The North Dakota motion to dismiss: twenty-one days, then fourteen

North Dakota procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026

North Dakota's Rule 12 follows the restyled federal rule closely: 21 days to answer, 14 days after a denial, and the familiar seven defenses in the familiar order.

The deadlines

Event	Time
Answer a complaint	21 days from service
After a denied motion, or a deferral to trial	14 days from notice

The seven defenses

N.D. R. Civ. P. 12(b):

But a party may assert the following defenses by motion: (1) lack of subject-matter jurisdiction; (2) lack of personal jurisdiction; (3) improper venue; (4) insufficient process; (5) insufficient service of process; (6) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; and

Venue stays at position (3), so a wrong-county objection is a Rule 12 ground here.

Where this connects

North Dakota's default rule runs two different clocks, and the harsher one falls on defaulted defendants: a party who appeared gets a year from notice of entry, but a default judgment gives a year from entry itself. Its Rule 55 also requires the plaintiff to produce the written instrument on which a sum-certain claim is based. See setting aside a North Dakota default judgment.

For the answer itself, see responding to a North Dakota complaint.

How North Dakota compares

	North Dakota	South Dakota	Montana	Federal
Time to answer	21 days	20 days	21 days	21 days
After a denied motion	14 days	10 days	14 days	14 days
Enumerated grounds	seven	six	seven	seven
Venue inside the rule	yes	no	yes	yes

A short checklist

Diarise 21 days from service.
Move before you plead if a further pleading is permitted.
Put every available ground in one motion. Joining waives nothing.
Include venue — North Dakota keeps it inside Rule 12.
Plan for 14 days to answer if the motion is denied.
Watch for conversion if you attach material outside the pleadings.

Where these rules live

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the standard for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.

How this guide is sourced. Every procedural statement here is drawn from the text of the rules named above, each of which is reproduced verbatim on its own page on this site. Quoted rule language appears in quotation marks or block quotes; everything else is original writing. Last verified August 17, 2026.

This page explains what the rules say. It is legal information, not legal advice, and it cannot tell you how a rule applies to your situation. Deadlines are often short and some are not extendable — if the outcome matters, talk to a lawyer or your court’s self-help center.