North Dakota Century Code Title 14. Domestic Relations and Persons § 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.