North Dakota Process Server Service of Process in All 53 Counties, Under N.D.R.Civ.P. 4

How a North Dakota action begins

In North Dakota the case starts with service, not with filing: Rule 3 says a civil action is commenced by the service of a summons, and the complaint can stay off the court’s docket until later. Once served, the defendant may demand that the plaintiff file the complaint; if it is not filed within 20 days after the demand is served, service of the summons is void, unless the court finds excusable neglect on a motion made within 60 days after the demand is served. Whoever files the initiating pleading must file the Rule 4 proof of service with it, and no subpoena may issue until the summons and complaint are on file.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 3; 5

Who may serve

Inside the state, any person of legal age who is not a party to the action and has no interest in it. The Legal Self Help Center reads that as at least 18, which matches N.D.C.C. § 14-10-01 (minors are persons under eighteen). Outside North Dakota, service may be made by anyone allowed to serve under North Dakota law or under the law of the place where it happens, or by a person a North Dakota court designates.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(d)⁠(1); N.D.C.C. § 14-⁠10-⁠01

Sheriffs and coroners

A sheriff must execute all process and orders regular on their face and issued by competent authority. When the sheriff is a party, the duty passes to the coroner. The sheriff charges a fee and returns a Certificate of Service, which is the court’s proof when a sheriff or other law enforcement officer made the service, and a sheriff’s return is prima facie evidence of the facts it states.

N.D.C.C. ch. 11-⁠15; Legal Self Help Center

Clocks that can run out

Filing does not stop a statute of limitations here; Rule 3 points to § 28-01-38 instead. Under that section an action is commenced as to each defendant when the summons is served on that defendant or on a codefendant united in interest. Handing the summons, intended for actual service, to the sheriff or other officer of the county where a defendant usually or last resided (for a corporation, where its principal place of business was, where its general business was transacted, or where it kept an office) counts as an attempt to commence, but only if service or the first publication follows within sixty days.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 3; N.D.C.C. § 28-⁠01-⁠38

Raising timeliness and extensions

A defense that the action was not commenced in time can only be taken by answer (§ 28-01-39). Rule 6(b) lets the court extend a deadline for good cause, and after it has run on a motion showing excusable neglect, but not the times under Rule 4(e)(7) for a defendant served by publication to come in and defend (nor those under Rules 50(b) and (d), 52(b), 59(i) and (j), and 60(b)). Rule 6 counting leaves out the day of the triggering event and carries a last day that lands on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday to the next day that is none of those; when Rule 4 service is by mail or commercial carrier, the period runs from delivery.

N.D.C.C. § 28-⁠01-⁠39; N.D.R.Civ.P. 6(a)–⁠(b), (e)

Individuals 14 and older

Rule 4(d)(2)(A) lists five ways: delivery to the person; leaving the summons at the person’s dwelling or usual place of residence in the presence of someone of suitable age and discretion who lives there; delivery to the spouse at the office of the process server, if the two live together, a route few states have; delivery to an agent authorized by appointment or by law; or mail or third-party commercial delivery that requires a signed receipt and actually reaches the person. The summons must be dated, signed by the plaintiff or the attorney, and carry a post office address, and a copy of the complaint goes with it unless service is by publication.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(c), 4(d)⁠(2)⁠(A)

Agents not expressly authorized

If the summons goes to an agent who is not expressly authorized to receive process for the defendant, Rule 4(d)(2)(G) adds a step: a copy of the summons and complaint must be mailed, or sent by commercial carrier, to the defendant with return receipt requested within ten days after service, addressed to the defendant’s last reasonably ascertainable address.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(d)⁠(2)⁠(G)

Minors and incompetent persons

A child under 14 is served through the child’s guardian within the state; with no guardian here, through a parent or the person or agency having the child’s care or control or with whom the child lives; and if neither works, through the person a court order designates. A person judicially found incompetent, or who has a guardian of person or estate, is served through the guardian, and where both a general guardian and a guardian ad litem exist, both must be served.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(d)⁠(2)⁠(B)–⁠(C)

Corporations, partnerships and associations

Domestic and foreign corporations, partnerships and unincorporated associations are served on an officer, director, superintendent, managing or general agent, partner or associate, or an agent authorized to receive process. Rule 4 also reaches a person who acted as the defendant’s agent in the very matter sued on and was still its agent when served. If the sheriff’s return shows no one to serve in the county, the summons may be left with the person in charge of any of the defendant’s offices in North Dakota, and signed-receipt mail or commercial delivery to any of those people also works.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(d)⁠(2)⁠(D)

LLCs and other registered entities

Chapter 10-01.1 covers every entity that keeps a registered agent, including the domestic LLC organized under chapter 10-32.1. Until the entity’s existence ends, or a foreign entity’s authority is withdrawn or revoked, process may go to its registered agent; to a governor of the entity, the person under whose authority its powers are exercised, whether or not that governor lives in North Dakota; or to any responsible person found at the registered office or the principal executive office in this state. Service is perfected under the Rules of Civil Procedure or other applicable law, other lawful means remain open, and the court decides whether service was proper.

N.D.C.C. §§ 10-⁠01.1-⁠02, 10-⁠01.1-⁠13

The Secretary of State as agent

The Secretary of State stands in for an entity when a foreign entity does business without a certificate of authority, when a domestic entity has been dissolved, when an entity that once named a registered agent no longer has one, or when the agent, governor and responsible person cannot be served with reasonable diligence. Three copies of the process and the filing fee set by § 10-01.1-03 go to the Secretary of State by registered mail or personal delivery, never electronically, with a sheriff’s return or a non-party’s affidavit that neither the registered agent nor a responsible person can be found at either office. It counts as personal service on the entity, is returnable in not less than thirty days, and the Secretary of State forwards a copy by registered mail.

N.D.C.C. § 10-⁠01.1-⁠13

Public bodies and the United States

The State of North Dakota is served on the governor, the attorney general or an assistant attorney general. A state agency such as the Bank of North Dakota is served on its managing head or the attorney general’s office. A city, township, school district, park district, county or other public corporation is served on any member of its governing board. In a state-court action against the United States, § 28-06.2-01 calls for delivery to the United States attorney for the district (or an assistant, or a designated clerical employee) plus certified mail to the Attorney General of the United States; a federal officer or agency sued is also served directly (§ 28-06.2-02), and when the suit attacks an order of a federal officer or agency that is not a party, a copy also goes by certified mail to that officer or agency.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(d)⁠(2)⁠(E)–⁠(F); N.D.C.C. §§ 28-⁠06.2-⁠01, -02

Mail and commercial delivery

Mail or commercial delivery is service only when a signed receipt shows it reached the person to be served. When it is sent restricted delivery requiring the addressee’s signature, the addressee’s refusal counts as delivery, and service is complete on the date of refusal; mail that sits unclaimed is no service at all. The court’s guide says that without a green card signed to show actual delivery, the plaintiff must turn to personal service or an admission of service. A law firm may not act as its own commercial carrier, and proof is a declaration of mailing or delivery with the return receipt attached.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(d)⁠(2)⁠(A)⁠(v), 4(i)⁠(4), 4(l) and note

No email or fax service

The Rule 4 explanatory note is direct: service by e-mail or facsimile is not permitted; outside the state or abroad, a court may order another method (Rule 4(d)(3)(C), 4(f)(3)). When a statute calls for service without saying how, it is made under Rule 4; the note names § 10-01.1-13, on foreign and dissolved business entities, as one such service statute.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(m) and explanatory note

Admission of service

A defendant may sign a written admission of service, and that admission is proof under Rule 4(i). The self-help form tells the signer that admitting service only acknowledges receipt and neither admits nor denies anything in the papers, and the guide adds that no defendant has to sign one. A voluntary general appearance, in person or through an attorney, also submits a person to the court.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(b)⁠(4), 4(i)⁠(5); Admission of Service form

Proof of service

A sheriff or other officer proves service with an officer’s certificate; anyone else proves it with the server’s declaration of service. Every certificate, declaration or admission must state the date, time, place and manner of service. A private server’s declaration must also say the server is of legal age and neither a party nor interested in the action, and that the server knew the person served to be the person named and intended. The court may allow process or proof to be amended at any time on notice and just terms.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(h), 4(i)⁠(1)–⁠(2), 4(j)

Declaration under Chapter 31-15

Since March 1, 2021, Rule 4 uses the word declaration where it once said affidavit, because the Uniform Unsworn Declarations Act lets anyone make an unsworn declaration with the same effect as a sworn one. The declaration closes with the § 31-15-05 line, under penalty of perjury under the law of North Dakota. The court’s Declaration of Service by Personal Delivery asks for one declaration per person served, an age and non-party statement, the reason the server knew the person, and, for residence service, that the papers were left with a person of suitable age and discretion living at that address.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4 note; N.D.C.C. §§ 31-⁠15-⁠03, 31-⁠15-⁠05

Filing the proof

The court’s service page puts it plainly: if proof of service is not filed, the court won’t take action on the case. Because a North Dakota case starts with service of the summons and complaint (or summons and petition), the signed declaration is filed along with the initiating pleading.

Legal Self Help Center; N.D.R.Civ.P. 5

Publication

Publication is open only to a defendant not served personally under Rule 4(d), and only in listed actions, among them divorce, separation or annulment of a resident’s marriage and foreclosure or lien enforcement on North Dakota property. First a complaint and a declaration go to the clerk where the action is venued, for example stating that after diligent inquiry personal service cannot be made in the state, or that a corporation has no one here to serve. The summons runs three times, once each week for three successive weeks, in a newspaper published in the county; a copy is mailed or sent by carrier no later than 14 days after the first run; and personal service out of state can take the place of both. The first publication or that out-of-state service must come within 60 days after the declaration is filed, or the action is discontinued as to that defendant. Proof is the publisher’s affidavit under § 31-04-06 plus a declaration that the summons and complaint were mailed or sent to the defendant’s last reasonably ascertainable address (Rule 4(i)(3)). Except in a divorce, a defendant served this way who had no actual notice of the action and shows a meritorious defense by declaration may be let in to defend up to three years after judgment; receiving the mailed copy counts as notice.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(e), 4(i)⁠(3); N.D.C.C. § 31-⁠04-⁠06

Outside North Dakota

A North Dakota court reaches a person whose contacts with the state, such as transacting any business here, make jurisdiction fair. Such a person may be served outside the state in the same manner as inside it, under the law of the place where service is made, or as a court order directs. Out-of-state personal service is complete fifteen days after the date of service, as is publication fifteen days after the first run. The court’s guide says the same for parties: serve someone in another state the North Dakota way or by that state’s rules.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(b)⁠(2), 4(d)⁠(3), 4(g)

Another country

Abroad, Rule 4(f) starts with internationally agreed means such as the Hague Service Convention. Where none applies, or an agreement allows but does not specify other means, service may follow the foreign country’s own law, a letter rogatory or letter of request, or, unless that country’s law prohibits it, personal delivery or signed-receipt mail that the clerk addresses and sends; the court may also order other means not prohibited by international agreement. Minors, incompetent persons and entities abroad have their own limits (Rule 4(f)(4)-(5)).

N.D.R.Civ.P. 4(f)

Holidays and counting time

Neither Rule 4 nor the Century Code bars serving a civil summons on a Sunday or holiday; chapter 1-03 matters for counting time. Chapter 1-03 makes every Sunday a holiday and lists the rest, Good Friday and Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November) among them, along with any day the President or the governor sets apart as a public holiday. New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day or Christmas falling on a Sunday moves to Monday, and on a Saturday moves to the Friday before. Rule 6 counts these as legal holidays, and § 1-03-05 lets an act due on a Saturday or holiday be done on the next business day.

N.D.C.C. §§ 1-⁠03-⁠01 to 1-⁠03-⁠05; N.D.R.Civ.P. 6(a)

Subpoenas in North Dakota cases

The clerk issues a subpoena signed but otherwise blank to a party who asks, and an attorney authorized to practice in North Dakota may issue one too. It is served under Rule 4(d), anywhere in the state, and notice goes to every party before a subpoena for a pretrial deposition, documents or inspection is served. When attendance is required, one day’s attendance fee plus mileage and travel expense allowed by law must be tendered with it, or the witness need not obey, unless the state or a political subdivision pays them; the witness gets the statutory witness fee and mileage under N.D.C.C. § 31-01-16, with mileage at the state-employee reimbursement rate. A resident can be made to attend a deposition only in the county where the person resides, works or does business in person, or where the court orders.

N.D.R.Civ.P. 45; N.D.C.C. § 31-⁠01-⁠16

Subpoenas from other states

North Dakota adopted the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act by court rule, not statute: Rule of Court 5.1. The party submits the foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in the county where discovery is to be conducted, and the request is not an appearance in North Dakota courts. The clerk promptly issues a subpoena that incorporates the foreign subpoena’s terms and lists every counsel of record and unrepresented party; only a clerk may issue it, never the parties or their lawyers, and in a civil case it is served under Rule 45(b) (criminal and juvenile cases follow N.D.R.Crim.P. 17(d) or N.D.R.Juv.P. 13(b)).

N.D.R.Ct. 5.1

Rules verified October 2026 against the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 3, 4, 5, 6 and 45) and the North Dakota Rules of Court (Rule 5.1) as published by the North Dakota Supreme Court, the North Dakota Century Code chapters cited on this page as published by the North Dakota Legislative Branch, and the Legal Self Help Center’s service guide, Declaration of Service by Personal Delivery, Admission of Service form and out-of-state subpoena guide. General information, not legal advice. The rule or statute controls.