Reviewed July 2026
Filing for Divorce in North Dakota
A plain-language look at how divorce works under North Dakota law: who can file, how long it takes, what it costs, and where North Dakota's own court forms and self-help resources are.
Virdix's document-preparation product currently prepares divorce paperwork for California cases only. This page explains how the process works under North Dakota law, using North Dakota's own court forms and self-help resources, for people researching before they file. It is not legal advice, and Virdix does not prepare or file North Dakota divorce paperwork. See how Virdix works for California divorces.
North Dakota is procedurally unremarkable next to states with numbered Judicial-Council forms or interactive DIY tools, but it has two genuinely distinctive statutory features worth calling out rather than a generic template paragraph. First, North Dakota statutorily bars permanent spousal support outright and instead ties support duration to an explicit percentage-of-marriage-length schedule (up to 50% of the marriage's length in months for marriages under five years, scaling up to court discretion at 20+ years), a hard numeric guideline that most equitable-distribution states leave entirely to judicial discretion. Second, three of the state's fault grounds (desertion, neglect, and substance-abuse-based grounds) require the underlying conduct to have continued for a full year before they qualify as a ground for divorce at all, while the no-fault 'irreconcilable differences' ground carries no such durational requirement, effectively a two-speed grounds system depending on which basis is pled.
Grounds for divorce in North Dakota
No-fault grounds
- Irreconcilable differences
Fault-based grounds
- Adultery
- Extreme cruelty (infliction of grievous bodily injury or grievous mental suffering)
- Willful desertion (must continue one year to qualify)
- Willful neglect / failure to provide common necessaries of life (must continue one year to qualify)
- Abuse of alcohol or controlled substances (must continue one year to qualify)
- Conviction of a felony
Source: ndlegis.gov
Who can file: residency rules
The plaintiff must, in good faith, have been a resident of North Dakota for six months immediately preceding the filing of the action. If that six-month residency was not met before filing, a divorce may still be granted if the plaintiff has, in good faith, been a resident of North Dakota for the six months immediately preceding entry of the divorce decree instead.
N.D.C.C. § 14-05-17
Source: ndlegis.gov
How long it takes
No general statutory waiting period between filing and judgment was found in North Dakota's divorce chapter. Note, however, that where a divorce is sought on the fault grounds of willful desertion, willful neglect, or habitual intemperance, that conduct must have continued for one full year before it qualifies as a ground for divorce at all (this is a pre-filing accrual requirement tied to the ground, not a post-filing cooling-off period).
N.D.C.C. § 14-05-09 (fault-ground accrual only; no general post-filing wait located)
Source: ndlegis.gov
That figure is the statutory floor, not a promise. Service, exchanging financial disclosures, and the court's own hearing calendar routinely add time on top of it, and a contested case takes longer than an uncontested one regardless of the minimum. California, by comparison, requires a mandatory six month waiting period from the date of service.
Cost and filing fees
$160 statewide, set by statute, to file a petition for dissolution of marriage, annulment, or separation in district court (this is a state-set fee, not county-variable).
Source: ndlegis.gov
California's own statewide filing fee is generally $435 to $450 statewide, with a fee waiver available for those who qualify.
Divorce forms and papers
The petition
There is no single numbered, Judicial-Council-style petition form. A divorce is started with a Summons and Complaint. For the simplified 'file together' track (no children, full agreement), the North Dakota Legal Self Help Center provides a packet of roughly ten documents: Summons, Complaint, Settlement Agreement, Property and Debt Listing, Admission of Service, Affidavit of Proof, Findings of Fact/Conclusions of Law/Order for Judgment, Judgment, Confidential Information Form, and Notice of Entry of Judgment.
Source: ndcourts.gov
Fee waiver
No single official numbered fee-waiver form was located. North Dakota's Legal Self Help Center publishes 'Filing Fee Waiver Instructions and Forms,' but the Center explicitly states its materials 'aren't official court forms and courts aren't required to accept them', applicants should confirm the accepted form with their district court clerk. The underlying fee authority is North Dakota Century Code Chapter 27-05.2 and Section 27-01-07.
Source: ndcourts.gov
North Dakota publishes fillable forms for this process. The North Dakota Legal Self Help Center (ndcourts.gov) publishes fillable PDF divorce forms with instructions, though the site itself notes these self-help forms are not official court forms and acceptance can vary by court, an unusual and worth-stating caveat compared to states where the judiciary's own numbered forms are unquestionably the official version.
California uses standardized Judicial Council forms, starting with the Petition (Form FL-100), across every county. See California's own divorce forms.
Filing online
North Dakota operates a statewide e-filing portal (Tyler Technologies Odyssey File & Serve, at northdakota.tylertech.cloud) referenced from the court's own self-help materials. Whether e-filing is mandatory or optional specifically for self-represented divorce litigants (as opposed to attorneys) could not be confirmed from a primary source in this research pass.
Source: ndcourts.gov
Uncontested and simplified divorce
North Dakota offers a distinct simplified or summary track.
North Dakota's 'File for Divorce Together, No Children' track requires the filer to answer yes to all five criteria: the spouses are currently in communication; they agree on every issue with nothing in dispute; they have no minor or dependent children and will have none; at least one party has lived in North Dakota for the last six months; and no other legal action between the spouses over this marriage is pending.
Source: ndcourts.gov
California's equivalent is uncontested divorce in California, which uses the same statewide forms as any other case but moves faster once both spouses agree on every term.
Filing without a lawyer
North Dakota allows self-represented filers, and most divorces filed in the state proceed this way. Because Virdix prepares paperwork for California cases only, a North Dakota filer handling their own case works directly from North Dakota's own forms and self-help materials rather than a Virdix-prepared packet. North Dakota's official self-help resources are the direct source for the current forms and instructions.
For how self-representation works in the state Virdix does serve, see divorce without a lawyer in California and DIY divorce vs. hiring a lawyer.
More about divorce in North Dakota
How property is divided
Equitable distribution, not community property. On divorce, the court must make an equitable distribution of the parties' property and debts; the statute sets a default valuation date (as mutually agreed by the parties, or 60 days before the initial trial date if they don't agree) and includes a specific rule for crediting the marital portion of a government pension held in lieu of Social Security.
Source: ndlegis.gov
Court structure
Divorce actions are filed and heard in North Dakota's district courts (the state's general-jurisdiction trial courts); clerks of district court, most of whom are now state-funded employees rather than purely county employees, handle filing and fee collection.
Source: ndlegis.gov
Spousal support
North Dakota has an unusually explicit statutory guideline rather than pure discretion: the court may NOT award permanent spousal support. Instead, time-limited support duration is tied to marriage length by statute: up to 50% of the marriage's length (in months) for marriages under 5 years, up to 60% for 5-10 years, up to 70% for 10-15 years, up to 80% for 15-20 years, and court-determined duration for marriages of 20+ years. A rebuttable presumption also terminates support once the paying spouse reaches full Social Security retirement age.
Source: ndlegis.gov
Parenting class requirement
Not independently confirmedNot required by statute statewide.
No mandatory parenting/co-parenting education class for divorcing parents was found referenced in North Dakota's self-help materials for the uncontested-divorce-with-children process; this should not be treated as a confirmed absence statewide, only as 'not found' in this pass.
California is the only state on this site with a full county-by-county breakdown. See how California's divorce process compares across its 58 counties.
This page is general information about North Dakota divorce procedure, not legal advice for your situation. Laws, fees, and forms change over time; confirm current details with North Dakota's own courts before relying on anything here. Virdix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law in North Dakota, and does not prepare or file North Dakota divorce paperwork. It is not a substitute for an attorney licensed in North Dakota.
Virdix currently serves California
If you're filing for divorce in California, Virdix guides you through the state's Judicial Council forms so your paperwork is complete and consistent before you file. If you're filing in North Dakota, the official resources linked above are the right place to start.