North Dakota Code 50-12-17 – Licensure requirement – Registration requirement – Penalty
A person may not place or cause to be placed any child in a family home for adoption without a license to do so from the department of health and human services except that a parent, upon giving written notice to the department, may place the parent’s child in the home of the child’s parent, stepparent, grandparent, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, or guardian for adoption by the person receiving the child. The child must be considered abandoned if proceedings for the adoption or guardianship of the child are not initiated by such relative within one year following the date of notice of placement. A person who willfully violates this chapter is guilty of a class C felony. For purposes of this section, “to place or cause to be placed” means to place a child for adoption; arrange or provide for short-term foster care for a child pending an adoptive placement; facilitate placement of a child by maintaining a list in any form of birth parents or prospective adoptive parents; or advertise in any public medium that the person knows of a child who is available for adoption or is willing to accept a child for adoption or that the person knows of prospective adoptive parents of a child.
Attorney's Note
Under the North Dakota Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class C felony | up to 5 years | up to $10,000 |
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 50-12-17
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- written: include "typewriting" and "typewritten" and "printing" and "printed" except in the case of signatures and when the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See North Dakota Code 1-01-37
- year: means twelve consecutive months. See North Dakota Code 1-01-33