To file for an adult adoption, you submit a written Petition for Adult Adoption, along with a signed consent from both parties, to the clerk of court in the county where the adopting parent lives, pay the filing fee, and appear at a short hearing where the judge signs a Final Decree of Adoption. Both people must be legal adults, both must consent voluntarily, and in most states no biological parent approval is required. The rest is paperwork and a court date.
Confirm You Meet the Basic Requirements First
Adult adoption is governed entirely by state law, so the specifics vary. A few rules show up almost everywhere, and it’s worth checking these before you spend time on the petition.
Both parties must be adults. The person being adopted has to have reached the age of majority in their state, which is 18 in most places, and the adopting party has to be an adult as well. Some states also require the adopting parent to be older than the adoptee by a set number of years. Ten years is a common threshold where that rule exists, but not every state imposes an age gap.
You’ll usually need to meet a residency requirement. Many states require at least one party to have lived in the filing jurisdiction for a minimum period, often three to six months, before the court will accept the petition.
Consent is the heart of the case. The adoptee must consent, and they must do so in person at the hearing. Unlike child adoption, the court is not running a best-interests investigation; the judge is confirming that two competent adults have voluntarily agreed to a permanent legal relationship. Biological parents generally do not need to consent or even be notified, though a judge in some jurisdictions may require they get notice of the hearing date. If either you or the other party is married, check your state’s rule on spousal consent. Some states require the spouse to sign off, and a missing consent form can push your hearing back.
A few boundaries worth flagging: a handful of states prohibit adopting a spouse, and state incest laws apply if the parties have a romantic or sexual relationship. If either party is a non-citizen and immigration status is part of the reason for adopting, stop and read the section below before filing.
Gather the Documents You’ll File
The paperwork is not complicated, but courts reject petitions with inconsistencies or missing pieces, and refiling means paying the fee again.
The core document is the Petition for Adult Adoption. Some states publish a pre-printed court form; others expect you to draft the petition yourself or use a template from a court self-help center. The petition asks for both parties’ full legal names, dates of birth, current addresses, and a statement describing the relationship and the reason for the adoption. Along with the petition, you’ll file a written consent agreement signed by both parties affirming that each person voluntarily agrees to enter the parent-child relationship.
Supporting documents commonly include:
- Government-issued photo identification for both parties.
- Certified copies of birth certificates, if your court requires them.
- A spousal consent form, if either party is married and your state requires it.
- Divorce decrees or death certificates for prior spouses, depending on state rules.
If the adoptee wants to change their surname to the adopting parent’s name, most states let you request that within the adoption petition itself, so you don’t need a separate name-change filing.
File the Petition With the Right Court
You file the completed packet with the clerk of court in the county where the adopting parent lives. Many courts now accept electronic filing, which gives you an immediate receipt and a case number. If you’re filing in person, bring extra copies for the clerk to stamp and return to you.
Filing fees vary by jurisdiction. Expect somewhere between $100 and $500, with most courts falling in the $100 to $250 range. Ask the clerk whether the court accepts card payments or requires a check. If you can’t afford the fee, ask about a fee waiver application; most courts have one.
After the petition is accepted, the clerk assigns a case number and sets a hearing date. The wait for a hearing depends on the court’s calendar and can range from a few weeks to a few months.
Attend the Court Hearing
The hearing is usually the shortest part of the process. Adult adoption hearings typically run 15 to 30 minutes and are conducted in a private or semi-private courtroom.
Both parties need to appear. The judge reviews the petition and supporting documents, then asks a series of questions: Do you understand what this adoption means? Are you entering into it voluntarily? Is anyone pressuring you? The judge may ask about the nature of the relationship and the reasons for the adoption, particularly if the petition doesn’t spell those out.
If everything is in order, the judge signs a Final Decree of Adoption on the spot or shortly after. That decree is the legal document creating the parent-child relationship. Ask the clerk how to order certified copies before you leave the courthouse.
What to Do After the Decree Is Signed
Order several certified copies of the decree. You will need them to update other records, and ordering more later costs extra.
If the decree included a name change, the adoptee can now use it to update a Social Security record, driver’s license, passport, and any other identification. Each agency has its own form and fee.
The court sends a report of adoption to the vital records office in the state where the adoptee was born. That office then issues a new birth certificate listing the adoptive parent as the legal parent, and the original is typically sealed. Processing times vary: some states complete this in about four weeks, others take several months. Fees for the new birth certificate are modest, generally in the $20 to $60 range depending on the state.
When to Talk to a Lawyer Before You File
For an uncontested adult adoption between two people who agree, pro se filing is realistic. Court self-help centers often provide templates and instructions, and there is no opposing party.
Some situations change that calculation:
- Inheritance and biological family ties. In most states, an adult adoption legally severs the parent-child relationship with the adoptee’s biological parents. The adoptee generally loses inheritance rights from biological family members unless those relatives specifically name the adoptee in a will. Roughly a third of states make an exception for stepparent adoptions. If preserving biological inheritance rights matters, get advice from a local attorney before filing.
- Trusts and significant assets. If a trust names “children” as beneficiaries, or if the adopting parent has a complex estate plan, an attorney should review how the adoption interacts with those documents.
- Immigration. Adult adoption does not create a straightforward path to a green card. Federal immigration law defines “child” for visa sponsorship purposes as someone adopted before age 16 who lived in the legal custody and joint residence of the adopting parent for at least two years. An adoption finalized in adulthood does not meet that definition. U.S. citizen adoptive parents can file an I-130 for an adopted child who is unmarried and over 21, but the family preference category involves long wait times. Speak with an immigration attorney before pursuing adult adoption if immigration is your goal.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions2U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Adult Adoptees and U.S. Citizenship
- Capacity concerns. If the adoptee has a disability that affects their legal capacity to consent, the court may require additional showings, and an attorney can help structure the case.
Attorney fees for an uncontested adult adoption are typically modest compared with other family law matters, often a flat fee in the low four figures. For a case with any of the complications above, that fee tends to be money well spent.