(102) Definitions
N.D. Cent. Code § 14-20-02
in effect14-20-02. (102) Definitions
In this chapter:
1. "Acknowledged father" means a man who has established a father-child relationship
under sections 14-20-11 through 14-20-24.
2. "Adjudicated father" means a man who has been adjudicated by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be the father of a child.
3. "Alleged father" means a man who alleges himself to be, or is alleged to be, the
genetic father or a possible genetic father of a child, but whose paternity has not been
determined. The term does not include:
a. A presumed father;
b. A man whose parental rights have been terminated or declared not to exist; or
c. A male donor.
4. "Assisted reproduction" means a method of causing pregnancy other than sexual
intercourse. The term includes:
a. Intrauterine insemination;
b. Donation of eggs;
c. Donation of embryos;
d. In vitro fertilization and transfer of embryos; and
e. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
5. "Child" means an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined under
this chapter.
6. "Commence" means to file the initial pleading seeking an adjudication of parentage in
the district court of this state.
7. "Determination of parentage" means the establishment of the parent-child relationship
by the signing of a valid acknowledgment of paternity under sections 14-20-11 through
14-20-24 or adjudication by the court.
8. "Donor" means an individual who produces eggs or sperm used for assisted
reproduction, whether or not for consideration. The term does not include:
a. A husband who provides sperm, or a wife who provides eggs, to be used for
assisted reproduction by the wife;
b. A woman who gives birth to a child by means of assisted reproduction;
c. A parent under sections 14-20-59 through 14-20-65; or
d. An individual whose body produces sperm or egg used for the purpose of
conceiving a child for that individual.
9. "Ethnic or racial group" means, for purposes of genetic testing, a recognized group
that an individual identifies as all or part of the individual's ancestry or that is so
identified by other information.
10. "Genetic testing" means an analysis of genetic markers to exclude or identify a man as
the father or a woman as the mother of a child. The term includes an analysis of one or
a combination of the following:
a. Deoxyribonucleic acid; and
b. Blood-group antigens, red-cell antigens, human-leukocyte antigens, serum
enzymes, serum proteins, or red-cell enzymes.
11. "Gestational carrier" means an adult woman who enters into an agreement to have an
embryo implanted in her and bear the resulting child for intended parents, where the
embryo is conceived by using the egg and sperm of the intended parents.
12. "Man" means a male individual of any age.
13. "Parent" means an individual who has established a parent-child relationship under
section 14-20-07.
14. "Parent-child relationship" means the legal relationship between a child and a parent
of the child. The term includes the mother-child relationship and the father-child
relationship.
15. "Paternity index" means the likelihood of paternity calculated by computing the ratio
between:
a. The likelihood that the tested man is the father, based on genetic markers of the
tested man, mother, and child, conditioned on the hypothesis that the tested man
is the father of the child; and
b. The likelihood that the tested man is not the father, based on the genetic markers
of the tested man, mother, and child, conditioned on the hypothesis that the
tested man is not the father of the child and that the father is of the same ethnic
or racial group as the tested man.
16. "Presumed father" means a man who, by operation of law under section 14-20-10, is
recognized as the father of a child until that status is rebutted or confirmed in a judicial
proceeding.
17. "Probability of paternity" means the measure, for the ethnic or racial group to which the
alleged father belongs, of the probability that the man in question is the father of the
child, compared with a random, unrelated man of the same ethnic or racial group,
expressed as a percentage incorporating the paternity index and a prior probability.
18. "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in
an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
19. "Signatory" means an individual who authenticates a record and is bound by its terms.
20. "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the
United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States.
21. "Support enforcement agency" means a public official or agency authorized to seek:
a. Enforcement of support orders or laws relating to the duty of support;
b. Establishment or modification of child support;
c. Determination of parentage; or
d. Location of child support obligors and their income and assets.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c20.pdf#nameddest=14-20-02Fetched: 10/16/2026