Adopting a child: what the process really involves

Adoption is often described as a route to becoming a parent, but the legal process is built around a different starting point: finding the right permanent family for a child who cannot live with their birth parents.

That is why prospective adopters are assessed in considerable detail. The process looks beyond whether someone can provide a comfortable home. Adoption agencies must consider whether an applicant can offer the stability, patience and long-term support a particular child may need.

Under the Adoption and Children Act 2002, the child’s welfare throughout their life is the court’s paramount consideration when decisions about adoption are made.

A person must normally be at least 21 to adopt, although there is no statutory upper age limit. Applications can be made by someone who is single, married, in a civil partnership or part of an unmarried couple. Same-sex and opposite-sex couples are treated in the same way. A person may also apply to adopt their partner’s child.

British citizenship is not essential. However, the applicant, or at least one applicant where a couple applies, must have a fixed and permanent home in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. Applicants and their partners must normally have lived in the UK for at least one year before beginning the process. The government’s child adoption eligibility guidance explains these requirements.

The child must be under 18 when the adoption application is made and must never have been married or in a civil partnership. Birth parents will normally be asked to consent, although the court can make an adoption order without their consent in certain circumstances, including where they cannot be found, cannot give consent or the child would be at risk without the adoption.

For most people, the first formal step is contacting an adoption agency. This can be a local authority adoption service or a registered voluntary adoption agency. The agency will provide information, meet the prospective adopter and decide with them whether a formal application should follow.

The government’s adoption process guidance says the approval stage normally takes around six months. Matching with a child begins after approval and can take considerably longer. The priority is not to find the first available placement, but to identify a family capable of meeting the child’s individual needs.

Assessment involves preparation sessions and a series of meetings with a social worker. The agency will consider the applicant’s health, relationships, home, finances, support network, experience with children and understanding of adoption.

Police checks are required, as well as a full medical examination and personal references. GOV.UK states that applicants are normally asked to provide three referees, one of whom may be a relative. Other adults living in the household will also be considered as part of the safeguarding assessment.

The completed assessment is considered by an adoption panel, which makes a recommendation. The final decision about whether the applicant is suitable to adopt is made by the adoption agency.

Approval does not guarantee that a child will be placed immediately. The matching process considers the child’s background, relationships, health, development, culture and support needs alongside the adopter’s circumstances and parenting capacity. Proposed matches are scrutinised before introductions and placement begin.

The child will usually live with the prospective adopters before the adoption becomes legally permanent. During this period, the placement is monitored and supported by social workers.

For a child placed for adoption under a court placement order, the child must have lived with the adopters for at least 10 weeks before an application for an adoption order can be made. Different requirements may apply to stepchild, private, foster-carer and overseas adoptions.

An adoption only becomes legally complete when the family court makes an adoption order. The government’s guidance on applying for an adoption order confirms that the order gives the adopters parental rights and responsibilities for the child.

Once the order is made, the adoption is permanent. The birth parents and anyone else who previously held parental responsibility generally cease to have it. The child becomes a full legal member of the adoptive family and receives the same legal status as a birth child, including inheritance rights.

An adoption certificate is then created by the General Register Office. It replaces the original birth certificate for most legal and administrative purposes and records the child’s adoptive name.

The current court fee for an adoption-order application is £212. Where applications for more than one child are submitted together, only one fee is charged. A full copy of the adoption certificate currently costs £11 and is not issued automatically.

These are not necessarily the only expenses a family may encounter. Travel, time away from work and costs connected with preparing for a child may also need to be considered. Stepchild, private and overseas adoptions can involve different procedures and additional expenses, particularly where immigration rules or foreign authorities are involved.

Eligible employees may be entitled to Statutory Adoption Leave and Statutory Adoption Pay. Employment rights, including holiday accrual, pay rises and the right to return to work, are protected during statutory adoption leave. The detailed qualifying conditions are set out in the government’s adoption pay and leave guidance.

Support does not necessarily end when the court order is made. Adoptive families may need help with attachment, trauma, education, identity, contact with birth relatives or therapeutic support. Families in England may be able to access financial assistance for therapeutic services through the Adoption Support Fund, following an assessment of the child’s support needs and an application by the relevant local authority or adoption agency.

Adoption creates lasting legal security, but it also carries lifelong emotional and practical responsibilities. Understanding the child’s history and likely future needs is therefore just as important as understanding the legal process.

This article covers adoption law and procedure in England and Wales. A different process applies in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Intercountry, stepchild, foster-carer and private adoptions also have additional requirements.