Lawyer & Legal Cost in North Dakota (2026)

Hiring an attorney in North Dakota for an uncontested no-fault divorce typically runs $600–$2,400 including (attorney + court fees), with the state bar's UBE adopter at a 260 minimum score. North Dakota's combination of 6-year PI statute of limitations (longest tier in the country, matching ME and MN), 260 UBE minimum (lowest tier), Bismarck + Fargo + Grand Forks metro concentration of 65%+ of licensed attorneys leaving the western Bakken oil-patch counties with thin counsel coverage, $50.84/hr BLS attorney mean, voluntary State Bar Association of North Dakota structure, and the North Dakota Bar Foundation IOLTA modest funding base.

State North Dakota
Cities Covered 0
Typical uncontested no-fault divorce filing (attorney + court fees) $600 – $2,400
BLS attorney wage $50.84/hr

North Dakota bar admission, divorce & tort drivers

  • Bar admission pathway: Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) adopter — 260 minimum score
  • Bar organization type: Voluntary bar association — admission by state supreme court / board of law examiners
  • UPL enforcement intensity: Moderate — standard state-bar UPL enforcement
  • Divorce grounds available: No-fault or fault — petitioner may choose between no-fault and enumerated fault grounds
  • Divorce residency requirement: 180 days
  • Personal injury statute of limitations: 6 years
  • Civil legal aid funding tier: Limited — modest funding base relative to unmet civil legal need

North Dakota bar admission & UPL

  • License status: Statewide license required
  • License board: State Bar Association of North Dakota — North Dakota Supreme Court Board of Law Examiners administers UBE; SBAND is voluntary (official site)
  • Permit: North Dakota Supreme Court attorney admission mandatory; UBE 260 (one of the lowest minimums); NDCC § 27-11-01 UPL enforcement; mandatory annual MCLE 45 hours every 3 years; IOLTA participation mandatory

How legal services costs vary in North Dakota

State-specific code or insurance rule: North Dakota has one of the longest personal injury statute of limitations in the country at 6 years under N.D.C.C. § 28-01-16 — matching only Maine and Minnesota on the 6-year tier — and N.D.C.C. § 14-05-03 lists 'irreconcilable differences' as a no-fault ground alongside 5 fault grounds (adultery, extreme cruelty, willful desertion for one year, willful neglect, habitual intemperance), plus North Dakota operates one of the lower UBE minimums at 260 and a voluntary State Bar Association of North Dakota structure with the ND Supreme Court Board of Law Examiners handling all licensing.

Cities in North Dakota

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