# Title 14 — Domestic Relations and Persons

## Chapter 14-14.2 — Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act

### § 14-14.2-01. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:
1. "Abduction" means the wrongful removal or wrongful retention of a child.
2. "Child" means an unemancipated individual who is seventeen years of age or younger.
3. "Child-custody determination" means a judgment, decree, or other order of a court
providing for the legal custody, physical custody, or visitation with respect to a child.
The term includes a permanent, temporary, initial, and modification order.
4. "Child-custody proceeding" means a proceeding in which legal custody, physical
custody, or visitation with respect to a child is at issue. The term includes a proceeding
for divorce, dissolution of marriage, separation, neglect, abuse, dependency,
guardianship, paternity, termination of parental rights, or protection from domestic
violence.
5. "Court" means the district court.
6. "Petition" includes a motion or its equivalent.
7. "Record" means information inscribed on a tangible medium or stored in an electronic
or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
8. "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. The term includes a federally recognized Indian tribe
or nation.
9. "Travel document" means a record relating to a travel itinerary, including a travel ticket,
pass, or reservation for transportation or accommodations. The term does not include
a passport or visa.
10. "Wrongful removal" means the taking of a child which breaches rights of custody or
visitation given or recognized under the law of this state.
11. "Wrongful retention" means the keeping or concealing of a child which breaches rights
of custody or visitation given or recognized under the law of this state.
### § 14-14.2-02. Cooperation and communication among courts.

Sections 14-14.1-09, 14-14.1-10, and 14-14.1-11 apply to cooperation and communications
among courts in proceedings under this chapter.
### § 14-14.2-03. Actions for abduction prevention measures.

1. If a court finds the evidence establishes a credible risk of abduction of the child, the
court on its own motion may order abduction prevention measures in a child-custody
proceeding.
2. A party to a child-custody determination or another individual or entity having a right
under the law of this state or any other state to seek a child-custody determination for
the child may file a petition seeking abduction prevention measures to protect the child
under this chapter.
3. A prosecutor or public authority designated under section 14-14.1-35 may seek a
warrant to take physical custody of a child under section 14-14.2-08 or other
appropriate prevention measures.
### § 14-14.2-04. Jurisdiction.

1. A petition under this chapter may be filed in a court that has jurisdiction to make a
child-custody determination with respect to the child at issue under chapter 14-14.1.
2. A court of this state has temporary emergency jurisdiction under section 14-14.1-15 if
the court finds a credible risk of abduction.
### § 14-14.2-05. Contents of petition.


A petition under this chapter must be verified and include a copy of any existing child-
custody determination, if available. The petition must specify the risk factors for abduction,
including the relevant factors described in section 14-14.2-06. Subject to section 14-12.2-24, if
reasonably ascertainable, the petition must contain:
1. The name, date of birth, and gender of the child;
2. The customary address and current physical location of the child;
3. The identity, customary address, and current physical location of the respondent;
4. A statement of whether a prior action to prevent abduction or domestic violence has
been filed by a party or other individual or entity having custody of the child, and the
date, location, and disposition of the action;
5. A statement of whether a party to the proceeding has been arrested for a crime related
to domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect, and the date, location, and
disposition of the case; and
6. Any other information required to be submitted to the court for a child-custody
determination under section 14-14.1-20.
### § 14-14.2-06. Factors to determine risk of abduction.

1. In determining whether there is a credible risk of abduction of a child, the court shall
consider whether the petitioner or respondent:
a. Has previously abducted or attempted to abduct the child;
b. Has threatened to abduct the child;
c. Has recently engaged in activities that may indicate a planned abduction,
including:
(1) Abandoning employment;
(2) Selling a primary residence;
(3) Terminating a lease;
(4) Closing bank or other financial management accounts, liquidating assets,
hiding or destroying financial documents, or conducting any unusual
financial activities;
(5) Applying for a passport or visa or obtaining travel documents for the
respondent, a family member, or the child; or
(6) Seeking to obtain the child's birth certificate or school or medical records;
d. Has engaged in domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect;
e. Has refused to follow a child-custody determination;
f. Lacks strong familial, financial, emotional, or cultural ties to the state or the
United States;
g. Has strong familial, financial, emotional, or cultural ties to another state or
country;
h. Is likely to take the child to a country that:
(1) Is not a party to the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international
child abduction and does not provide for the extradition of an abducting
parent or for the return of an abducted child;
(2) Is a party to the Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child
abduction but:
(a) The Hague convention on the civil aspects of international child
abduction is not in force between the United States and that country;
(b) Is noncompliant according to the most recent compliance report
issued by the United States department of state; or
(c) Lacks legal mechanisms for immediately and effectively enforcing a
return order under the Hague convention on the civil aspects of
international child abduction;
(3) Poses a risk that the child's physical or emotional health or safety would be
endangered in the country because of specific circumstances relating to the
child or because of human rights violations committed against children;
(4) Has laws or practices that would:

(a) Enable the respondent, without due cause, to prevent the petitioner
from contacting the child;
(b) Restrict the petitioner from freely traveling to or exiting from the
country because of the petitioner's gender, nationality, marital status,
or religion; or
(c) Restrict the child's ability legally to leave the country after the child
reaches the age of majority because of a child's gender, nationality, or
religion;
(5) Is included by the United States department of state on a current list of state
sponsors of terrorism;
(6) Does not have an official United States diplomatic presence in the country;
or
(7) Is engaged in active military action or war, including a civil war, to which the
child may be exposed;
i. Is undergoing a change in immigration or citizenship status that would adversely
affect the respondent's ability to remain in the United States legally;
j. Has had an application for United States citizenship denied;
k. Has forged or presented misleading or false evidence on government forms or
supporting documents to obtain or attempt to obtain a passport, a visa, travel
documents, a social security card, a driver's license, or other government-issued
identification card or has made a misrepresentation to the United States
government;
l. Has used multiple names to attempt to mislead or defraud; or
m. Has engaged in any other conduct the court considers relevant to the risk of
abduction.
2. In the hearing on a petition under this chapter, the court shall consider any evidence
the respondent in good faith believed the respondent's conduct was necessary to
avoid imminent harm to the child or respondent and any other evidence that may be
relevant to whether the respondent may be permitted to remove or retain the child.
### § 14-14.2-07. Provisions and measures to prevent abduction.

1. If a petition is filed under this chapter, the court may enter an order that must include:
a. The basis for the court's exercise of jurisdiction;
b. The manner notice and the opportunity to be heard were given to the persons
entitled to notice of the proceeding;
c. A detailed description of each party's custody and visitation rights and residential
arrangements for the child;
d. A provision stating a violation of the order may subject the party in violation to civil
and criminal penalties; and
e. Identification of the child's country of habitual residence at the time of the
issuance of the order.
2. If, at a hearing on a petition under this chapter or on the court's own motion, the court
after reviewing the evidence finds a credible risk of abduction of the child, the court
shall enter an abduction prevention order. The order must include the provisions
required by subsection 1 and measures and conditions, including those in
subsections 3, 4, and 5, which are reasonably calculated to prevent abduction of the
child, giving due consideration to the custody and visitation rights of the parties. The
court shall consider the age of the child, the potential harm to the child from an
abduction, the legal and practical difficulties of returning the child to the jurisdiction if
abducted, and the reasons for the potential abduction, including evidence of domestic
violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect.
3. An abduction prevention order may include:
a. An imposition of travel restrictions that require a party traveling with the child
outside a designated geographical area to provide the other party with:
(1) The travel itinerary of the child;

(2) A list of physical addresses and telephone numbers at which the child can
be reached at specified times; and
(3) Copies of all travel documents;
b. A prohibition on the respondent directly or indirectly:
(1) Removing the child from this state, the United States, or another geographic
area without permission of the court or the petitioner's written consent;
(2) Removing or retaining the child in violation of a child-custody determination;
(3) Removing the child from school or a child-care or similar facility; or
(4) Approaching the child at any location other than a site designated for
supervised visitation;
c. A requirement a party register the order in another state as a prerequisite to
allowing the child to travel to that state;
d. Regarding the child's passport:
(1) A requirement the petitioner place the child's name in the United States
department of state's child passport issuance alert program;
(2) A requirement the respondent surrender any United States or foreign
passport issued in the child's name, including a passport issued in the name
of both the parent and the child to the court or the petitioner's attorney; and
(3) A prohibition on the respondent applying for a new or replacement passport
or visa on behalf of the child;
e. As a prerequisite to exercising custody or visitation, a requirement the respondent
provide:
(1) To the United States department of state's office of children's issues and the
relevant foreign consulate or embassy, an authenticated copy of the order
detailing passport and travel restrictions for the child;
(2) To the court:
(a) Proof the respondent has provided the information in paragraph 1; and
(b) An acknowledgment in a record from the relevant foreign consulate or
embassy no passport application has been made, or passport issued,
on behalf of the child;
(3) To the petitioner, proof of registration with the United States embassy or
other United States diplomatic presence in the destination country and with
the central authority for the Hague convention on the civil aspects of
international child abduction, if the convention is in effect between the
United States and the destination country, unless one of the parties objects;
and
(4) A written waiver under the Privacy Act, as amended [5 U.S.C. Section 552a]
with respect to any document, application, or other information pertaining to
the child authorizing its disclosure to the court and the petitioner; and
f. Upon the petitioner's request, a requirement the respondent obtain an order from
the relevant foreign country containing terms identical to the child-custody
determination issued in the United States.
4. In an abduction prevention order, the court may impose conditions on the exercise of
custody or visitation which:
a. Limit visitation or require visitation with the child by the respondent be supervised
until the court finds supervision is no longer necessary and order the respondent
to pay the costs of supervision;
b. Require the respondent to post a bond or provide other security in an amount
sufficient to serve as a financial deterrent to abduction, the proceeds of which
may be used to pay for the reasonable expenses of recovery of the child,
including reasonable attorneys fees and costs if there is an abduction; and
c. Require the respondent to obtain education on the potentially harmful effects to
the child from abduction.
5. To prevent imminent abduction of a child, a court may:
a. Issue a warrant to take physical custody of the child under any provision of law,
including section 14-14.2-08;

b. Direct law enforcement to act as reasonably necessary to locate the child, obtain
return of the child, or enforce a custody determination under any provision of law,
including this chapter; or
c. Grant any other relief allowed under law.
6. The remedies provided in this chapter are cumulative and do not affect the availability
of other remedies to prevent abduction.
### § 14-14.2-08. Warrant to take physical custody of child.

1. If a petition under this chapter contains allegations, and the court finds there is a
credible risk the child is imminently likely to be wrongfully removed, the court may
issue an ex parte warrant to take physical custody of the child.
2. The court shall afford a respondent on a petition under subsection 1 an opportunity to
be heard at the earliest possible time after the ex parte warrant is executed, but not
later than the next judicial day unless a hearing on that date is impossible. In that
event, the court shall hold the hearing on the first judicial day possible.
3. An ex parte warrant under subsection 1 to take physical custody of a child must:
a. Recite the facts upon which a determination of a credible risk of imminent
wrongful removal of the child is based;
b. Direct law enforcement officers to take physical custody of the child immediately;
c. State the date and time for the hearing on the petition; and
d. Provide for the safe interim placement of the child pending further order of the
court.
4. If feasible, before issuing a warrant and determining the placement of the child after
the warrant is executed, the court may order a search of the relevant databases of the
national crime information center system and similar state databases to determine
whether the petitioner or respondent has a history of domestic violence, stalking, or
child abuse or neglect.
5. The court shall serve the petition and warrant on the respondent at the time, or
immediately after, the child is taken into physical custody.
6. A warrant to take physical custody of a child, issued by this state or another state, is
enforceable. If the court finds a less intrusive remedy will not be effective, the court
may authorize a law enforcement officer to enter private property to take physical
custody of the child. If required by exigent circumstances, the court may authorize law
enforcement officers to make a forcible entry at any hour.
7. If the court finds, after a hearing, a petitioner sought an ex parte warrant under
subsection 1 for the purpose of harassment or in bad faith, the court may award the
respondent reasonable attorney's fees, costs, and expenses.
8. This chapter does not affect the availability of additional relief allowed under the law.
### § 14-14.2-09. Duration of abduction prevention order.

An abduction prevention order remains in effect until the earliest of:
1. The time stated in the order;
2. The emancipation of the child;
3. The child attaining eighteen years of age; or
4. The time the order is modified, revoked, vacated, or superseded by a court with
jurisdiction under sections 14-14.1-12 through 14-14.1-14.
### § 14-14.2-10. Uniformity of application and construction.

In applying and construing this chapter, a court shall consider the promotion of uniformity of
the law among the jurisdictions that enact it.
### § 14-14.2-11. Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.

This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the federal Electronic Signatures in Global
and National Commerce Act [15 U.S.C. 7001, et seq.] but does not modify, limit, or supersede

section 101(c) of the act or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in
section 103(b) of the act.
