Rule 379.Forms

Last amended September 1, 2018 · Last verified July 1, 2026

In one sentenceRule 379 tells the court administrator how to deliver forms, allows standardized or substantially compliant forms to satisfy the rules, lets a party adapt them when needed, and requires every complaint or motion in the expedited process to carry a signed acknowledgement about its purpose and factual basis.

Full Text of Rule 379

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379.01 Court Administrator to Provide Forms Whenever a court administrator is required to provide forms under these rules, those forms shall be provided to the parties in the most accessible method for the parties, including fax, electronic mail, in person, by United States mail, or in alternate formats.

379.02 Substantial Compliance The forms developed by the state court administrator and by the department of human services for use in the expedited process, or forms substantially in compliance with such forms, are sufficient for purposes of these rules.

379.03 Modification of Forms Except as otherwise provided in these rules, a party has discretion to modify the standardized forms to address the factual and legal issues that cannot be adequately covered by standardized forms.

379.04 Acknowledgement

Subdivision 1. Generally. Each complaint or motion served and filed in the expedited process shall set forth an acknowledgement by the party or the party’s attorney. By presenting to the court (whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating) a pleading, written motion, or other document, an attorney or self-represented litigant is certifying that to the best of the person’s knowledge, information, and belief:

(a) it is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation;

(b) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions therein are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law;

(c) the allegations and other factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, are likely to have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery;

(d) the denials of factual contentions are warranted on the evidence or, if specifically so identified, are reasonably based on a lack of information or belief; and

(e) the court may impose an appropriate sanction upon the attorneys, law firms, or parties that violate the above stated representations to the court, or are responsible for the violation.

Subd. 2. Motions to Correct Clerical Mistakes and Motions for Review. In motions to correct clerical mistakes, motions for review, or combined motions, the acknowledgement shall also include the following:

(a) a statement that the existing order remains in full force and effect and the parties must continue to comply with that order until a new order is issued; and

(b) a statement that the party understands that the child support magistrate or judge will decide whether the party may submit new information or whether the party may have a hearing, and that the parties will be notified if the party’s request is granted. APPENDIX OF FORMS Effective January 1, 2008, all forms in Title IV have been deleted from the rules. Dissolution forms are currently maintained on the state court website (www.mncourts.gov).

End

Advisory Committee Comments

Advisory Committee Comment

The Advisory Committee encourages use of the standardized forms developed by the state court administrator and department of human services. However, regardless of such standardized forms, attorneys representing the parties and the county attorney representing the interests of the county agency retain professional responsibility for the form and content of pleadings and other legal documents used in the expedited process.

Amendment History

(Amended effective September 1, 2018.)

Plain-English Summary

Rule 379 covers the paperwork side of the expedited child support process. When the court administrator must provide a form to a party, the rule requires using whichever method reaches that party best — fax, electronic mail, in person, regular mail, or another accessible format. It does not lock parties into one rigid template, either: the standardized forms published by the state court administrator and the Department of Human Services satisfy the rules, and so does any form that substantially matches them.

A party is not stuck with a form that does not fit the case. Rule 379.03 lets a party modify a standardized form to cover factual or legal issues the standard version does not address, as long as nothing else in the rules says otherwise.

Every complaint or motion filed in the expedited process must carry a signed acknowledgement, whether from the party or their attorney. Signing it certifies that the filing is not meant to harass or delay, that its legal arguments are grounded in existing law or a good-faith argument for changing it, that its factual claims already have support or can reasonably be expected to gain support after further investigation, and that any denial of the other side’s factual claims is grounded in the evidence or, where identified as such, in a reasonable lack of information or belief. A court can sanction whoever signs a filing that breaks those promises.

Motions to correct clerical mistakes and motions for review carry one more layer. The acknowledgement on those filings must also confirm that the existing order stays in full force until a new one is issued, and that the party understands the child support magistrate or judge, not the party, decides whether new evidence or a hearing will be allowed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find the actual forms mentioned in Rule 379?

Not in the rule itself. Since 2008, all of Title IV’s forms have been removed from the rules; the rule names the state court website as the new home for dissolution forms specifically, while the expedited-process forms Rule 379.02 refers to are the standardized forms the state court administrator and the Department of Human Services publish.

Can I use my own version of a form instead of the standardized one?

Yes. Rule 379.03 allows a party to modify a standardized form when it does not adequately address the factual or legal issues in the case, unless another rule requires otherwise.

What does signing the acknowledgement on a motion certify?

It certifies that the filing is not being made to harass anyone or cause delay, that its legal arguments are grounded in existing law or a good-faith argument for changing it, that its factual claims already have support or can reasonably be expected to gain support after further investigation, and that any denial of the other side’s factual claims is grounded in the evidence or a reasonable lack of information or belief.

Do motions to correct clerical mistakes and motions for review require anything extra in the acknowledgement?

Yes. They must also confirm that the existing order remains in full force until a new one is issued, and that the party understands the child support magistrate or judge decides whether new evidence or a hearing will be allowed.

How must the court administrator deliver forms to the parties?

Using whichever accessible method reaches the party best — fax, electronic mail, in person, United States mail, or another accessible format.

Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the official Minnesota Rules of Family Court Procedure (Minn. R. Gen. Prac. 379). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 480.051). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 1, 2026. · Official source

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