The league champions are automatically promoted to the North Premier, whilst the second placed team enters into a play-off match with the second placed team in the equivalent division North 1 West. The bottom three teams are relegated to either the Yorkshire Division One or the Durham/Northumberland 1 leagues, the seventh tier of the English domestic rugby union competition. Following the play-off game, depending on the result, a team from the division with fifteen teams are transferred to the division with thirteen teams to level up the number of teams in each division.
The top six teams from North Division One and the top six from Midland Division One were combined to create National 5 North. This meant that tier 6 was renamed North Division 1 for the years that National 5 North was active. This would lead to a new North Division 2 was formed at tier 7 between 1994-95.
National 5 North was split and renamed Midland Division One and North Division One, and the top four divisions increased in size. This would see tier 6 in the north being renamed North Division 2.
For the 2009-10 season the division would be renamed North 1 East as part of wholesale national restructure of the league system by the RFU leading to mass changes at all levels including in the north.
Since the 2000–01 season there has been a play-off between the runners-up of North 1 East and North 1 West for the third and final promotion place to North Premier. The team with the superior league record has home advantage in the tie. At the end of the 2019–20 season the North 1 East have been the most successful with thirteen wins to the North 1 West teams six; and the home team has won promotion on fifteen occasions compared to the away teams five.
North 1 East v North 1 West promotion play-off results
^Two of Bradford & Bingley's titles was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
^Wharfedale's 1989–90 title was won when North 1 East was known as North 2 and was a tier 6 league. Having secured promotion into North 1 they won that division in 1993–94, but due to RFU restructuring of the leagues that year due to the introduction of Courage League Division 5, North 1 went from being a tier 5 to tier 6 league in this time frame, with North 2 becoming tier 7. This explains why Wharfedale has won 2 titles at tier 6.
^Darlington Mowden Park's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
^Doncaster's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
^Manchester's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 1.
^Northern's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
^Stockton's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.
^Sandal's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 1.
^Stockton's title was won when league was a single division known as North Division 2.