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Legal Information: Northern Mariana Islands

Custody

Laws current as of April 14, 2026

What types of custody are there?

A custody order generally addresses physical and legal custody. Physical custody is who the child will live with on a day-to-day basis.1 Legal custody is not specifically defined by CNMI law, although it is referred to in the statutes as well as in caselaw.2 In general, “legal custody” refers to the right to make important decisions about your child. This usually includes decisions about things like where your child goes to school, what kind of health care s/he receives, and what kind of religious training s/he gets.

1 8 CMC § 1603(i)
2 See 8 CMC § 1931; see also Villagomez v. Villagomez, Civil No. 99-0004 (NMI Super. Ct. May 23, 2001)

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