in North Dakota
A North Dakota court can usually hear the case only if this is the child's home state. Under N.D.C.C. 14-14.1-12, the child must have lived here with a parent for the six months right before the case starts.
- Pick your route. If you agree on every issue, use the court's uncontested packet. Otherwise, start a parenting responsibility case on your own.
- Complete the forms. The uncontested packet includes a Summons, Complaint, Settlement Agreement, Parenting Plan and Confidential Information Form.
- Calculate child support using the state guidelines. The court requires this unless support is already ordered.
- Submit the papers to the district court clerk with the $160 fee, or with a fee waiver request.
- Have the other parent served, or ask them to sign an Admission of Service.
- Wait for the answer. The other parent has 21 days to respond. If they do not, you can ask for a default judgment.
- Meet and exchange information within 30 days after service, then follow the scheduling order.
Married parents settle these issues in a divorce instead. The self-help center has every packet and instruction.
How much does it cost to file for custody in North Dakota?
Fees come from N.D.C.C. 27-05.2-03 and the court fee schedule effective July 1, 2025.
| Filing | Fee |
|---|---|
| Complaint to establish parenting responsibility | $160 |
| Divorce | $160 |
| Answer from the other parent | $100 |
| Motion to modify residential responsibility or parenting time | $160 |
| Answer to a motion to modify | $100 |
| Motion to enforce parenting time | No fee |
| Protection order | Free |
Fees last checked October 29, 2026. Check each amount with the clerk before you file. Parents with low income can ask to have fees waived, and the fee waiver page has the request forms. Mediation beyond six free hours, investigators and lawyers cost extra.
What changed recently
- January 1, 2026: protection orders moved into the new chapter 14-07.7. No restraining or protection order now carries a filing fee.
- August 1, 2025: the make-up parenting time law, N.D.C.C. 14-09-24.1, took effect. The same bill created a Child Custody Review Task Force to study custody law.
- 2025 session: two bills for equal or shared parenting presumptions failed.
- March 1, 2025: revised versions of court rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4 took effect.
We found no 2025 or 2026 change to the 13 factors or the two-year rule. Last checked October 29, 2026. Laws can change, so check before you rely on this.
Building the record
North Dakota judges weigh each parent's bond with the child, how steady each home is and support for the other parent. Interference and violence carry their own rules. All of that turns on dates.
Write down each exchange, missed visit and school or medical task when it happens. Casewell keeps those entries with the messages behind them, so a lawyer can follow the timeline quickly. Before recording a call, read North Dakota's rules on recording a co-parent.
Before you record a call or a handover, check whether you can record your co-parent in North Dakota.
A North Dakota custody record
North Dakota judges weigh bonds, stability, cooperation and safety. Update these items as things happen, so the facts are on hand.
Court timeline
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Is North Dakota a 50/50 custody state?
No. North Dakota has no presumption of equal residential responsibility. Two 2025 bills for shared parenting presumptions failed, though a judge can still order equal time.
Who has custody of a child when the parents are not married in North Dakota?
No statute gives either unmarried parent custody at birth, and neither is preferred. Once paternity is established, either parent can ask a district court to set residential responsibility.
What rights do fathers have in North Dakota?
The same as mothers. The law presumes neither parent is better, married or not. An unmarried father first needs paternity established.
How long does a father have to be absent to lose his rights in North Dakota?
No set period ends a parent's rights automatically, and termination takes a court order. A year without contact or support, without good reason, can allow an adoption without that parent's consent.
At what age can a child choose which parent to live with in North Dakota?
There is no fixed age. If the judge finds the child mature enough by clear and convincing evidence, the preference may get substantial weight.
How much does it cost to file for custody in North Dakota?
Filing a parenting responsibility complaint costs $160, and an answer costs $100. A fee waiver is available, and protection orders are free. Confirm with the clerk.
Sources
This page summarizes the North Dakota Century Code, the North Dakota Rules of Court, 2025 session laws and court self-help guidance, as of October 2026. It explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice.
- N.D.C.C. 14-09-29 — parental rights and responsibilities, no parent presumption checked
- N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.2 — best-interest factors and domestic violence presumption checked
- N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6 — limits on changing primary residential responsibility checked
- N.D.C.C. 14-09-07 — moving a child to another state checked
- N.D.C.C. 14-09-24.1 — make-up time for parenting time interference checked
- N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-07 — domestic violence protection orders checked
- N.D.C.C. 14-20-17 — rescinding an acknowledgment of paternity checked
- N.D.R.Ct. 8.2 — interim orders in domestic relations cases checked
- North Dakota Legal Self Help Center — establishing residential responsibility and parenting time checked
- North Dakota Court Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2025 checked