ings. (1) Initial disclosures. The petitioning or filing party shall disclose in the complaint, petition, or other commencing pleading filed with the court that the child who is the subject of the child custody proceeding is an Indian child and the identity of the Indian child's tribe or tribes, or efforts the petitioning or filing party has made in determining whether the child is an Indian child, including, but not limited to:

1. (a) If the petitioning or filing party indicates in the complaint, petition, or other commencing pleading that the child who is the subject of the child custody proceeding is an Indian child, the petitioning or filing party shall further identify what reasonable efforts have been made to send notice to the individuals identified in subsection (3)(d) of this section;
2. (b) The postal receipts or copies of postal receipts from the notice sent pursuant to subsection (3)(d) of this section indicating that the notice was properly sent by the petitioning or filing party to the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian and to the Indian child's tribe or tribes. The postal receipts must be attached to the complaint, petition, or other commencing pleading filed with the court; except that, if notification has not been perfected at the time the initial complaint, petition, or other commencing pleading is filed with the court, or if the postal receipts have not been received back from the post office, the petitioning or filing party shall file the postal receipts with the court upon receipt of the postal receipts.
3. (c) Any responses sent by a tribal agent to the petitioning or filing party, a county department, or the court, which responses must be distributed to the parties and filed with the court.

4. (2) Indian child inquiry and determination. At the commencement of each child custody proceeding, the court shall make inquiries to determine whether the child who is the subject of the proceeding is an Indian child. In determining whether the child is an Indian child:

   1. (a) The court shall ask each participant in an emergency, voluntary, or involuntary child custody proceeding whether the participant knows or has reason to know that the child is an Indian child or whether the participant has information that is relevant to determining whether the child is an Indian child. Any response to the inquiry must be made on the record. The court shall instruct the participants to inform the court if a participant subsequently receives information that provides reason to know the child is an Indian child.
   2. (b) No later than the first appearance after an expedited hearing held pursuant to section 19-3-217 or 19-3-403, each party to the child custody proceeding shall disclose to the court and the petitioning and filing parties information indicating that the child is an Indian child, including, but not limited to, providing an identification card indicating the child's membership in a tribe. The court shall order the parties to provide information learned thereafter to the court and all parties no later than seven days after receiving the relevant information or prior to the next hearing on the matter, whichever occurs first.

5. (3) Form of inquiry. (a) At the commencement of the child custody proceeding, the petitioning or filing party shall make a record, either in writing or orally in open court on the record, of the party's good faith efforts to determine whether the child is an Indian child, including, at a minimum, inquiries made by consulting with:

   1. (I) The child, directly or through the child's representative;
   2. (II) The child's parent or parents;
   3. (III) An individual having custody of the child or with whom the child resides;
   4. (IV) The child's extended family members;
   5. (V) Any other individual who may reasonably be expected to have information regarding the child's membership or eligibility for membership in an Indian tribe; and
   6. (VI) An Indian tribe when information from inquiries made pursuant to subsections (3)(a)(I) to (3)(a)(V) of this section indicate that there is a reasonable likelihood that the Indian tribe may provide additional information regarding whether the child is a member of that tribe or whether the child may be eligible for membership in that tribe.

   7. (b) The court, upon reviewing the record of inquiries made pursuant to subsection (3)(a) of this section, has reason to know that a child is an Indian child if:

      1. (I) A participant in the child custody proceeding, an officer of the court involved in the child custody proceeding, an Indian tribe, an Indian organization, or an agency informs the court that the child is an Indian child;
      2. (II) A participant in the child custody proceeding, an officer of the court involved in the child custody proceeding, an Indian tribe, an Indian organization, or an agency informs the court that it has discovered information indicating that the child is an Indian child;
      3. (III) The child who is the subject of the child custody proceeding gives the court reason to know that the child is an Indian child;
      4. (IV) The court is informed that the domicile or residence of the child, the child's parent, or the child's Indian custodian is or was on a reservation of a federally recognized Indian tribe or in an Alaska Native village;
      5. (V) The court is informed that the child is or has been a ward of a tribal court;
      6. (VI) The court is informed that the child or the child's parent possesses an identification card or other sufficient documentation indicating membership in an Indian tribe;
      7. (VII) The court is informed that the parent or child received health services from an Indian health service or tribal health facility;
      8. (VIII) The court or the petitioning or filing party receives any other reasonably credible information, regardless of admissibility, that a parent or the child has an identifiable connection with a specific federally recognized tribe or tribes beyond a generalized assertion of heritage;
      9. (IX) The court is informed that there are school records indicating that the child is an enrolled member of an Indian tribe; or
      10. (X) After performing due diligence pursuant to subsection (4) of this section, information is presented to the court that subsections (3)(b)(I) to (3)(b)(IX) of this section apply or that the child is an Indian child.
   8. (c) The court shall make specific findings, either in writing or orally on the record, regarding its reason to know that the child is an Indian child.
   9. (d) If the court knows, or has reason to know as described in subsection (3)(b) of this section, that the child who is the subject of the child custody proceeding is an Indian child, the petitioning or filing party shall send notice by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the parent of the child, the child's Indian custodian, and the tribal agent of the Indian child's tribe or tribes, or, if there is not a designated tribal agent, the petitioning or filing party shall contact the Indian tribe for direction to the appropriate office or individual. In providing the notice, the court and each party shall comply with the federal ICWA and this article 1.2.

6. (4)

   1. (a) Due diligence. If the court receives information that the child may have Indian heritage but the court lacks sufficient information to determine that there is reason to know that the child is an Indian child pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, the court shall direct the petitioning or filing party to exercise due diligence in gathering additional information pursuant to subsection (4)(b) of this section, ensure that the due diligence requirements are followed, and ensure that all information known to the parties is disclosed in writing or orally on the record. The court shall direct the petitioning or filing party to make a record, either in writing or orally on the record, of the due diligence efforts taken to determine whether there is reason to know that the child is an Indian child.

   2. (b) In performing due diligence, the petitioning or filing party shall, at a minimum:

      1. (I) Ask each party, including the child directly or through the child's representative, what information the party has regarding the child's Indian heritage, if any;
      2. (II) Ask or earnestly attempt to ask each parent what information the parent has regarding the child's Indian heritage, if any; where and how the parent received the information; and what, if any, other information sources the parent believes may have additional information regarding the child's Indian heritage, if any, including other relatives and their contact information, if known or reasonably obtained;
      3. (III) Conduct searches for family and document-identified family relatives or kin who may have information regarding the child's Indian heritage, if any;
      4. (IV) Ask or attempt to ask identified family relatives or kin for information the relatives or kin have regarding the child's Indian heritage, if any, and where and how the relatives or kin received that information;
      5. (V) Review court and agency records identified by the parents and provided to the petitioner or filing party, or to which the petitioner or filing party has previously been granted access through the state automated child welfare system or the ICON system at the state judicial department, for all child custody proceedings related to the child and parents for information regarding the child's Indian heritage, if any; and
      6. (VI) Contact the tribal representative or representatives by email, phone call, letter, or any other means agreed to by the parties regarding whether the child may be eligible for tribal membership when informed that a parent, child, or specific extended family member has a potential connection with a federally recognized tribe or tribes.
   3. (c) In performing due diligence, the petitioning or filing party may, if a known connection has not been identified pursuant to subsection (4)(b) of this section but the court or petitioning or filing party receives a reasonably credible assertion of the child's Indian heritage without identification of a specific tribe or tribes but narrowed to a region of the United States, ask either relevant tribes in that identified region or the relevant bureau of Indian affairs office if the relevant tribes or bureau have information relevant to the determination that the child is an Indian child.
   4. (d) Subsection (4)(b) of this section does not prevent a petitioning party from sending a written inquiry to an asserted tribe for the purpose of satisfying the due diligence requirements pursuant to subsection (4)(b)(VI) of this section. A written inquiry must not be construed as formal notice and is not considered a determination that there is reason to know the child is an Indian child.

7. (5)

   1. (a) Indian child's tribe. If the child is an Indian child, the Indian child's tribe is:

      1. (I) The tribe of which the Indian child is a member or eligible for membership if the Indian child is a member of or is eligible for membership in only one tribe;
      2. (II) The tribe of which the Indian child is a member if the Indian child is a member of one tribe but is eligible for membership in one or more other tribes; or

      3. (III) If the Indian child is a member of more than one tribe or if the Indian child is not a member of any tribe but is eligible for membership in more than one tribe:

         1. (A) The tribe designated by an agreement between the tribes of which the Indian child is a member or in which the Indian child is eligible for membership; or
         2. (B) If the tribes are unable to agree on the designation of the Indian child's tribe, the tribe designated by the court.

   2. (b) When designating an Indian child's tribe pursuant to subsection (5)(a)(III)(A) of this section, the court shall, after a hearing, designate the tribe with which the Indian child has the more significant contacts, taking into consideration:

      1. (I) The preference of the Indian child's parent;
      2. (II) The duration of the Indian child's residency at their current or prior domicile or residence on or near the reservation of each tribe;
      3. (III) The tribal membership of the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian;
      4. (IV) The interests asserted by each tribe;
      5. (V) Whether a tribe has previously adjudicated a case involving the Indian child; and
      6. (VI) The self-identification of the Indian child if the court determines that the Indian child is of sufficient age and capacity to meaningfully self-identify.

8. (6) Written findings. The court shall make written findings determining whether the petitioning or filing party:

   1. (a) Satisfied its inquiry and due diligence requirements concerning whether the child is an Indian child or whether there is reason to know that the child is an Indian child;
   2. (b) Verified whether the child is in fact a member of a tribe, or a biological parent of the child is a member of a tribe, and the child is eligible for membership;

   3. (c) Documented all contact with:

      1. (I) The respective tribe or tribes. This contact must include at least two contacts or good faith attempts to contact the tribe or tribes within seventy days after the finding, unless the tribe or tribes provided written documentation indicating membership, eligibility, or ineligibility of the child.
      2. (II) The bureau of Indian affairs to seek assistance with contacting the tribe or tribes, if good faith attempts to contact the tribe or tribes have been unsuccessful; and
   4. (d) Treated the child as an Indian child, unless and until it is determined on the record that the child does not meet the definition of an Indian child.

Source: L. 2025: Entire article added, (HB 25-1204), ch. 338, p. 1789, § 2, effective August 6.