N.D. Cent. Code § 14-15-04
14-15-04. Venue - Inconvenient forum - Caption
14-15-04. Venue - Inconvenient forum - Caption
1. Proceedings for adoption must be brought in the court for the place in which, at the
time of filing or granting the petition, the petitioner, or the individual to be adopted
resides or is in military service or in which the agency having the care, custody, or
control of the minor is located.
2. If the court finds in the interest of substantial justice that the matter should be heard in
another forum, the court may transfer, stay, or dismiss the proceeding in whole or in
part on any conditions that are just.
3. The caption of a petition for adoption must be styled substantially "In the Matter of the
Adoption of ___________". The individual to be adopted must be designated in the
caption under the name by which that individual is to be known if the petition is
granted. If the child is placed for adoption by an agency, any name by which the child
was previously known may not be disclosed in the petition, the notice of hearing, or in
the decree of adoption.