North Dakota's Disorderly Conduct Restraining Order: The Harassment Remedy With No Harassment in Its Name
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · North Dakota · Last updated October 22, 2026
In North Dakota the order that fits a harassment problem is called a disorderly conduct restraining order, and it has nothing to do with the criminal offence that shares its name. It is a civil court order directing someone you are not related to, and are not in a domestic relationship with, to stop contacting or bothering you. The ground is unusually wide: intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures intended to adversely affect your safety, security, or privacy, with no violence, no threat, no course of conduct and no minimum number of incidents required (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-01(3)). Constitutionally protected activity is excluded, and the judge must rule on that claim as a matter of law. If the person is a spouse, partner, ex, family or household member, this is the wrong order and you want a domestic violence protection order under the same chapter instead (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-07). Currency matters here: the old section 12.1-31.2-01 was repealed, and since January 1, 2026 everything sits in chapter 14-07.7. Relief may not exceed two years (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-05(3)). This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in North Dakota
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Do I need a threat or violence to get a disorderly conduct restraining order in North Dakota?
No. The statute defines disorderly conduct as intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures intended to adversely affect the safety, security, or privacy of another individual (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-01(3)). It does not require violence, a threat, a course of conduct, or any minimum number of incidents.
How long does a North Dakota disorderly conduct restraining order last?
Relief granted by the order may not exceed two years (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-05(3)). Any order under the chapter expires on the date stated in it, at 11:59 p.m. central standard time, so the stated date on the paper, not the hour you received it, controls.
Does North Dakota charge a fee to file for a disorderly conduct restraining order?
No. The statute says a filing fee may not be charged for a civil protection order petition (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-02(9)). Service is free to the petitioner as well, because no service fee may be charged to the person who filed (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-12(4)). The court may not require a bond except in exceptional cases.
Can a North Dakota judge issue a temporary order before the other person is heard?
Yes. A temporary order may be granted without notice if the petition alleges reasonable grounds that the respondent engaged in disorderly conduct (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-04). The court sets the hearing no later than fourteen days after issuance, unless good cause shows a later date, and service must occur at least five days before.
North Dakota civil harassment order rules at a glance
North Dakota splits its civil protection orders into three named types inside one chapter, and the one aimed at non-family harassment is the disorderly conduct restraining order, or DCRO. It directs a person you are not domestically related to stop contacting or bothering you, and it reaches what other instruments often miss: unwanted words or gestures aimed at your privacy, with no violence anywhere in the picture. The routing is written into the petition statute itself, which sends a family or household member who commits domestic violence down one path and an individual who committed disorderly conduct down another (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-02(1)). Two features set it apart. The DCRO carries an express carve-out for constitutionally protected activity, and the judge must decide that question as a matter of law. And its hearing is not closed to the public, unlike the domestic violence and sexual assault tracks (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-03(7)).
A Cass County food truck owner and a former friend who will not stop posting his address
A Cass County man who runs a small food truck falls out with a former friend and business partner. Afterwards the friend posts the man's home address in local groups, sends late-night messages about his family, and turns up at the truck's regular lot to film him. There are no threats and no violence, and the two were never related or living together. Because the statute reaches unwanted acts and gestures aimed at privacy, the man files the combined petition, ticks the disorderly conduct box, and asks for a temporary order without notice. The friend may argue the posts were protected speech, which the judge must rule on as a matter of law. Whether an order issues is for the court.
Relevant Laws
N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-01 (definitions, including disorderly conduct)
Defines disorderly conduct in subsection 3 as intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures intended to adversely affect the safety, security, or privacy of another individual, expressly including human trafficking and stalking and expressly excluding constitutionally protected activity. Also defines family or household member in subsection 5, which is the line that decides whether the domestic violence order applies instead.
N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-02 (petition for civil protection order)
Lets an individual who is or has been a victim of disorderly conduct, domestic violence, or sexual assault petition against a family or household member who commits domestic violence, or against an individual who has committed disorderly conduct or sexual assault. Requires the petition to state the order type, prohibits dual orders in subsection 7, and bars any filing fee in subsection 9.
N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-03 (general provisions, amendment and closed hearings)
Allows the court to amend an order on a motion by either party, provides that an order expires on its stated date at 11:59 p.m. central standard time, and closes hearings only for domestic violence and sexual assault petitions, leaving a disorderly conduct hearing open to the public.
N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-04 (temporary disorderly conduct restraining order)
Permits a temporary order without notice where the petition alleges reasonable grounds that the respondent engaged in disorderly conduct. The temporary order stays in effect until a final order under section 14-07.7-05 is served, with the hearing set no later than fourteen days after issuance or on a later date for good cause.
N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-05 (disorderly conduct restraining order after hearing)
Sets the standard after hearing, requiring reasonable grounds to believe the respondent engaged in disorderly conduct, directs the court to decide any claim of constitutionally protected activity as a matter of law, and caps relief at two years in subsection 3.
N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-07 (domestic violence protection order, the routing statute)
The separate order for domestic violence. It requires the court to find both that the relationship between the respondent and the protected individual is sufficient to warrant protection and a showing of actual or imminent domestic violence. A petitioner harassed by a spouse, partner, ex or household member uses this order, not the disorderly conduct restraining order.
N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-12 (service of orders)
Governs service of civil protection orders, including service by the sheriff or by publication under the rules of civil procedure where the respondent cannot be served, service at least five days before the hearing, and the rule that no service fee may be charged to the petitioner.
S.L. 2025, ch. 145 (House Bill 1489, the consolidation and repeal)
Repealed N.D.C.C. 12.1-31.2-01, the former disorderly conduct restraining order section, together with the old domestic violence protection order sections, and rebuilt all three civil protection orders in chapter 14-07.7 effective January 1, 2026. Any source describing the order under the old section is out of date.
North Dakota Courts, Civil Protection Orders self-help page (Petition for Civil Protection Order)
The court system's self-help page for the combined Petition for Civil Protection Order, revision stamp Petition CPO/Rev Mar 2026, on which the petitioner checks one of three order types. The petition has no form number and the page notes its forms are not official court forms.
Regional Variances
North Dakota civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Disorderly conduct restraining order, or DCRO, one of three civil protection order types in N.D.C.C. chapter 14-07.7, effective January 1, 2026. The former section 12.1-31.2-01 was repealed by S.L. 2025, ch. 145, section 17. The name is unrelated to the criminal offence of disorderly conduct.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
Any individual who has committed disorderly conduct. There is no relationship test for this order. The domestic violence order is the one that turns on relationship, and it is the right order when the person is a family or household member (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-02(1), 14-07.7-01(5)).
The standard
After a hearing, reasonable grounds to believe the respondent engaged in disorderly conduct: intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures intended to adversely affect safety, security, or privacy. No violence, threat, course of conduct or minimum incident count is required (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-01(3), 14-07.7-05).
Constitutionally protected activity
Excluded from the definition. If the respondent claims the conduct was protected, the court must decide that claim as a matter of law and, if valid, exclude evidence of the activity (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-05(2)). The domestic violence track has no equivalent carve-out.
Temporary order
Available without notice on a petition alleging reasonable grounds. It stays in effect until a final order is served, with the hearing no later than fourteen days after issuance unless good cause shows a later date (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-04).
Duration
Relief may not exceed two years. An order expires on the date stated in it, at 11:59 p.m. central standard time (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-05(3), 14-07.7-03).
Renewal
The chapter confers no renewal or extension authority for this order, so none is stated here. It does allow the court to amend an order on a motion by either party (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-03(2)). Ask the clerk of court about any step near the end date.
Court and form
North Dakota court, on the combined Petition for Civil Protection Order, revision stamp Petition CPO/Rev Mar 2026, which carries no form number. The petitioner checks one of three order types, and dual orders are prohibited (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-02(2), (7)).
Filing fee
None. A filing fee may not be charged for a civil protection order petition (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-02(9)). The court may not require security or bond except in exceptional cases.
Service
By the sheriff, or by publication under the rules of civil procedure if the respondent cannot be served, at least five days before the hearing. No service fee may be charged to the petitioner (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-12).
Hearing privacy
Open to the public. Only domestic violence and sexual assault hearings are closed (N.D.C.C. 14-07.7-03(7)).
Frequently Asked Questions
Other North Dakota guides
Adult Guardianship in North Dakota
Adverse Possession in North Dakota: Twenty Years, or Ten If the Taxes Were Paid
Asset Protection Planning in North Dakota (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in North Dakota (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in North Dakota: One October 1 Deadline, and the County Takes the Deed
Expunging a Criminal Record in North Dakota (2026)
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