Family court reform
North Dakota
Where North Dakota stands on each reform BMD tracks. General information, not legal advice.
Equal parenting time presumption
No bill yet
Makes an equal, or approximately equal, parenting-time schedule the legal starting point in a custody case. The presumption is rebuttable, and a court that orders something else has to say why.
No bill of this kind is cited for North Dakota at the last review.
Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Deployed-parent custody protection
Passed
Enacts the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act: a military deployment by itself is not a reason to change custody, orders made for the deployment are temporary and end with it, and a deploying parent may delegate parenting time.
Statute: N.D. Cent. Code 14-09.3-01 et seq.
Enacted the uniform act. Citation taken from the National Conference of State Legislatures military parent custody list; not separately confirmed against the state code.
Source: official bill or statute page
Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Parenting time interference remedies
Passed
Gives a parent denied court-ordered parenting time a real remedy - make-up or compensatory time, costs, or a penalty - rather than leaving contempt as the only route.
Bill: SB 2186 (2025, 69th Legislative Assembly), signed 2025-04-22
Statute: N.D. Cent. Code ch. 14-09 (new section)
Creates a new section on interference with court-ordered parenting time, establishes a child custody review task force and provides a penalty. Passed the Senate 26-19 and the House 84-9 as amended; sponsors Sen. Clemens, Rep. Koppelman, Sen. Luick and Rep. Marschall.
Source: official bill or statute page
Reviewed 2026-10-13.