North Dakota Small Claims Court Claim Affidavit and Complaint - Preparation Worksheet
NORTH DAKOTA SMALL-CLAIMS CLAIM-AFFIDAVIT PREPARATION PACKET
DO NOT FILE THIS PACKET. Transfer approved information to the current State Court Administrator-approved Claim Affidavit (Form 2), Affidavit of Identification (Form 8), and other current packet forms published by the North Dakota Court System.
1. Route and Eligibility Gate
| Question | Verified answer and source |
|---|---|
| Plaintiff and capacity | [________________________________] |
| Defendant and legal name | [________________________________] |
| Plaintiff owns the claim and is not an assignee | [________________________________] |
| Relief is recovery of money | ☐ Yes ☐ No |
| Relief is cancellation of an agreement involving material fraud, deception, misrepresentation, or false promise | ☐ Yes ☐ No |
| Relief is a tenant's civil-damages claim under N.D.C.C. § 47-10-28(9) | ☐ Yes ☐ No |
| Value of the agreement or amount claimed by either side is no more than $15,000 | [________________________________] |
| Other relief is necessary | [________________________________] |
| Limitation and accrual analysis | [________________________________] |
| Bankruptcy, arbitration, prior judgment, release, or other route issue | [________________________________] |
Do not use a generic six-year statement for every claim. Identify the actual claim, accrual event, payment history, applicable period, extension, and commencement requirement from current authority.
Section 27-08.1-01 bars an assignee from filing the claim. Identify the original owner and every transfer, subrogation, collection, entity, estate, bankruptcy, or representative issue before filing.
2. Venue Decision
Apply the exact branch in N.D.C.C. § 27-08.1-01(2).
| Defendant / claim branch | Candidate county and supporting facts | Counsel-approved venue |
|---|---|---|
| Corporation, LLC, or partnership: place of business or subject matter | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Insufficient-funds or no-account check | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Individual open-account claim | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Individual claim outside the check/open-account branches | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Individual real-property lease or earnest-money/deposit dispute | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Political-subdivision public-utility debt | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Mobile-home-park tenant civil-damages claim | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Defendant county-of-residence removal option and exception | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
Do not substitute a generic “transaction occurred,” plaintiff residence, doing-business, or property-location venue menu for the statute's claim- and defendant-specific branches.
3. Current Official Forms Control
Record the live official version used for each step.
| Form / instruction | Current title and URL | Version or access date | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form 1 | Small Claims Court Information | [________________________________] | ☐ |
| Form 2 | Claim Affidavit | [________________________________] | ☐ |
| Form 3 | Defendant's Request for Hearing / Removal | [________________________________] | ☐ |
| Form 4 | Defendant's Answer / Counterclaim | [________________________________] | ☐ |
| Form 6 | Plaintiff's Affidavit of Mailing / Personal Service | [________________________________] | ☐ |
| Form 7 | North Dakota Small Claims Court Act | [________________________________] | ☐ |
| Form 8 | Affidavit of Identification of Judgment Debtor | [________________________________] | ☐ |
| Current clerk instructions and filing fee | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | ☐ |
Section 27-08.1-02 requires approved forms obtained from the clerk, at the clerk's direction, or electronically from the Supreme Court. Do not file a repository-created affidavit in place of Form 2.
4. Claim-Affidavit Source Record
Parties
| Field | Verified information | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff legal name and address | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Defendant legal name and address | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Entity status and registered information | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Person authorized for a legal entity | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Other required party | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
Claim and Amount
| Component | Facts and calculation | Exhibit |
|---|---|---|
| Agreement, transaction, event, or tenant claim | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Plaintiff's performance | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Defendant's act or nonperformance | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Principal amount | $[________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Credit, offset, payment, or mitigation | $[________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Interest or other amount with current basis | $[________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Costs requested with current basis | $[________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| Net claim | $[________________________________] | [________________________________] |
Do not request interest, fees, collection charges, exemplary damages, equitable relief, or “other relief” without current authority and proof.
Chronology
| Date | Event | Supporting document or witness |
|---|---|---|
| [__/__/____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| [__/__/____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| [__/__/____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
5. Evidence and Privacy Review
| Exhibit | Description | Authenticity / witness | Redaction or confidentiality issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| [____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| [____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
| [____] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] | [________________________________] |
☐ Originals retained and copies prepared as current instructions require
☐ Personal identifiers and confidential information reviewed
☐ Witness availability, personal knowledge, and contact information confirmed
☐ Electronic evidence preserved in a usable form
☐ Adverse documents and defenses included in the preparation record
6. Service Package and Proof
Section 27-08.1-02 permits service by a person of legal age who is not a party to or interested in the action, or certified mail with restricted delivery. The Claim Affidavit is served with the form on which the defendant indicates whether a hearing is requested and whether removal is elected.
The current court page directs service of the completed Claim Affidavit and five other current packet forms. Use the live packet instructions to identify those documents; do not rely on a saved repository list.
| Control | Verified plan or result |
|---|---|
| Defendant service name and destination | [________________________________] |
| Selected statutory method | [________________________________] |
| Server's age, nonparty status, and lack of interest | [________________________________] |
| Current forms and exhibits in package | [________________________________] |
| Date received by defendant | [__/__/____] |
| Restricted-delivery receipt or personal-service record | [________________________________] |
| Form 6 completed and filed | [________________________________] |
| Failed or returned service response | [________________________________] |
7. Defendant Response and Hearing Calendar
Within twenty days after service, the court must receive a hearing request or removal election to prevent the no-hearing route, unless the defendant indicates that no hearing is requested. If a hearing is requested, § 27-08.1-02 schedules it no fewer than ten and no more than thirty days after receipt of the request.
| Event | Trigger and current source | Calculated date | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defendant received service | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] | [________________________________] |
| Twenty-day response date | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] | [________________________________] |
| Hearing request received | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] | [________________________________] |
| Removal election received | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] | [________________________________] |
| Hearing window | [________________________________] | [__/__/____] to [__/__/____] | [________________________________] |
Use the current court page's weekend and North Dakota holiday computation instructions. Do not calculate from mailing when the current source measures from defendant receipt.
8. Hearing, Counterclaim, and Representation
Section 27-08.1-03 makes the hearing informal, bars a jury, and permits the parties to appear without counsel. A court reporter is not required unless a party arranges and pays for one.
A counterclaim claim affidavit may not exceed $15,000 and must be served on the plaintiff by the statutory person or certified-mail route no later than forty-eight hours before the hearing. The compulsory-counterclaim rule does not apply to a counterclaim exceeding $15,000.
Current N.D.R.Ct. 10.2 requires in-person appearance when a hearing has been requested unless the court authorizes otherwise. It permits an authorized officer, owner, governing-board member, trustee, or employee to represent a legal entity.
| Hearing control | Verified entry |
|---|---|
| Appearance method and any court authorization | [________________________________] |
| Plaintiff representative and authority | [________________________________] |
| Defendant representative and authority | [________________________________] |
| Counsel, if any | [________________________________] |
| Counterclaim and service | [________________________________] |
| Court reporter arrangement | [________________________________] |
| Exhibits and witnesses | [________________________________] |
| Time estimate from current notice | [________________________________] |
9. Election, Removal, Judgment, and Appeal Controls
- The plaintiff's election to use Chapter 27-08.1 is irrevocable.
- A plaintiff discontinuance is with prejudice unless the order states otherwise.
- The plaintiff waives appeal from the small-claims decision.
- The defendant waives appeal upon receiving the order for appearance unless the defendant elects removal.
- A removing defendant must complete the notice, service, filing, answer, and civil-action fee route in § 27-08.1-04.
- The district court must award attorney fees to a prevailing plaintiff after defendant removal; the Supreme Court fee rule applies on a later defendant appeal.
- Section 27-08.1-05 requires a written judgment based on the evidence even if a party misses the hearing, permits costs to the prevailing party, and gives the judgment district-court enforcement effect.
| Decision | Counsel analysis and action |
|---|---|
| Plaintiff election and waiver explained | [________________________________] |
| Voluntary dismissal effect | [________________________________] |
| Defendant removal route | [________________________________] |
| Appeal consequences | [________________________________] |
| Judgment and costs | [________________________________] |
| Collection and satisfaction | [________________________________] |
10. Final Filing Review
☐ Claim type, amount, ownership, parties, and venue satisfy the current statute
☐ Limitation and accrual were analyzed for the actual claim
☐ Current official Forms 1–8 and instructions were downloaded as needed
☐ Form 2 and Form 8 match the supporting record
☐ Filing fee was confirmed from the current clerk or court source
☐ Service package, method, server, destination, and proof follow the live instructions
☐ Defendant response and hearing dates were calculated from actual receipt
☐ Representation, counterclaim, removal, election, judgment, costs, and appeal consequences were reviewed
☐ This preparation packet will not be filed
OFFICIAL SOURCES
About this template
- Last updated
- September 3, 2026
- Citations checked
- September 3, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- North Dakota
- Category
- Litigation & Court Documents
Legal authority
- N.D.C.C. § 27-08.1-01 (scope, $15,000 limit, venue, removal, and assignee bar)
- N.D.C.C. § 27-08.1-02 (claim affidavit, service, response, hearing, and official forms)
- N.D.C.C. § 27-08.1-03 (informal hearing, counterclaim, representation, jury, and fee)
- N.D.C.C. §§ 27-08.1-04 through -05 (election, removal, appeal, judgment, and costs)
- N.D.R.Ct. 10.2 (appearances and authorized legal-entity representatives)
These are the filings that drive a lawsuit through the system: complaints, answers, motions, briefs, discovery requests and responses, and post-judgment papers. Each has its own format requirements under federal and state procedural rules, and each has a deadline that cannot be missed without consequences. Clean, procedurally correct filings move a case forward; sloppy ones invite motions to strike, amended responses, and avoidable delays.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on September 3, 2026.
N.D.C.C. § 27-08.1-01 (checked September 3, 2026): "The jurisdiction of this court is confined to cases for recovery of money, a tenant's claim for civil damages under subsection 9 of section 47-10-28, or the cancellation of any agreement involving material fraud, deception, misrepresentation, or false promise, when the value of the agreement or the amount claimed by the plaintiff or the defendant does not exceed fifteen thousand dollars."
N.D.C.C. § 27-08.1-02 (checked September 3, 2026): "Forms used in small claims court actions must be approved by the state court administrator and obtained from, or at the direction of, the clerk of district court or in electronic form from the supreme court."
N.D.C.C. § 27-08.1-03 (checked September 3, 2026): "No formal pleadings other than the claim affidavit and order for appearance may be required, and the hearing and disposition of actions must be informal."
N.D.C.C. §§ 27-08.1-04 through -05 (checked September 3, 2026): "Election by the plaintiff to use the procedures provided for in this chapter is irrevocable. By election to proceed in small claims court, the plaintiff waives the right to appeal to any other court from the decision of the small claims court. The court may award the costs of the action to the prevailing party. For purposes of enforcement and execution, a judgment of the small claims court has the same force, effects, and attributes of a judgment of the district court."
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