North Dakota Century Code

N.D. Cent. Code § 14-20-10 (2026)

(204) Presumption of paternity

✓ current as of May 2026
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1. A man is presumed to be the father of a child if: a. He and the mother of the child are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage; b. He and the mother of the child were married to each other and the child is born within three hundred days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, divorce, or after a decree of separation; c. Before the birth of the child, he and the mother of the child married each other in apparent compliance with law, even if the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born during the invalid marriage or within three hundred days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, divorce, or after a decree of separation; d. After the birth of the child, he and the mother of the child married each other in apparent compliance with law, whether or not the marriage is or could be declared invalid, and he voluntarily asserted his paternity of the child, and: (1) The assertion is in a record filed with the department of health and human services; (2) He agreed to be and is named as the child's father on the child's birth certificate; or (3) He promised in a record to support the child as his own; or e. For the first two years of the child's life, he resided in the same household with the child and openly held out the child as his own. 2. A presumption of paternity established under this section may be rebutted only by an adjudication under sections 14-20-36 through 14-20-58.

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14-20-11. (301) Acknowledgment of paternity. The mother of a child and a man claiming to be the genetic father of the child may sign an acknowledgment of paternity with intent to establish the man's paternity.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2012–2024 · leading case: D.E. v. K.F., 825 N.W.2d 832 (N.D. 2012).
D.E. v. K.F., 825 N.W.2d 832 (N.D. 2012). · cites it 10× “The paternity presumption established under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 “may be rebutted only by an adjudication under sections 14-20-36 through 14-20-58.”
Heather Martin Gartner & Melissa Gartner, Individually & as Next Friends of Mackenzie Jean Gartner, a Minor Child v. Iowa Dep't of Pub. Health, 830 N.W.2d 335 (Iowa 2013). · cites it 2× “1 (2011) (allowing a putative father to overcome the “presumption of legitimacy” that the father is the man to whom the child’s mother is married); N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 14-20-10 (1)(a) (West 2011) (“A man is presumed to be the father of a child if .”
K.B.C. v. K.J.C., 877 N.W.2d 62 (N.D. 2016). · cites it 2× “[¶ 17] The father argues he did not have an obligation to provide for the child’s care and support “by law or judicial decree” as N.”
Matter of K.J.C., 2016 ND 67 (N.D. 2016). · cites it 2× “[¶17] The father argues he did not have an obligation to provide for the child’s care and support “by law or judicial decree” as N.”
State v. Wolfgram, 2012 ND 251 (N.D. 2012). · cites it 8× “The paternity presumption established under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 “may be rebutted only by an adjudication under sections 14-20-36 through 14-20-58.”
S.E.L. v. J.A.P., 2019 ND 16 (N.D. 2019). · cites it 6× “” A man is a “presumed father” if any of the conditions under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 are met, including when a man is married to the mother of the child and the child is born during the marriage, or when 5 the man resides in the same household as the child for the first two years…”
S.E.L. v. J.A.P., 2019 ND 16 (N.D. 2019). · cites it 6× “” A man is a “presumed father” if any of the conditions under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 are met, including when a man is married to the mother of the child and the child is born during the marriage, or when 5 the man resides in the same household as the child for the first two years…”
S.E.L. v. J.A.P., 921 N.W.2d 640 (N.D. 2019). · cites it 6× “" A man is a "presumed father" if any of the conditions under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 are met, including when a man is married to the mother of the child and the child is born during the marriage, or when the man resides in the same household as the child for the first two years of…”
Est. of Lindberg, 2024 ND 10 (Or. Ct. App. 2024). “” The court concluded these facts establish a presumption of paternity under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10(1)(e) (U.P.A. § 204(a)(5)), and Harlan Hanson was Hanson’s genetic father under N.”
— N.D. Cent. Code § 14-20-10(1)(a) — 1 case
State v. Wolfgram, 2012 ND 251 (N.D. 2012). “The paternity presumption established under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 “may be rebutted only by an adjudication under sections 14-20-36 through 14-20-58.”
— N.D. Cent. Code § 14-20-10(1)(e) — 1 case
Est. of Lindberg, 2024 ND 10 (Or. Ct. App. 2024). “” The court concluded these facts establish a presumption of paternity under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10(1)(e) (U.P.A. § 204(a)(5)), and Harlan Hanson was Hanson’s genetic father under N.”
— N.D. Cent. Code § 14-20-10(2) — 4 cases
D.E. v. K.F., 825 N.W.2d 832 (N.D. 2012). “The paternity presumption established under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 “may be rebutted only by an adjudication under sections 14-20-36 through 14-20-58.”
S.E.L. v. J.A.P., 2019 ND 16 (N.D. 2019). “” A man is a “presumed father” if any of the conditions under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 are met, including when a man is married to the mother of the child and the child is born during the marriage, or when 5 the man resides in the same household as the child for the first two years…”
S.E.L. v. J.A.P., 2019 ND 16 (N.D. 2019). “” A man is a “presumed father” if any of the conditions under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 are met, including when a man is married to the mother of the child and the child is born during the marriage, or when 5 the man resides in the same household as the child for the first two years…”
S.E.L. v. J.A.P., 921 N.W.2d 640 (N.D. 2019). “" A man is a "presumed father" if any of the conditions under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 are met, including when a man is married to the mother of the child and the child is born during the marriage, or when the man resides in the same household as the child for the first two years of…”
— N.D. Cent. Code § 14-20-10(l)(a) — 2 cases
Heather Martin Gartner & Melissa Gartner, Individually & as Next Friends of Mackenzie Jean Gartner, a Minor Child v. Iowa Dep't of Pub. Health, 830 N.W.2d 335 (Iowa 2013). “1 (2011) (allowing a putative father to overcome the “presumption of legitimacy” that the father is the man to whom the child’s mother is married); N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 14-20-10 (1)(a) (West 2011) (“A man is presumed to be the father of a child if .”
D.E. v. K.F., 825 N.W.2d 832 (N.D. 2012). “The paternity presumption established under N.D.C.C. § 14-20-10 “may be rebutted only by an adjudication under sections 14-20-36 through 14-20-58.”
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