A newspaper is qualified to serve as an official newspaper if it meets all the requirements of a legal newspaper set forth in section 46-05-01 and maintains its principal editorial office within the county in which it is a candidate for official newspaper. In a county in which no newspaper maintains its principal editorial office, a newspaper published in an adjoining county with general circulation in the first county is qualified to serve as that county's official newspaper.
N.D. Cent. Code § 46-06-02
Qualifications required of an official newspaper
Official source: North Dakota Legislative Branch. Reproduced from public-domain North Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.