Rule 352.Definitions

Last amended July 1, 2026 · Last verified July 1, 2026

In one sentenceRule 352 defines the vocabulary the expedited child support process runs on, from who counts as a child support magistrate or a county agency to what separates an IV-D case from one that is not, so every other rule in this part means what it says.

Full Text of Rule 352

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352.01 Definitions For purposes of these rules, the following terms have the following meanings:

(a) “Answer” means a written document responding to the allegations of a complaint or motion.

(b) “Child Support” means basic support; child care support; and medical support. Medical support includes the obligation to carry health care coverage, costs for health care coverage, and unreimbursed/uninsured medical expenses.

(c) “Child support magistrate” means an individual appointed by the chief judge of the judicial district to preside over matters in the expedited process. “Child support magistrate” also means any family court referee or district court judge presiding over matters in the expedited process.

(d) “County agency” means the local public authority responsible for child support enforcement.

(e) “County attorney” means the attorney who represents the county agency, whether that person is employed by the office of the county attorney or under contract with the office of the county attorney.

(f) “Initiating party” means a person or county agency starting the proceeding in the expedited process by serving and filing a complaint or motion.

(g) “IV-D case” means any proceeding where a party has either (1) assigned to the State rights to child support because of the receipt of public assistance as defined in Minn. Stat. § 518A.81, subd. 1(b), or (2) applied for child support services under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 654(4). “IV-D case” does not include proceedings where income withholding is the only service applied for or received under Minn. Stat. § 518A.53. Pursuant to 45 CFR § 302.33(a)(4), a case remains a IV-D case when assigned public assistance closes unless the applicant requests closure of the child support case.

(h) “Noninitiating party” means a person or county agency responding to a complaint or motion, including any person who assigned to the State rights to child support because of the receipt of public assistance or applied-for child support services.

(i) “Parentage” means the establishment of the existence or non-existence of the parent-child relationship.

(j) “Parenting time” means the time a parent spends with a child regardless of the custodial designation regarding the child. “Parenting time” previously was known as “visitation.”

(k) “Party” means any person or county agency with a legal right to participate in the proceedings.

(l) “Response” means a written answer to the complaint or motion, a “request for hearing” form, or, in a parentage matter, a “request for blood or genetic testing” form.

(m) “Support” means child support, as defined in this rule; expenses for confinement and pregnancy; arrearages; reimbursement; past support; related costs and fees; and interest and penalties. “Support” also means the enforcement of spousal maintenance when combined with basic support, child care support, or medical support.

End

Advisory Committee Comments

Advisory Committee Comment—2008 Amendment

Rule 352.01 is amended to reflect the recodification, effective on January 1, 2007, of portions of the relevant statutes, that became part of Minn. Stat. ch. 518A. Rule 352.01(b) provides a new definition for “child support,” replacing the definition of “support” formerly set forth in Rule 352.01(1).

Advisory Committee Comment—2023 Amendment

Rule 352.01(g) is modified in 2023 to include the federal requirement to clarify that a case remains IV-D after the assigned public assistance closes unless the applicant requests case closure.

Advisory Committee Comment--2026 Amendments

Rule 352.01(g) is amended to reflect a change in statutory citation.

Amendment History

(Amended effective July 1, 2026.)

Plain-English Summary

Rule 352 is the glossary for the expedited child support process, and its definitions do real work: they decide who has to be served with papers, which cases can even be heard by a child support magistrate, and what counts as support in the first place. A "party" is anyone, including a county agency, with a legal right to take part in the case, while an "initiating party" and a "noninitiating party" mark who filed first and who has to respond.

The most consequential definition is "IV-D case." A case only belongs in the expedited process because of this label: it covers a case where a party assigned support rights to the state in exchange for public assistance, or applied for child support services, and it keeps that label even after the assistance case closes unless the applicant asks the county agency to close the child support case too. A case built only around income withholding does not qualify.

Several other definitions shape how a case runs day to day. "Child support magistrate" reaches beyond the job title to include any family court referee or district judge sitting in that role, so the same rules bind whoever is presiding. "Support" folds together basic support, child care support, and medical support, along with arrearages, confinement and pregnancy expenses, and reimbursement, and it can include the enforcement of spousal maintenance when that enforcement is combined with a support claim. "Parenting time" is defined too, with a note that the rules used to call it "visitation."

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a case an IV-D case under Rule 352?

A case is an IV-D case when a party has assigned child support rights to the state because of public assistance, or has applied for child support services under the federal child support program, and it keeps that status even after an assigned public assistance case closes unless the applicant requests that the child support case close too.

Does Rule 352 treat a family court referee the same as a child support magistrate?

Yes. The definition of "child support magistrate" includes any family court referee, or district court judge, who presides over a matter in the expedited process, so the same procedural rules apply no matter which of them is on the bench.

What counts as support under these rules?

Support includes basic child support, child care support, and medical support, along with related arrearages, reimbursement, past support, confinement and pregnancy expenses, fees, interest, and penalties, and it can also reach the enforcement of spousal maintenance when that enforcement is combined with a support claim.

Who is the initiating party in an expedited process case?

The initiating party is the person or county agency that starts the case by serving and filing the first complaint or motion, while the party who has to respond to it is called the noninitiating party.

Why does Rule 352 bother defining parenting time instead of just using visitation?

The rules adopted "parenting time" to replace the older term "visitation," and Rule 352 preserves that history by defining parenting time as the time a parent spends with a child regardless of custodial status, while noting it was previously known by the older name.

Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee Comments are reproduced verbatim from the official Minnesota Rules of Family Court Procedure (Minn. R. Gen. Prac. 352). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 480.051). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 1, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: IV-D case definitionchild support magistrate definitionparty definitions expedited processwhat is a noninitiating partyparenting time definition Minnesota