These rules govern the procedure in all civil actions and proceedings in district court, except as stated in Rule 81. They should be construed, administered and employed by the court and the parties to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding.
Rule 1.Scope of Rules
Group I: Scope and Purpose of Rules--One Form of Action · Last amended March 1, 2017 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1 sets the scope of the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure — covering every civil action and proceeding in district court except as Rule 81 provides — and directs courts and parties alike to apply the rules to reach a just, speedy, and inexpensive result.
Full Text of Rule 1
Explanatory Note
Rule 1 was amended, effective March 1, 1996; March 1, 2011; March 1, 2017. Rule 1 is an adaptation of Fed.R.Civ.P. 1 with changes made only to conform to the court system of North Dakota. Rule 1 was amended, effective March 1, 1996, to track the 1993 federal amendment. Rule 1 was amended, effective March 1, 2011, in response to the December 1, 2007, revision of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure. The language and organization of the rule were changed to make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules.
Rule 1 was amended, effective March 1, 2017, in response to the December 1, 2015, revision of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
These rules are the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adapted to state practice. These explanatory notes attempt to point out the deviations from the federal rules. Where there is no significant deviation, annotations to the federal rules may be useful.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 1 is a single sentence, but it carries the whole civil rules on its back. It reaches every civil action and proceeding in district court, with one carve-out: Rule 81, which lists the special proceedings where a different procedure controls. Anyone wondering whether these rules apply to an unusual case should check Rule 81 before assuming the general rules fill the gap.
The rule's second job is to state the goal everything else serves. Courts and parties must construe, administer, and employ these rules to secure a just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action. That three-part standard is not decoration; the North Dakota Supreme Court has amended Rule 1 twice since 1996 to keep it in step with the federal rule it tracks, most recently in 2017 to add “the parties” alongside “the court” as bound by that duty. Judges are not the only ones responsible for moving a case along — the litigants share that job.
Rule 1 also doubles as a guide to reading the rest of the book. As the official explanatory note puts it, North Dakota's civil rules are the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adapted to state practice, and the notes following each rule point out where North Dakota departs from its federal counterpart. Where a rule tracks the federal version closely, research on the federal rule can be a useful, though not conclusive, guide to how North Dakota's version might be read.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Rule 1 apply to every civil case filed in North Dakota district court?
What does "just, speedy, and inexpensive" mean in practice?
It is the standard Rule 1 sets for construing and applying every other rule. Courts and parties are both expected to use the rules to reach a fair result without unnecessary delay or expense, rather than to create obstacles or run up costs.
Why does North Dakota model its civil rules on the federal rules?
The official explanatory note describes North Dakota's rules as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure adapted to state practice. The notes under each rule flag where North Dakota's version departs from the federal one, and federal case law can be a useful reference where the rules track each other closely.
When was Rule 1 last changed, and why?
Rule 1 was amended in 1996 to track a 1993 federal amendment, rewritten for style in 2011 in response to the federal rules' 2007 restyling, and amended again in 2017 to respond to a 2015 federal revision that added the parties, not just the court, to the duty to secure a just, speedy, and inexpensive result.
If my case is an unusual kind of proceeding, do these rules still control?
Source & verification. Rule text and the Explanatory Note are
reproduced verbatim from the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Supreme Court of North Dakota. Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: north dakota civil rules scopend rules of civil procedure purposejust speedy inexpensive determination ndrule 81 exceptions north dakotahow nd civil rules relate to federal rules