Section 3 - Access to Court Records(a) Court RecordsUnless otherwise provided by this rule, court records are open and accessible upon request consistent with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(2021).
(b)Case Records(1) A court's register of actions, docket or index must disclose the existence of any case record that is a confidential record or exempt record. Upon a finding that such disclosure would endanger an individual, a court may delay disclosure for a period of time corresponding to the duration of the likely danger.(2) Case records filed before the March 1, 2009, effective date of N.D.R.Ct. 3.4 may contain information that must be redacted under N.D.R.Ct. 3.4(a). Such case records are confidential records and may be disclosed consistent with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18.10 (2021).(3) Bulk distribution of case records may be permitted if the records are not confidential records.(4) Upon request and payment of the reasonable cost of compiling and providing the information, a person may request compiled information from case records in a format other than the format in which they are maintained.(5) Any request for compiled information or bulk distribution of case records must be made to the state court administrator. The request must identify the information requested, describe the requestor's purpose for requesting the information, explain how the purpose will serve public education or another public purpose, and describe how the requestor will provide for appropriate access limitations and security of any records that may be provided in response.(6) The following case records are confidential records:(A) A record the disclosure of which is prohibited by federal law, state law, court rule, applicable case law, or a court order specifically identifying the record.(B) A declaration, affidavit, sworn testimony or record of proceedings in support of the issuance of a search or arrest warrant pending the return of the warrant.(C) A complaint or associated arrest or search warrant to the extent confidentiality is ordered by the court under N.D.C.C. § 29-05-32 or N.D.C.C. § 29-29-22.(D) A record filed with the court for in-camera examination pending disclosure.(E) A record maintained in relation to a Child Relinquishment to Identified Adoptive Parent matter brought under N.D.C.C. Ch. 14-15.1.(F) A record maintained in relation to a matter involving:(i) an application for a domestic violence protection order under N.D.C.C. § 14-07.1-02;(ii) a petition for a disorderly conduct restraining order under N.D.C.C. Ch. 12.1-31.2 sought on the basis of alleged domestic violence; or(iii) a petition for a sexual assault restraining order under N.D.C.C. § 12.1-31-01.2. Orders of the court in these proceedings are confidential only in matters in which the initial petition was dismissed summarily by the court without a contested hearing.
(G) A record of a deferred imposition of sentence under N.D.R.Crim.P. 32.1 or pretrial diversion under N.D.R.Crim.P. 32.2 after the matter has been dismissed.(H) A record of a case in which the court found no probable cause for the issuance of a criminal complaint.(I) Records containing the following protected information, unless exempted from redaction by N.D.R.Ct. 3.4(b)(3): (i) except for the last four digits, social security numbers, taxpayer identification numbers, and financial account numbers,(ii) except for the year, birth dates, and(iii) except for the initials, the name of an individual known to be a minor, unless the law requires the public disclosure of the minor's full name.(J) The property and debt listing of the parties to a divorce as provided by N.D.C.C. § 14-05-24.3.(K) Any criminal record ordered sealed under N.D.C.C. Ch. 12-60.1;(L) Any employment, household or financial information provided in an application for indigent defense services.(7) The following case records are exempt records:(A) A record of the names of qualified or summoned jurors and contents of jury qualification forms;(B) Addresses, phone numbers, email addresses of jurors;(C) A record of voir dire of jurors;(D) A judge or court employee's work material, including personal calendars, recorded communications, bench memoranda, notes, work in progress, draft documents and non-finalized documents; and(E) Any record submitted for filing is exempt until it is filed and remains exempt if its filing has been rejected.(8) If the court receives a request under this rule from a federal, state, or local official acting in the exercise of their official duties and powers, to examine a confidential or exempt court record, and such access is specifically authorized by law, the court may disclose the requested record if the request is in writing and contains sufficient assurances that the request is within the scope of the legal authorization.(9) Unless restricted by order of the court, parties to an action may examine records filed in the action.(c) Administrative Records.(1) Records maintained concerning individuals who are court employees, or who perform volunteer services for the court, are open in consistent with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18.1 and N.D. Supreme Court Policy 120.(2) Job applicant records are open to the extent consistent with N.D.C.C. §§ 44-0418.1, 44-04-18.4, and 44-04-18.27(2021).(3) The following administrative records are confidential records: (A) The name of a patron of the North Dakota Supreme Court Law Library or the North Dakota Legal Self Help Center or information sufficient to identify a patron or the subject about which a patron requested information;(B) A record relating to a request for an opinion from the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, other than a formal opinion;(C) Information concerning an employee grievance appeal to the personnel policy board.(4) The following administrative records are exempt records.(A) All security plans, codes and other records that provide for the security of information, individuals, or property in the possession or custody of the courts against theft, tampering, improper use, illegal releases, trespass, or physical abuse or violence are exempt records consistent with N.D.C.C. §§ 44-04-24, 25 & 27.(B) Preliminary and draft reports concerning court operations and other pre-decisional documents are exempt records. Final administrative documents and reports concerning the operation of the court system are open for public inspection and copying by the custodian on court premises. Consistent with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(9) and (10), preliminary draft reports, and pre-decisional documents relating to court operations, are no longer exempt records once the draft reports and pre-decisional documents are circulated to any court policy advisory committee or to the public for comment.(C) Remote access user records. Any record that would disclose that a user of a remote or electronic access system has access to a particular court record is an exempt record. Record access information is accessible by the public only on a showing of good cause under subsection 4(b).(D) Proprietary and licensed material. Consistent with N.D.C.C. §§ 44-04-18.4and -18.5, computer programs or other records that are subject to proprietary rights or license agreements are exempt records and may be disclosed only in accordance with the terms and conditions of any applicable agreements, licenses, or court order. Consistent with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(3), no record may be excluded from public access solely because access is provided by programs or applications subject to licensing agreements, or because the recordkeeping system is subject to proprietary rights.(E) Judicial branch training records and reports. Evaluation materials and records generated by participants in judicial education programs such as test scores, educational assessments, practical exercise worksheets, and similar materials are exempt records.(F) Party, witness and crime victim contact information gathered and recorded by the court for administrative purposes, including telephone numbers and e-mail, street and postal addresses are exempt records.(G) Consistent with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18.24, any record maintained within a legislative bill tracking system is exempt.N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. & Ord. 3
Rule amended effective 11/1/2022; amended effective 4/1/2023.Explanatory Notes.
For certain case types, including juvenile court and mental health cases, all records in a case file are restricted by statute.
Parties who enter into bulk distribution agreements with the court may have access to birthdate, street address and social security number information upon certifying compliance with laws governing the security of protected information. Such laws include the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, the USA Patriot Act and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act.
Warrants. Under N.D.R.Crim.P. 41(c)(1)(D), a search warrant must be executed within ten days. In contrast, an arrest warrant may be outstanding for months or years. All records supporting issuance of a search warrant are confidential pending return of the search warrant. Under N.D.C.C. § 29-05-32 and N.D.C.C. § 29-29-22, the district court may declare confidential the complaint, any associated arrest or search warrant, and supporting records. Unless there is an order under N.D.C.C. § 29-29-22, a search warrant and supporting records are only confidential until the warrant has been executed. An arrest warrant and supporting records are not confidential without an order under N.D.C.C. § 29-05-32.