(a) Special statutory proceedings. Special statutory proceedings, whether or not listed in Table A, are excluded from these rules to the extent they are inconsistent or in conflict with the procedure and practice provided by these rules.
Rule 81.Applicability of the Rules in General
Group XI: General Provisions · Last amended March 1, 2011 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 81 marks the outer edge of the civil rules' reach: special statutory proceedings give way to their own statutes where they conflict, statutory appeals to district court still follow these rules except where a statute says otherwise, and any statute directing that an act be done "as in a civil action" is carried out under these rules.
Full Text of Rule 81
(b) Appeals to district courts. These rules do not supersede the statutory provisions relating to appeals to or review by the district courts, but must govern procedure and practice relating to the extent these rules are not in conflict with the statutes.
(c) Rules incorporated into statutes. If a statute, whether or not listed in Table A, provides that any act in a civil proceeding be done in the manner provided by law or as in a civil action, the act must be done according to these rules.
Explanatory Note
Rule 81 was amended, effective March 1, 1990; March 1, 2011. Rule 81 serves the same purpose as Fed.R.Civ.P. 81, but deviates completely as to content and construction. Subdivision (a) and Table A were both amended, effective March 1, 1990, to clarify that the rule is not limited to special kinds of statutory procedures but rather that it is limited to special statutory proceedings. The word change from procedures to proceedings also cleared up conflicting language in Rule 81(a) in that the term proceedings appears in the headnote but not in the text of the rule. The North Dakota Supreme Court has held that these rules govern procedures on appeal to district court from a decision of an administrative agency except where applicable statutes are inconsistent with the rules. See Reliance Insurance Company v. Public Service Commission, 250 N.W.2d 918 (N.D. 1977) and Schroeder v. Burleigh County Board of Commissioners, 252 N.W.2d 893 (N.D. 1977). Rule 81 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.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 81(a) keeps special statutory proceedings — whether or not they are listed in Table A — outside the reach of the civil rules to the extent the rules would conflict with or be inconsistent with them. That preserves the specialized procedure the Legislature built into a particular kind of proceeding, without stripping that proceeding of the civil rules altogether wherever no conflict exists.
Rule 81(b) addresses appeals to district court. These rules do not override the statutory provisions governing appeal to or review by a district court, but they do supply the governing procedure and practice to the extent those statutes do not conflict with the rules. North Dakota courts have applied this directly: in Reliance Insurance Company v. Public Service Commission and Schroeder v. Burleigh County Board of Commissioners, the North Dakota Supreme Court held that these rules govern the procedure on an appeal to district court from an administrative agency's decision, except where the applicable statute is inconsistent.
Rule 81(c) works the other direction. If a statute — again, whether or not Table A lists it — provides that some act in a civil proceeding be done “in the manner provided by law” or “as in a civil action,” that instruction is satisfied by following these rules. The rule functions as an incorporation mechanism: a statute can point to the civil rules for its procedure without spelling that procedure out itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the North Dakota civil procedure rules apply to every kind of special statutory proceeding?
Only to the extent they do not conflict with the statute governing that proceeding. Where the rule and the statute clash, Rule 81(a) excludes the special statutory proceeding from the rules, whether or not it is listed in Table A.
Do these rules control an appeal from a decision of a state administrative agency to district court?
Generally yes. North Dakota courts have held that these rules govern the procedure on such appeals except where the applicable statute is inconsistent, citing Reliance Insurance Company v. Public Service Commission and Schroeder v. Burleigh County Board of Commissioners.
What if a statute says an act in a civil proceeding must be done "as in a civil action"?
Rule 81(c) treats that instruction as satisfied by following these rules — the statute incorporates the civil rules' procedure rather than supplying its own.
Is Table A a complete list of every special statutory proceeding Rule 81 addresses?
No. Both Rule 81(a) and Rule 81(c) apply whether or not the proceeding or statute is listed in Table A.
What is the difference between Rule 81(a) and Rule 81(b)?
Rule 81(a) addresses special proceedings that a statute creates and governs on its own terms, excluding them from the civil rules where they conflict. Rule 81(b) specifically addresses appeals to or review by district courts, which the civil rules govern except where a statutory appeal provision is inconsistent.
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
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