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WHAT THE WORDS MEAN

Most of what goes wrong in an encounter goes wrong at the vocabulary. A word that sounds like it means one thing often means something narrower, or wider, in the statute. Here is each word North Dakota law uses, what it actually means, and the misreading it usually collects.

43 terms

A

Actual physical control

Being in control of a vehicle, which is covered by the impaired driving section along with driving itself.

Also called APC

Being in control of a vehicle, which is covered by the impaired driving section along with driving itself.

What it is not

It does not take a moving car.

  • N.D.C.C. § 39-08-01
Where it applies →

Arrest

Taking a person into custody in the manner the law authorizes, so the person can answer for an offense.

Also called taken into custody

Taking a person into custody in the manner the law authorizes, so the person can answer for an offense.

What it is not

It does not allow unnecessary or unreasonable force, or more restraint than the detention needs.

Where it applies →

C

Carrying without a license

The exemption that lets someone not barred from a class 2 license, holding a valid driver's license or ID, carry a firearm concealed.

Also called constitutional carry, permitless carry

The exemption that lets someone not barred from a class 2 license, holding a valid driver's license or ID, carry a firearm concealed.

What it is not

It is not a license to carry anywhere: schools, places of worship without approval and public buildings stay barred.

  • N.D.C.C. § 62.1-04-02
Where it applies →

Class 1 firearm license

The license for those 21 and older that takes classroom instruction, an open book test and a shooting exercise.

Also called concealed carry license

The license for those 21 and older that takes classroom instruction, an open book test and a shooting exercise.

What it is not

Inside the state it carries the same rights as the class 2 license; the difference is how many other states honor it.

  • N.D.C.C. § 62.1-04-03
Where it applies →

Class 2 firearm and dangerous weapon license

The license for those 18 and older that takes the open book test of the class 1 license.

The license for those 18 and older that takes the open book test of the class 1 license.

What it is not

Whether someone is barred from it also decides whether they may carry without any license.

  • N.D.C.C. § 62.1-04-03
Where it applies →

Class A felony

A felony carrying up to 20 years and a $20,000 fine.

A felony carrying up to 20 years and a $20,000 fine.

What it is not

It is not the top class: a class AA felony carries life without parole.

Where it applies →

Class A misdemeanor

The higher misdemeanor class, carrying up to 360 days and a $3,000 fine.

The higher misdemeanor class, carrying up to 360 days and a $3,000 fine.

What it is not

It is not a felony, though the jail term approaches a year.

Where it applies →

Class B misdemeanor

The lower misdemeanor class, carrying up to 30 days and a $1,500 fine.

The lower misdemeanor class, carrying up to 30 days and a $1,500 fine.

What it is not

A first impaired driving offense is one, with its own minimum fine on top.

Where it applies →

Class C felony

The lowest felony class, carrying up to 5 years and a $10,000 fine.

The lowest felony class, carrying up to 5 years and a $10,000 fine.

What it is not

It is still a felony, with the firearm bars that follow one.

Where it applies →

D

Disorderly conduct

Fighting, unreasonable noise, abusive language in public and the other listed acts, done with intent to harass, annoy or alarm, or in reckless disregard that someone is.

Fighting, unreasonable noise, abusive language in public and the other listed acts, done with intent to harass, annoy or alarm, or in reckless disregard that someone is.

What it is not

Constitutionally protected activity is not disorderly conduct.

Where it applies →

Disposable earnings

The pay against which the garnishment limit is measured: no more than twenty-five percent of it may be garnished in a week.

The pay against which the garnishment limit is measured: no more than twenty-five percent of it may be garnished in a week.

What it is not

The limit is the lesser of that share or the amount over forty times the federal minimum hourly wage.

Where it applies →

E

Eviction action

The district court case for possession, brought for holding over, unpaid rent, unreasonable disturbance or a broken material term.

Also called forcible detainer

The district court case for possession, brought for holding over, unpaid rent, unreasonable disturbance or a broken material term.

What it is not

It is not a lockout: possession comes back through the court.

Where it applies →

F

Fleeing an officer

A driver willfully failing to stop, or fleeing, after a visual or audible signal from a marked police vehicle or a uniformed officer.

Also called eluding

A driver willfully failing to stop, or fleeing, after a visual or audible signal from a marked police vehicle or a uniformed officer.

What it is not

It does not require a chase: willfully failing to stop for the signal is enough.

  • N.D.C.C. § 39-10-71
Where it applies →

Forfeitable property

Contraband, property used to commit or hide an offense, proceeds of crime, and the other listed property.

Contraband, property used to commit or hide an offense, proceeds of crime, and the other listed property.

What it is not

A home is not forfeitable for a co-owner's offense when that co-owner has not been convicted.

Where it applies →

H

Health care agent

The person a directive names to make health care decisions once a physician certifies the principal lacks capacity.

Also called health care power of attorney

The person a directive names to make health care decisions once a physician certifies the principal lacks capacity.

What it is not

The principal's own provider may not be the agent.

Where it applies →

Holographic will

A will whose signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting, valid whether or not witnessed.

Also called handwritten will

A will whose signature and material portions are in the testator's handwriting, valid whether or not witnessed.

What it is not

A will typed and signed with no witnesses or notary is not one.

Where it applies →

Homestead

The land a resident lives on and the house on it, up to $150,000 in value over liens, exempt from judgment liens and forced sale.

The land a resident lives on and the house on it, up to $150,000 in value over liens, exempt from judgment liens and forced sale.

What it is not

It does not cover separate tracts unless they are contiguous.

Where it applies →

I

Infraction

An offense carrying no jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

An offense carrying no jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

What it is not

Three convictions for the same infraction within a year can be sentenced as a class B misdemeanor, if the complaint says so.

Where it applies →

Intestate

Without a will, so the estate passes by the shares the code sets, starting with the surviving spouse.

Also called dying without a will

Without a will, so the estate passes by the shares the code sets, starting with the surviving spouse.

What it is not

It does not send everything to the state, which takes only when there is no taker at all.

Where it applies →

Irreconcilable differences

Grounds the court finds to be substantial reasons for not continuing a marriage.

Also called no fault

Grounds the court finds to be substantial reasons for not continuing a marriage.

What it is not

It is one of seven grounds, not the only one.

Where it applies →

M

Magistrate

The judicial officer before whom someone arrested without a warrant is taken without unnecessary delay, and where the complaint is made.

Also called judge

The judicial officer before whom someone arrested without a warrant is taken without unnecessary delay, and where the complaint is made.

What it is not

It is not the arresting officer; the charge is stated before the magistrate.

Where it applies →

Misconduct

A reason for discharge that disqualifies a claimant from unemployment until earning ten times the weekly benefit amount in new work.

A reason for discharge that disqualifies a claimant from unemployment until earning ten times the weekly benefit amount in new work.

What it is not

It is not every firing; quitting without good cause has its own rule.

Where it applies →

Month to month tenancy

A tenancy either side may end by at least one calendar month's written notice.

Also called periodic tenancy

A tenancy either side may end by at least one calendar month's written notice.

What it is not

A lease that runs out with rent still accepted becomes one, unless it has an automatic renewal clause.

Where it applies →

N

Noncriminal offense

An offense answered with a fee rather than a criminal sentence, as for not telling an asking officer about a concealed firearm, with a $20 fee.

An offense answered with a fee rather than a criminal sentence, as for not telling an asking officer about a concealed firearm, with a $20 fee.

What it is not

It is not the same as an infraction, which is a criminal offense with a fine.

Where it applies →

O

Off-highway vehicle

A vehicle that, once registered, may run on gravel and loose surface roads and on paved highways posted at fifty-five miles per hour or less.

Also called ATV, side by side, UTV

A vehicle that, once registered, may run on gravel and loose surface roads and on paved highways posted at fifty-five miles per hour or less.

What it is not

It may not run on a controlled-access highway outside an emergency.

Where it applies →

Onsite screening test

A roadside breath test used only to decide whether a further chemical test will be given.

Also called roadside breath test, preliminary breath test

A roadside breath test used only to decide whether a further chemical test will be given.

What it is not

Refusing it is not free: refusal is cause to revoke the license like refusing the chemical test.

Where it applies →

P

Parenting plan

The plan parents file covering decisions, information sharing, the schedule, transportation and how disputes are resolved.

The plan parents file covering decisions, information sharing, the schedule, transportation and how disputes are resolved.

What it is not

If the parents cannot agree, the court issues one.

Where it applies →

Part of traffic

A vehicle in traffic, including one temporarily stopped at a light or sign, where messaging is barred.

A vehicle in traffic, including one temporarily stopped at a light or sign, where messaging is barred.

What it is not

It does not include a vehicle lawfully parked.

Where it applies →

Personal solicitation sale

A sale solicited by phone or in person, with the agreement made somewhere other than the seller's place of business.

Also called door to door sale

A sale solicited by phone or in person, with the agreement made somewhere other than the seller's place of business.

What it is not

A sale made at the store is not one.

Where it applies →

Predominant aggressor

The household member an officer looks for, after considering self-defense, when two people both complain of domestic violence.

Also called primary aggressor

The household member an officer looks for, after considering self-defense, when two people both complain of domestic violence.

What it is not

It is not simply the one who struck first.

Where it applies →

Preferred provider

The provider an employer may choose, from whom an injured employee is treated for the first thirty days after a work injury.

The provider an employer may choose, from whom an injured employee is treated for the first thirty days after a work injury.

What it is not

It does not cover emergency care.

Where it applies →

Public record

Any record of a public entity, open for inspection during reasonable office hours unless a law specifically provides otherwise.

Also called open record

Any record of a public entity, open for inspection during reasonable office hours unless a law specifically provides otherwise.

What it is not

No one has to say why they want it.

  • N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18
Where it applies →

Q

Quiet possession

The landlord's duty under a lease to secure the tenant's possession of the property for the term against everyone lawfully claiming it.

Also called quiet enjoyment

The landlord's duty under a lease to secure the tenant's possession of the property for the term against everyone lawfully claiming it.

What it is not

It does not let a landlord take possession back without the eviction action.

Where it applies →

R

Repair and deduct

A tenant's remedy, after the landlord neglects a needed repair for a reasonable time after notice, of repairing it and deducting the cost from the rent.

A tenant's remedy, after the landlord neglects a needed repair for a reasonable time after notice, of repairing it and deducting the cost from the rent.

What it is not

It does not allow simply keeping the rent.

Where it applies →

Residential responsibility

The parent's responsibility for where the child lives, which a motion can change after two years or sooner on the listed grounds.

Also called custody, primary residential responsibility

The parent's responsibility for where the child lives, which a motion can change after two years or sooner on the listed grounds.

What it is not

It is not the same as decisionmaking, which a parenting plan sets separately.

  • N.D.C.C. § 14-09-06.6
Where it applies →

S

Sealing a record

Closing a criminal record by court order, available three years after a misdemeanor and five after a felony with no new conviction.

Also called expungement

Closing a criminal record by court order, available three years after a misdemeanor and five after a felony with no new conviction.

What it is not

It is not automatic; the court grants it on clear and convincing evidence.

Where it applies →

Search warrant

A written order in the name of the state, signed by a magistrate, directing a peace officer to search for personal property and bring it before the magistrate.

A written order in the name of the state, signed by a magistrate, directing a peace officer to search for personal property and bring it before the magistrate.

What it is not

It is not an arrest warrant, which directs taking a person into custody.

Where it applies →

Security deposit

Money held in an insured interest-bearing account for the tenant, kept only for damage, unpaid rent and cleaning, and returned with an itemized list within thirty days.

Also called damage deposit

Money held in an insured interest-bearing account for the tenant, kept only for damage, unpaid rent and cleaning, and returned with an itemized list within thirty days.

What it is not

It is not the landlord's to use for reasonable wear and tear.

  • N.D.C.C. § 47-16-07.1
Where it applies →

Stop and identify

An officer's power to stop a person in a public place reasonably suspected of a felony or the listed offenses, and demand a name, address and an explanation.

Also called stop and frisk

An officer's power to stop a person in a public place reasonably suspected of a felony or the listed offenses, and demand a name, address and an explanation.

What it is not

It is not a power to stop anyone at all: the suspicion has to involve one of the listed offenses.

  • N.D.C.C. § 29-29-21
Where it applies →

T

Temporary permit

The paper an officer issues after taking a license for a test result or refusal, good for the next twenty-five days.

The paper an officer issues after taking a license for a test result or refusal, good for the next twenty-five days.

What it is not

It is not the end of the license: a hearing can be requested within ten days.

  • N.D.C.C. § 39-20-04
Where it applies →

Twenty-four seven sobriety program

The sobriety program a second offense in seven years includes for 360 days.

Also called 24/7 program

The sobriety program a second offense in seven years includes for 360 days.

What it is not

It is not instead of jail: the second offense also carries at least ten days.

  • N.D.C.C. § 39-08-01
Where it applies →

U

Unconscionable

So unfair when made that a court may refuse to enforce it, enforce the rest without it, or limit it.

So unfair when made that a court may refuse to enforce it, enforce the rest without it, or limit it.

What it is not

It is not every clause a tenant dislikes; the court decides after hearing evidence.

Where it applies →

About this guide — definitions, not applications. Whether a word describes what happened in a particular case is exactly the question a licensed North Dakota attorney answers and a glossary cannot. Current as of October 2026.