25 CFR § 23.110 - When must a State court dismiss an action?

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t25/s23.110"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "25 CFR § 23.110 - When must a State court dismiss an action?"
title_number: 25
title_name: "Indians"
section_number: "23.110"
section_name: "When must a State court dismiss an action?"
chapter_name: "BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR"
subchapter_number: "D"
subchapter_name: "HUMAN SERVICES"
part_number: "23"
part_name: "INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "5 U.S.C. 301; 25 U.S.C. 2, 9, 1901-1952."
regulatory_source: "59 FR 2256, Jan. 13, 1994, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "23"
---


# 23.110 When must a State court dismiss an action?

Subject to 25 U.S.C. 1919 (Agreements between States and Indian Tribes) and § 23.113 (emergency proceedings), the following limitations on a State court's jurisdiction apply:

(a) The court in any voluntary or involuntary child-custody proceeding involving an Indian child must determine the residence and domicile of the Indian child. If either the residence or domicile is on a reservation where the Tribe exercises exclusive jurisdiction over child-custody proceedings, the State court must expeditiously notify the Tribal court of the pending dismissal based on the Tribe's exclusive jurisdiction, dismiss the State-court child-custody proceeding, and ensure that the Tribal court is sent all information regarding the Indian child-custody proceeding, including, but not limited to, the pleadings and any court record.

(b) If the child is a ward of a Tribal court, the State court must expeditiously notify the Tribal court of the pending dismissal, dismiss the State-court child-custody proceeding, and ensure that the Tribal court is sent all information regarding the Indian child-custody proceeding, including, but not limited to, the pleadings and any court record.