Judgment Lien Duration & Renewal Requirements in North Dakota

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

North Dakota spreads this topic across three different chapters of Title 28. Chapter 28-20 (Judgments) creates the real-property lien at docketing (§ 28-20-13), supplies the affidavit-renewal mechanism for older judgments (§§ 28-20-21 to -23), and sets the mandatory cancellation-of-record deadline (§ 28-20-35). Chapter 28-21 (Execution of the Judgment) separately sets how long a creditor has to issue a writ of execution (§ 28-21-01). Chapter 28-01 (Time for Commencing Actions) separately limits how long a creditor has to sue on the judgment itself as a fresh lawsuit (§§ 28-01-15(1), 28-01-34). These three clocks don't automatically track each other.

How long the judgment itself lasts

There's no single number here, three different limits run side by side. First, a judgment creditor "at any time within twenty years after the entry of judgment may proceed to enforce the judgment by execution" (§ 28-21-01); this period was doubled from 10 to 20 years by a 2023 amendment. Second, a completely separate lawsuit "upon a judgment", suing on the judgment itself as a new cause of action, "must be commenced within ten years after the claim for relief has accrued" (§ 28-01-15(1)). But § 28-01-34 says, "No action may be commenced upon a judgment rendered in any court of this state between the same parties within nine years after its rendition, without leave of the court granted for good cause shown and upon notice to the adverse party." Absent court permission, that leaves only a narrow window between year 9 and year 10 to file. Third, the docketed real-property lien itself runs its own separate 10-or-20-year course, covered next.

How long a recorded lien lasts

This depends entirely on when the judgment was docketed. For a judgment "docketed before August 1, 2021," the lien lasts "ten years from the time of docketing the judgment in the county in which it was rendered" (§ 28-20-13(2)). For a judgment "docketed after August 1, 2021," the lien instead lasts "twenty years from the time of docketing" (§ 28-20-13(3)), double the term, but with no renewal option built in, because none is needed: the 20 years is already the maximum this scheme allows. Either way, the homestead is carved out of the lien entirely.

How to renew

Renewal by affidavit exists only for the older tier. "For judgments initially docketed before August 1, 2021," the judgment creditor (or their representative, agent, attorney, or assignee) may renew "by the affidavit of the judgment creditor" (§ 28-20-21(1)), filed "with the clerk of court where the judgment was first docketed," with a copy separately filed "in each county where the judgment was transcribed" (§ 28-20-22). Docketing that affidavit "operates to continue the lien ... for a period of ten years from the time of the docketing of such affidavit" (§ 28-20-23), bringing the lien's total possible life to 20 years, matching the flat term a post-8/1/2021 judgment gets automatically. A judgment docketed on or after 8/1/2021 has no affidavit-renewal mechanism available at all; §§ 28-20-21 through -23 apply only to the older tier, and all three are themselves repealed outright effective August 1, 2031.

Renewal window

For an eligible pre-8/1/2021 judgment, the affidavit must be filed "at any time within ninety days preceding the expiration of ten years from the first docketing of such judgment" (§ 28-20-21(1)), a defined 90-day early window before the deadline, not an open-ended "anytime" filing period. There's no renewal window at all for a post-8/1/2021 judgment's flat 20-year lien, since no renewal exists to schedule.

Recent changes or debt-type limits

North Dakota made two separate changes in close succession, not one. 2021 HB 1251 (effective August 1, 2021) doubled the docketed lien from 10 to 20 years going forward and phased out affidavit renewal for any judgment docketed from that date on, while also sunsetting the renewal statutes themselves entirely as of August 1, 2031. A separate 2023 act doubled the writ-of-execution period under § 28-21-01 from 10 to 20 years. The state's own courts self-help guide (a North Dakota Legal Self Help Center publication) is candid that the interaction between these two changes for judgments docketed specifically between August 1, 2021 and July 31, 2023 is unsettled, telling readers in that narrow window to "consult a lawyer for legal advice." No carve-out tied to the type of debt or debtor (medical debt, individual versus business, and so on) was found in either chapter.

What ends the lien early

A judgment is "canceled and discharged" once the creditor files "an acknowledgment of the satisfaction thereof" with the clerk (§ 28-20-24), with a partial satisfaction discharging the lien only "to the extent of the entries so made" (§ 28-20-26). A bankruptcy angle gets its own dedicated statute: if a bankruptcy court avoids or sets aside the lien, "the judgment lien may be terminated of record by filing a certified copy of the bankruptcy court lien avoidance judgment," and a discharge can likewise be filed to clear the lien from after-acquired property or from the homestead set aside to the debtor (§ 28-20-30.1). A debtor can also release the lien during an appeal by depositing "one and one-third times the amount of said judgment with interest and costs," or posting an approved bond, in lieu of cash (§ 28-20-29). Absent any of those, the lien still ends on its own once its 10-or-20-year term (or, for the older tier, a missed renewal) runs out, triggering mandatory cancellation under § 28-20-35.

Recording in more than one county

The lien is strictly county-by-county. It attaches only to property "in any county in which the judgment is docketed" (§ 28-20-13), so a creditor tracking a debtor's real estate across county lines must file a transcript of the judgment in each additional county to create a lien there. Renewal follows the same logic for the older tier: the clerk where the judgment was first docketed "shall file a copy of the affidavit for renewal in each county where the judgment was transcribed as requested by the judgment creditor" (§ 28-20-22), meaning a renewal recorded only in the original county does not, by itself, protect the lien anywhere else it was transcribed.

What trips people up

The single biggest trap is treating "10 years" or "20 years" as one uniform answer, it genuinely depends on the docketing date, and the 8/1/2021 line runs straight through it: an otherwise-identical judgment docketed a week earlier gets a renewable 10-year lien, while one docketed a week later gets a flat, non-renewable 20-year lien. A second trap is assuming the execution deadline and the lien's own deadline are the same clock, they aren't; § 28-21-01's 20-year execution window and § 28-20-13's lien term were changed in two entirely separate legislative acts (2021 and 2023) and don't share a docketing-date cutoff. A third trap is forgetting that suing on the judgment as a fresh lawsuit isn't available on demand either, it's blocked for the first 9 years without a judge's permission.

Common questions

My North Dakota judgment was docketed in 2022, do I ever need to renew it? Under the current statute, no, a judgment docketed on or after August 1, 2021 gets a flat 20-year lien with no renewal step. But North Dakota's own courts self-help guide flags that judgments docketed between August 1, 2021 and July 31, 2023 sit in a genuinely unclear zone regarding the separate execution deadline, and recommends consulting a lawyer.

Can I still renew my older North Dakota judgment lien by affidavit? Only if it was originally docketed before August 1, 2021, and only within the 90 days before its 10-year mark. That renewal option, and the statutes creating it, disappear entirely on August 1, 2031.

Does a North Dakota judgment lien ever reach the debtor's homestead? No. Both the 10-year and 20-year versions of § 28-20-13 exclude "the homestead" from the property the lien attaches to.

Statutes and sources

• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-13, "For a judgment docketed before August 1, 2021, the judgment is a lien on all the real property, except the homestead ... for ten years from the time of docketing ... For a judgment docketed after August 1, 2021, the judgment is a lien ... for twenty years from the time of docketing." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-21, "(Repealed effective August 1, 2031) For judgments initially docketed before August 1, 2021 ... may be renewed by the affidavit of the judgment creditor ... at any time within ninety days preceding the expiration of ten years from the first docketing of such judgment." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-22, "(Repealed effective August 1, 2031) ... the affidavit for renewal must be filed with the clerk of court where the judgment was first docketed and the clerk of court shall file a copy of the affidavit for renewal in each county where the judgment was transcribed." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-23, "(Repealed effective August 1, 2031) ... the entry and docketing of an affidavit of renewal of a judgment operates to continue the lien ... for a period of ten years from the time of the docketing of such affidavit." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-35, "For judgments initially docketed before August 1, 2021, after ten years after the entry of a judgment that has not been renewed, or after twenty years after the entry of a judgment that has been renewed, the judgment must be canceled of record. ... For judgments initially docketed on or after August 1, 2021, after twenty years after the entry of a judgment is docketed, the judgment must be canceled of record." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-24, "Any judgment rendered or docketed in any district court of this state may be canceled and discharged by the clerk thereof, upon the filing with the clerk of an acknowledgment of the satisfaction thereof." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-26, "A partial satisfaction of a judgment may be made and noted upon the records in like manner as a full satisfaction, and thereupon the judgment and all liens thereby created must be taken and deemed to be canceled and discharged to the extent of the entries so made upon the judgment docket." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-29, "Any judgment debtor ... may cause such judgment to be released as a lien against the real property of said judgment debtor by depositing with the clerk ... a sum of money equal to one and one-third times the amount of said judgment with interest and costs." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-20-30.1, "If a judgment lien appears on a judgment debtor's real property and the debtor is later the subject of bankruptcy proceedings in which the judgment lien is avoided or set aside, the judgment lien may be terminated of record by filing a certified copy of the bankruptcy court lien avoidance judgment." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c20.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-21-01, "A judgment creditor or the party's duly appointed personal representatives at any time within twenty years after the entry of judgment may proceed to enforce the judgment by execution as provided in this chapter." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c21.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-01-15(1), "The following actions must be commenced within ten years after the claim for relief has accrued: 1. An action upon a judgment or decree of any court of the United States or of any state or territory within the United States." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c01.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)
• N.D.C.C. § 28-01-34, "No action may be commenced upon a judgment rendered in any court of this state between the same parties within nine years after its rendition, without leave of the court granted for good cause shown and upon notice to the adverse party." https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t28c01.pdf (accessed 2026-08-21)