(a) Caption; Names of parties. Every pleading must have a caption with the court's name and the county in which the action is brought, a title that names the parties, and a Rule 7(a) designation. The title of the complaint must name all the parties; the title of other pleadings may name the first party on each side and refer generally to other parties. If the State of North Dakota is a real party in interest in an action and was not named as a party in the original title, a party filing a pleading in the action must name the State in the title until the State files a notice in the action that it is no longer a real party in interest.
Rule 10.Form of Pleadings
Group III: Pleadings and Motions · Last amended March 1, 2021 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 10 sets the required form for every pleading — a proper caption naming the court, county, and parties (including North Dakota itself when it is a real party in interest), numbered paragraphs organized around single sets of facts, and the ability to adopt earlier statements by reference.
Full Text of Rule 10
(b) Paragraphs; Separate statements. A party must state its claims or defenses in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances. A later pleading may refer by number to a paragraph in an earlier pleading. If doing so would promote clarity, each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence - and each defense other than a denial - must be stated in a separate count or defense.
(c) Adoption by reference. A statement in a pleading may be adopted by reference elsewhere in the same pleading or in any other pleading or motion. A document filed in conjunction with a pleading is a part of the pleading for all purposes.
Explanatory Note
Rule 10 was amended, effective July 1, 1980; March 1, 2007; March 1, 2011; March 1, 2018; March 1, 2021. Rule 10 is adapted from Fed.R.Civ.P. 10. Rule 10 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. Subdivision (a) was amended, effective March 1, 2007, to specify that, if the State of North Dakota is a real party in interest to an action, or if it becomes a real party in interest, it must be named as a party in the title, regardless of
whether it was named as a party originally. In some cases, the state may become a real party in interest by action of law. See, e.g., N.D.C.C. § 14-09-09.26.
Subdivision (a) was amended, effective March 1, 2021, to clarify that the responsibility of adding the State to the title belongs to the first party filing a pleading after the State becomes a party in interest.
Subdivision (c) was amended, effective March 1, 2018, to allow a document filed in conjunction with a pleading to become part of the pleading.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 10(a) tells a pleader what belongs at the top of the page: the court's name, the county where the action is brought, a title naming the parties, and the Rule 7(a) designation identifying what kind of pleading it is. A complaint's title has to name every party, while later pleadings can name just the first party on each side and refer to the rest generally. One distinctly North Dakota requirement: if the State of North Dakota is a real party in interest and was not named in the original title, whoever files the next pleading has to add the State to the title — and keep doing so until the State files notice that it is no longer a real party in interest.
Rule 10(b) requires numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practical to a single set of circumstances, so a later pleading can refer back to an earlier paragraph by number instead of restating it. When doing so would make the pleading clearer, a claim based on a separate transaction or occurrence — or a defense other than a simple denial — should get its own count or defense rather than being folded into a longer paragraph.
Rule 10(c) allows a party to adopt a statement from elsewhere in the same pleading, or from a different pleading or motion, by referring back to it instead of repeating it. Since 2018, a document filed along with a pleading — an exhibit, for instance — becomes part of that pleading for every purpose, without needing a separate adoption-by-reference statement to fold it in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has to appear in the caption of a North Dakota pleading?
Rule 10(a) requires the court's name, the county in which the action is brought, a title naming the parties, and the Rule 7(a) designation identifying the type of pleading.
Do I have to name every defendant in the title of every pleading I file, or just the complaint?
The complaint's title must name all the parties. Later pleadings may name just the first party on each side and refer generally to the rest, under Rule 10(a).
When does the State of North Dakota need to be named in the case caption?
Whenever the State is a real party in interest and was not named in the original title, Rule 10(a) requires whoever files the next pleading to add the State to the title, and it must keep appearing until the State files notice that it is no longer a real party in interest.
Can I just refer back to a paragraph in an earlier pleading instead of repeating it?
Yes. Rule 10(b) allows a later pleading to refer by number to a paragraph in an earlier pleading, and Rule 10(c) separately allows adopting a statement by reference from elsewhere in the same or a different pleading or motion.
If I attach an exhibit to my pleading, is it automatically part of the pleading?
Yes. Rule 10(c), as amended in 2018, makes a document filed in conjunction with a pleading part of that pleading for all purposes.
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 pleading caption requirementsnumbered paragraphs pleading nd rule 10state of north dakota named real party in interestadoption by reference pleading ndexhibit part of pleading north dakota