We divorced and remarried — can my spouse adopt my child now in North Dakota?

Yes. If you are now legally married to your child's parent, your spouse can ask the North Dakota District Court for a stepparent adoption. North Dakota's adoption law, North Dakota Century Code Chapter 14-15, does not set out a separate process for couples who divorced and remarried. If your marriage history has unusual details, such as who your spouse is in relation to the child, the District Court clerk in your county or an attorney can tell you whether they matter for your paperwork.

What North Dakota's rules look like for your situation:

• Court: The petition is filed in the District Court. North Dakota has 53 counties, and the clerk in your county can tell you about local filing details and the filing fee, which varies and is not something we can quote here.
• Residency: North Dakota has no minimum residency period (N.D.C.C. § 14-15-04), so you do not need to wait a set number of months before filing.
• Your child's consent: The child consent age is 10 (N.D.C.C. § 14-15-05). If your child is 10 or older, their consent is part of the process. If your child is younger than 10, this requirement does not apply.
• The other biological parent: This is usually the part that needs the most attention. North Dakota's abandonment period is 12 months (N.D.C.C. § 14-15-19). Whether the other parent must consent, has abandoned the child, or cannot be found depends on your specific facts. For a contested case or an unknown parent, ask the clerk or an attorney about that issue.
• Home study: A home study is waived in a stepparent adoption (N.D.C.C. § 14-15-11), which takes one common step out of the process.

Timeline and after the adoption: Stepparent adoptions in North Dakota typically take about 3-6 months. After the adoption is final, the North Dakota Division of Vital Records is the agency that handles birth certificate questions. They can explain how to request an updated certificate for your child.

What your earlier divorce means in practice: The information above is what North Dakota's law spells out for a stepparent adoption, and none of it turns on how many times you have been married. The court will want to see your current marriage and the consents or findings related to the other parent. If you divorced the child's other parent, gather any divorce decree and custody orders, since they can help show where things stand with that parent. If you have questions about whether a specific order affects your case, the clerk or an attorney is the right person to ask.

How we help: StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online, and we prepare the complete court document package for your county. You then file it yourself, without an attorney. The cost is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 172 North Dakota families and more than 34,000 families nationwide since 2001.