How to Modify Child Custody in North Dakota
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · North Dakota · Last updated November 13, 2026
North Dakota puts a two-year clock on one question only: which parent the child mainly lives with. Modifying child custody here means going back to the district court that issued your existing order and asking it to change that order because something significant has changed since it was entered. The Century Code itself no longer uses the word custody for this. Section 14-09-33 treats any law that says custody as meaning the allocation of parental rights and responsibilities, and the order you hold speaks of primary residential responsibility, decisionmaking responsibility and parenting time. Those labels matter, because N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6 bars a motion to modify primary residential responsibility earlier than two years after the order establishing it, and bars a repeat motion within two years of a prior one decided on its merits. A written agreement or a parenting plan term can switch both clocks off. So can a court finding of persistent and willful interference with parenting time, a present environment that may endanger the child, or the child having lived with the other parent for longer than six months. Parenting time sits outside that section, and for a divorce judgment 14-05-22(1) lets the court modify it at any time. Every motion to change the primary residential parent then meets a paper test: a judge reads the affidavits and briefs, with no oral argument, and sets an evidentiary hearing only if a prima facie case appears. Filing costs $160 under 27-05.2-03(1)(d), and an answer costs $100. Moving the child to another state needs the other parent's consent or a court order under 14-09-07.
Find out where you stand in North Dakota
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How long after a North Dakota order can a parent ask to change the primary residential parent?
Two years after entry of the order establishing primary residential responsibility, under N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6(1). A second motion must wait two years after a prior one was decided on its merits. A written agreement, a parenting plan term, or one of three findings listed in subsection 3 removes the wait.
Can parenting time be changed in North Dakota before two years pass?
Yes. The two-year limit in N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6 reaches only motions to modify primary residential responsibility. For a divorce judgment, 14-05-22(1) lets the court modify parenting rights and responsibilities at any time, and 14-09-30(1) requires a parenting plan built on the child's best interests.
When does a North Dakota parent need permission to move a child away?
When the move crosses the state line. N.D.C.C. 14-09-07(1) bars a parent with primary residential responsibility from changing the child's primary residence to another state without the other parent's consent or a court order, if that parent has parenting time under the decree. The section sets no day count.
Which North Dakota court hears a request to change residential responsibility?
The district court that entered your judgment. The clerk of the district court collects the $160 motion fee set by N.D.C.C. 27-05.2-03(1)(d), and the other parent pays $100 to file an answer. Fees may be waived on an in forma pauperis petition with a sworn affidavit under 27-01-07.
North Dakota residential responsibility changes at a glance
In North Dakota, changing custody means asking the district court that issued your current order to rewrite it because something significant has shifted since it was entered. The statute speaks of primary residential responsibility and parenting time rather than custody, and the difference is practical. A request to change who the child mainly lives with runs into N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6, with its two-year limit and a prima facie review on paper before any hearing. A request that only adjusts the schedule does not. Moves follow a separate rule. Under 14-09-07 the state line, not a mileage figure, is what requires consent or a court order, and the only distance in that section, fifty miles, works as an exemption once the other parent has left the state.
When the six-month escape hatch opens early
Fifteen months after a Grand Forks County judgment named the father as primary residential parent, the daughter has in practice slept at her mother's house for seven months, because his rotation work keeps him in Williston for two weeks at a time. The mother cannot rely on the passage of time, since two years have not run. She can rely on N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6(3)(c), which lifts the limit where residential responsibility has changed to the other parent for longer than six months. Her affidavits document the dates, school pickups and medical visits. She pays $160 to the district court clerk. A judge reads both parents' papers without argument and decides whether her prima facie case earns a hearing, where subsection 5 still asks whether the change serves the child's best interests.
Relevant Laws
N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6 (limits on postjudgment modification of primary residential responsibility)
Sets the two-year limits from the establishing order and from a prior motion decided on its merits, lists the three findings that lift them, requires a prima facie decision on briefs before any evidentiary hearing, states the material change and best interests test after two years, and places the burden on the moving party.
N.D.C.C. 14-09-07 (residence of child)
Bars a parent with primary or equal residential responsibility from changing the child's residence to another state without the other parent's consent or a court order, and removes the court order requirement where the other parent has not exercised parenting time for one year or has moved out of state more than fifty miles away.
N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.2 (best interests and welfare of child)
Lists the factors the court weighs in any parental rights and responsibilities decision, from emotional ties and home stability to domestic violence and false allegations of harm, and lets the court give substantial weight to a mature child's preference once maturity is shown by clear and convincing evidence.
N.D.C.C. 14-05-22 (parental rights and responsibilities in divorce)
Allows the court in a divorce action to give direction for parenting rights and responsibilities before or after judgment and to vacate or modify that direction at any time, while sending any award or change of primary parental responsibilities through chapter 14-09.
N.D.C.C. 27-05.2-03 (fees charged by the clerk of the district court)
Sets a $160 fee for filing a motion to modify an order for parental rights and responsibilities, residential responsibility or parenting time, and a $100 fee for filing an answer to that motion, as raised by the 2025 Legislative Assembly with effect from July 1, 2025.
Regional Variances
North Dakota modification levers at a glance
Two-year limit
Applies only to a motion to modify primary residential responsibility. Two clocks: two years from entry of the order establishing it, and two years from a prior motion decided on its merits. A written agreement or a parenting plan term removes both, as do the three findings in N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6(3).
Findings that lift the limit
Persistent and willful denial of or interference with parenting time; a present environment that may endanger the child's physical or emotional health or impair emotional development; or residential responsibility having shifted to the other parent for longer than six months. Inside two years the change must also serve the child's best interests.
Parenting time changes
Outside the two-year section. For a divorce judgment, N.D.C.C. 14-05-22(1) lets the court modify parenting rights and responsibilities at any time, and 14-09-30(1) requires a parenting plan in any proceeding to modify parenting time, issued on the child's best interests if the parents cannot agree.
Standard after two years
A material change in the circumstances of the child or the parties, shown by facts arising since the prior order or unknown to the court when it was entered, plus a finding that modification is necessary to serve the child's best interests. The moving parent bears the burden of proof.
Paper screen
Every motion to modify primary residential responsibility is decided first on briefs and affidavits, with no oral argument. The judge must deny it unless a prima facie case appears, and sets an evidentiary hearing only after that finding.
Moving with the child
Consent or a court order before changing the child's residence to another state. N.D.C.C. 14-09-07 states no notice period and no day count. An equal residential parent's order must also award that parent primary residential responsibility. Moves within the state fall outside the section.
The fifty miles
An exemption, not a trigger. No court order is required if the other parent has moved to another state and is more than fifty miles from the residence of the parent with primary residential responsibility, or has not exercised parenting time for one year.
Court and fee
The district court that entered the judgment. Filing a motion to modify costs $160 and filing an answer costs $100 under N.D.C.C. 27-05.2-03(1)(d), effective July 1, 2025. A waiver may be requested by in forma pauperis petition under 27-01-07.
Forms
No statewide form is prescribed. The North Dakota Legal Self Help Center publishes motion packets for changing primary residential responsibility and amending parenting time, and states that its forms are not official court forms and that courts are not required to accept them.
Child's preference
No age. A maturity finding by clear and convincing evidence allows the court to give the child's preference substantial weight under N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.2(1)(i), with attention to undesirable or improper influences on that preference.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Identify what your order actually allocates
Before deciding which motion to bring days after startingConfirm whether your judgment awards primary residential responsibility to one parent or equal residential responsibility, and whether your parenting plan contains a term allowing an earlier motion. The answer decides whether the two-year limit in N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6 applies to the change you want.
Date both two-year clocks
Before drafting days after startingWrite down the entry date of the order establishing primary residential responsibility and the date any earlier modification motion was decided on its merits. If either clock has not run, list which subsection 3 finding your facts support, since the motion otherwise cannot be made yet.
Check any move against the state line
Before committing to a move days after startingA move to another state needs the other parent's consent or a court order under N.D.C.C. 14-09-07 unless subsection 3 applies. Keep any consent in writing. A move within the state still triggers the 14-09-32 duty to tell the other parent your new address immediately.
Draft the motion, brief and affidavits
Once your dated evidence is assembled days after startingPrepare the notice of motion, motion, brief in support and affidavits from you and other witnesses. Because the judge decides the prima facie question on these papers alone, each affidavit should state firsthand facts with dates. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.
File with the district court clerk and pay $160
When the papers are complete days after startingFile in the district court that entered your judgment and pay the $160 motion fee under N.D.C.C. 27-05.2-03(1)(d), or file an in forma pauperis petition with a sworn affidavit under 27-01-07 asking the court to waive it.
Serve the other parent and track the response
Promptly after filing days after startingGive the other parent notice of the motion with copies of your papers and keep proof of how and when you served them. That parent may serve and file a response and opposing affidavits, paying a $100 answer fee, before the judge decides the motion on the briefs.
Follow the current order until a new one is entered
Throughout the case days after startingKeep to the existing residential responsibility and parenting time terms while the motion is pending. A denial on the prima facie question leaves the order unchanged, and any change takes effect only when the court enters a new order.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identify what your order actually allocates | Confirm whether your judgment awards primary residential responsibility to one parent or equal residential responsibility, and whether your parenting plan contains a term allowing an earlier motion. The answer decides whether the two-year limit in N.D.C.C. 14-09-06.6 applies to the change you want. | - | Before deciding which motion to bring |
| Date both two-year clocks | Write down the entry date of the order establishing primary residential responsibility and the date any earlier modification motion was decided on its merits. If either clock has not run, list which subsection 3 finding your facts support, since the motion otherwise cannot be made yet. | - | Before drafting |
| Check any move against the state line | A move to another state needs the other parent's consent or a court order under N.D.C.C. 14-09-07 unless subsection 3 applies. Keep any consent in writing. A move within the state still triggers the 14-09-32 duty to tell the other parent your new address immediately. | - | Before committing to a move |
| Draft the motion, brief and affidavits | Prepare the notice of motion, motion, brief in support and affidavits from you and other witnesses. Because the judge decides the prima facie question on these papers alone, each affidavit should state firsthand facts with dates. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft. | - | Once your dated evidence is assembled |
| File with the district court clerk and pay $160 | File in the district court that entered your judgment and pay the $160 motion fee under N.D.C.C. 27-05.2-03(1)(d), or file an in forma pauperis petition with a sworn affidavit under 27-01-07 asking the court to waive it. | - | When the papers are complete |
| Serve the other parent and track the response | Give the other parent notice of the motion with copies of your papers and keep proof of how and when you served them. That parent may serve and file a response and opposing affidavits, paying a $100 answer fee, before the judge decides the motion on the briefs. | - | Promptly after filing |
| Follow the current order until a new one is entered | Keep to the existing residential responsibility and parenting time terms while the motion is pending. A denial on the prima facie question leaves the order unchanged, and any change takes effect only when the court enters a new order. | - | Throughout the case |
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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