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Educational information about court costs and procedure only — not legal advice and not a substitute for an attorney or your court clerk. Fees change; always confirm current figures with the clerk of the court where you file.

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North Dakota court costs guide

Filing for divorce in North Dakota costs $160 in court filing fees. This guide covers the verified filing fees for divorce, name change, general civil cases, and probate in North Dakota — every figure from the official schedule or statute named at the foot of the page.

North Dakota at a glanceFigure
CourtDistrict Court
Divorce filing fee$160 district court filing fee (NDCC §27-05.2-03), which expressly includes divorce.
Name change filing fee$160 — the same general district court fee.
Name-change publicationRequired — Required — ND Courts self-help: publish notice in the county newspaper first; the judge may consider the petition 30 days after publication. Waivable only for a first/middle-name-only change or victim-of-domestic-violence status.
General civil filing fee$160 (an answer is $100; a small claims affidavit is $20).
Probate filing fee$160 — the official fee list includes informal and formal probate at the same fee.
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Divorce filing fees

$160 district court filing fee (NDCC §27-05.2-03), which expressly includes divorce.

See the national picture — including the states where the fee is set county by county — in our divorce filing cost guide.

Name change: fee and publication

$160 — the same general district court fee.

Publication: Required — ND Courts self-help: publish notice in the county newspaper first; the judge may consider the petition 30 days after publication. Waivable only for a first/middle-name-only change or victim-of-domestic-violence status.

Publication is the step readers most often get wrong, because the rule changed recently in several states. The full state-by-state picture is in our name change cost guide.

General civil filing fees

$160 (an answer is $100; a small claims affidavit is $20).

Probate court costs

$160 — the official fee list includes informal and formal probate at the same fee.

How filing works in North Dakota

  1. Prepare the petition or complaint for the District Court — most North Dakota courts publish the forms on their self-help pages.
  2. File with the clerk and pay the filing fee above. Keep the stamped copy; it is your proof of filing.
  3. Arrange service of process on the other party where the case requires it (divorce and general civil cases do; a name change usually does not).
  4. Complete any publication the rules require — for a North Dakota name change: required.
  5. Attend the hearing or, in uncontested matters, submit the proposed decree for the judge's signature.

Worked total: what a divorce filing costs

ItemCost
Filing fee$160
Service of process (typical private process server)$50–$100
Estimated total to file$210–$260

Filing fee plus service for one respondent, before any mediation, parenting-class, or copy charges described in the guides. Run your own combination in the cost calculator.

Sources: ND Courts — Filing Fees (fee-waiver page fee list) · ND Courts — Adult Name Change self-help. Researched October 2026 — confirm current figures with the court clerk.

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