The North Dakota child support guidelines set support as a percentage of the paying parent’s net income. This “obligor model” assumes the parent with primary custody contributes through day-to-day care. North Dakota adopted it in 1991 for simplicity and predictability, over objections from the Legislature, and has kept it ever since.
This article explains where the formula came from, why the state chose it, and where the numbers come from. If you are facing a support determination or modification, our family law attorneys can help you understand how these rules apply to you.
1. What Model Do the North Dakota Child Support Guidelines Use?
North Dakota bases child support only on the net income of the obligor – the parent ordered to pay. The receiving parent’s income is generally not part of the calculation. The guidelines “consider and assume that one parent acts as a primary caregiver and the other parent contributes a payment of child support.” N.D. Admin. Code § 75-02-04.1-02(1).
Most states instead use the “income shares” model, which combines both parents’ incomes and divides the cost of raising a child between them. By 2013, 39 states used income shares and only nine, including North Dakota, used an obligor model.
2. How Was North Dakota’s Child Support Formula Created?
The current guidelines took effect February 1, 1991, as administrative rules adopted by what was then the Department of Human Services under N.D.C.C. § 14-09-09.7. Federal law requires every state to have presumptive guidelines and to review them every four years. 42 U.S.C. § 667.
Getting there took several attempts. A 1983 law, modeled on Utah’s, created only a voluntary “scale of suggested minimum contributions.” In 1990, the Court of Appeals struck down the Department’s guidelines because they had not been adopted through formal rulemaking. Huber v. Jahner, 460 N.W.2d 717 (N.D. Ct. App. 1990). The Department’s first replacement proposal drew broad opposition and was withdrawn.
The Department then drafted an income shares model, but the Juvenile Procedures Committee – established by the North Dakota Supreme Court – recommended against it. In September 1990, the Department proposed both models and asked the public to choose. The 138 comments were almost evenly split, but most attorneys and judges preferred the obligor model. Report of the N.D. Legislative Council, 53rd Legis. Assemb. at 12 (1993).
3. Why Did North Dakota Choose the Obligor Model Over Income Shares?
The Department concluded that income shares “was more complex,” would “increase litigation costs, lead to more requests for review, and be more difficult to use in emergency cases,” and, though it “appeared more fair,” made “little or no difference in award amounts” in most cases. Eklund v. Eklund, 538 N.W.2d 182 (N.D. 1995). It also tied the guidelines to minimizing “the state’s fiscal outlays for aid to families with dependent children.” Report of the N.D. Legislative Council, 53rd Legis. Assemb. at 13 (1993).
The evidence was more mixed than that conclusion suggests. When the Department testified against a 1991 income shares bill, it distributed survey responses from other states favoring the obligor model. But 24 of the 33 responding states used income shares, and of 16 states that had tried both models, 12 preferred income shares.
The North Dakota Supreme Court upheld the Department’s choice, holding that § 14-09-09.7 “does not preclude child support guidelines based upon the obligor model.” Eklund, 538 N.W.2d 182.
4. Did the Legislature Ever Recommend a Different Model?
Yes. In August 1991, the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee formally objected to the guidelines, citing both parents’ duty of support and strong public support for income shares because of its “inherent fairness.” The Department declined to change the rules. Report of the N.D. Legislative Council, 53rd Legis. Assemb. at 13 (1993).
A Legislative Council study then recommended a “modified income shares” model in 1993. Under House Bill 1021, the custodial parent’s income would have counted only above 1.5 times the poverty line, limiting the extra work in most cases. The committee called income shares “the fairer of the two models.” The Legislature defeated the bill.
Similar efforts have failed repeatedly since, most recently in 2019, when a study resolution failed in the House 44–47. HCR 3050 (2019). The Department continues to argue that switching would add cost and complexity without meaningfully changing support amounts. HCR 3050 Legislative History.
5. Where Do the Numbers in the North Dakota Child Support Schedule Come From?
According to a Department official who helped write the guidelines, the schedule was built from economist Thomas Espenshade’s 1984 estimates of what families spend on children. The Department used his figures for families at about $1,000 and $10,000 per month to establish a trend, then extrapolated the rest. Amounts below $1,000 per month are based on ability to pay. DHS Guidelines Drafting Advisory Comm., Minutes (June 9, 1998).
The schedule uses a declining percentage of net income, because families spend a smaller share of income on children as income rises. N.D. Admin. Code § 75-02-04.1-10:
| Obligor monthly net income | Support for one child | Share of net income |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $140 | About 14% |
| $2,000 | $431 | About 21.6% |
| $3,000 | $590 | About 19.7% |
| $5,000 | $907 | About 18.1% |
| $10,000 | $1,699 | About 17.0% |
| $20,000 | $3,000 | About 15.0% |
| $25,000 or more | $3,500 | 14% or less |
The schedule does not cover the full cost of raising a child. A 1998 review found guideline payments covered roughly 51% to 72% of USDA’s estimated child-rearing costs, with the remainder presumed to be paid by the custodial parent. Minutes (July 13, 1998). The schedule was last reviewed and left unchanged in 2023. HHS Fact Sheet (July 2023).
6. How Has the Obligor Model Been Adjusted for Modern Families?
North Dakota has kept the obligor model but added adjustments for situations where a pure obligor calculation can seem unfair. Each is set out in N.D. Admin. Code ch. 75-02-04.1.
- Extended parenting time. If the obligor has more than 100 court-ordered overnights per year, support is adjusted downward.
- Equal residential responsibility. When parents have equal time, an obligation is calculated for each parent, assuming the other has primary residential responsibility.
- Higher-earning custodial parent. A downward deviation is available when the obligee’s net income is at least three times the obligor’s.
- Multiple families. Since 1995, special calculations account for an obligor’s duty to support children in more than one household.
- Very high incomes. The schedule ends at $25,000 of monthly net income, but a court may order more based on the child’s demonstrated needs.
7. What This Means for Your Case
Because the guideline amount is presumed correct, most North Dakota child support disputes turn on one number: the obligor’s net income. Income calculation, imputed income, parenting time, and recognized deviations are where outcomes change. A party seeking a different amount must prove a deviation criterion by a preponderance of the evidence.
If you have questions about establishing, contesting, or modifying child support, contact our family law team.
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