How to Legally Adopt a Child: Requirements, Costs & Tax Credit

To legally adopt a child in the United States, you work through a court process that permanently transfers parental rights to you: establish your eligibility, complete a home study, obtain the biological parents’ consent or a court order terminating their rights, file an adoption petition, and finalize the adoption with a judge’s decree. The timeline runs from a few months to over a year, and total costs range from essentially nothing through foster care to $50,000 or more for private or international placement. Every state runs its own system, so age, residency, and procedural details vary, but the core sequence is the same nationwide.

Pick the Path Before You Pick the Steps

Which type of adoption you’re pursuing determines your costs, your timeline, and how much of the legal process you’ll even see.

Foster care adoption. You adopt a child whose biological parents have already lost their rights through the state. Costs are minimal and often fully covered, and many children qualify for ongoing adoption assistance.
Private domestic adoption. You work with a licensed agency or an attorney, usually to adopt a newborn whose birth parent has voluntarily chosen placement. Commonly $20,000 to $45,000.
International adoption. You adopt from another country and must satisfy both U.S. immigration law and the laws of the child’s home country. Frequently $25,000 to $50,000 or more.
Stepparent and relative adoption. A stepparent or family member adopts a child they already know. Many states simplify the process and sometimes waive the home study, but the non-custodial biological parent still has to consent or have their rights terminated.

Foster care adoption skips much of the matching and consent machinery because the state has already handled termination. Stepparent cases are usually the shortest and cheapest. The sections below describe the general framework; the pieces that apply to you depend on which path you’re on.

Who Can Adopt

State law decides who qualifies, and the bar is lower than most people assume. About seven states and Puerto Rico set the minimum age at 18, while a handful require applicants to be 21 or even 25.¹ Many states have no explicit minimum age, though courts still evaluate maturity and readiness.

Roughly 17 states require residency before you can file an adoption petition, with required periods running from 60 days to a full year.¹ The rest either have no residency requirement or impose one only for certain types of adoption.

Single adults can adopt in every state. When a married couple adopts, about 20 states require both spouses to petition jointly.¹ You don’t need to own a home, hit an income threshold, or have any particular education. Courts and agencies look for stability.

Background Checks and Disqualifying Convictions

Federal law requires every state to run criminal background checks, including fingerprint-based searches of national databases, on any prospective adoptive parent before final approval.² States also check their own child abuse and neglect registries and request checks from any other state where you or another adult in your household has lived in the past five years.

Some convictions are absolute bars. If you have a felony conviction at any point for child abuse or neglect, spousal abuse, a crime against children (including child pornography), or a violent crime such as rape, sexual assault, or homicide, you cannot be approved. A felony conviction for physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense within the past five years is also disqualifying.² These bars apply to every adult in the home, not just the petitioner.

You’ll usually submit fingerprints on a standard card at a law enforcement office or through an electronic scanning service, and results go to the agency or court. Plan for several weeks, longer if multiple states need to run registry checks.

The Home Study

The home study is the most intensive part of the process and the piece that trips up the most people, usually because they underestimate how long it takes. Expect three to six months. A licensed social worker interviews everyone in the household individually and together, visits your home at least once, and writes a report on your background, your relationships, your readiness to parent, and the environment where the child would live.

You will need to produce documentation, including:

Medical clearance from your doctor confirming you’re in adequate health to parent a child. Perfect health isn’t required, but conditions that could seriously interfere with caregiving will be evaluated.
Financial records: recent tax returns, pay stubs, and sometimes an employment verification letter. Agencies want to see you can support a child, not that you’re wealthy.
Three or four personal references from unrelated people who can speak to your character and your experience with children.
Identity documents: birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees if applicable, and records of any prior adoption or foster care involvement.
A written child preference profile covering the age range, background, and health needs you’re prepared to handle. Honest self-evaluation here matters more than saying yes to everything.

The social worker also evaluates neighborhood safety and sleeping arrangements. Once finished, the report becomes the central document the court relies on when deciding whether to approve the adoption.

Resolving the Biological Parents’ Rights

No adoption can go forward until the biological parents’ legal rights have been resolved, either by voluntary consent or by involuntary termination.

In a voluntary placement, the birth parent signs a written consent or relinquishment. States impose waiting periods before consent is valid, and most prohibit a birth parent from signing before the child is born. After signing, there’s typically a revocation window, and the length of that window varies widely by state. This is where private domestic adoptions sometimes fall apart; your attorney should walk you through the specifics before you rely on a verbal commitment.

Involuntary termination happens when a court finds grounds to sever a biological parent’s rights without their agreement. Common grounds include abandonment, chronic abuse or neglect, prolonged failure to support or communicate with the child, and unfitness due to incarceration or substance abuse. The standard of proof is high, typically clear and convincing evidence. In foster care, this stage usually comes only after the state has documented failed efforts to reunify the family.

Filing the Petition and the Court Hearing

Once the home study is approved and parental rights are resolved, your attorney files a formal adoption petition in family or probate court. The petition identifies the child, the adoptive parents, the child’s new legal name, and the court’s basis for jurisdiction. You’ll pay a filing fee at submission, which varies by jurisdiction. The clerk assigns a case number and the court schedules a hearing, often several months out so the judge has time to review the home study.

The hearing itself is usually brief and often held in chambers rather than open court. Both adoptive parents and the child must attend, though very young children may be excused. The judge reviews the home study, confirms that all consents or termination orders are in place, and asks a few questions to establish that you understand the permanent legal responsibilities you’re taking on. If everything checks out, the judge signs the adoption order on the spot.

Post-Placement Supervision

In most adoptions, the child lives with you for a mandatory supervision period before the court schedules finalization. A social worker visits your home at least once every 30 days to observe how the child is adjusting and whether the placement is working. Supervision generally lasts three to nine months, depending on state law and the circumstances of the placement.

These visits aren’t adversarial. The social worker is looking for healthy bonding, adequate care, and any support the family might need, and writes a report after each visit. Those reports become part of the court file the judge reviews before signing the final order.

What Adoption Costs

The cost gap between adoption types is wide, and failing to budget accurately is one of the most common early mistakes.

Foster care adoption: little to nothing. Most states cover the costs, and many families pay zero out of pocket. Home study fees and minor court costs rarely exceed a few thousand dollars.
Private domestic adoption: typically $20,000 to $45,000, covering agency fees, attorney fees, birth-parent counseling, medical expenses, and court costs.
International adoption: usually $25,000 to $50,000 or more once you add travel, foreign agency fees, translation services, and U.S. immigration processing.
Stepparent and relative adoption: generally the least expensive private adoption, since many steps are simplified or waived.

Attorney fees alone commonly run $5,000 to $15,000 for a straightforward domestic adoption, and climb higher if the case involves contested parental rights or interstate complications. Home studies by licensed agencies typically cost $1,000 to $3,000.

The Federal Adoption Tax Credit

The federal adoption tax credit lets you offset qualified adoption expenses against your tax liability. For adoptions finalized in 2026, the maximum credit is $17,670 per child.³ Qualified expenses include agency fees, court costs, attorney fees, and travel costs directly related to the adoption. You cannot claim expenses reimbursed by an employer program or expenses tied to a surrogate parenting arrangement.⁴

For the 2026 tax year, the credit begins phasing out at a modified adjusted gross income of $265,080 and disappears above $305,080. If you adopt a child with special needs through foster care, you’re treated as having paid the full credit amount in qualified expenses regardless of what you actually spent, so you can claim the maximum credit even if the adoption was free.⁴

The first $5,000 of the credit is refundable, meaning you receive it even if you owe no federal income tax. Any remaining non-refundable portion can be carried forward for up to five years.⁴ Married couples must file jointly to claim it, and you report the credit on IRS Form 8839 attached to your return.³

Updating the Child’s Records After Finalization

When the judge signs the Final Decree of Adoption, any remaining legal relationship between the child and their biological parents ends permanently. You have full legal custody, and the child has the right to inherit from your family on the same terms as a biological child. Keep the original decree in a safe place; it’s the single most important document you’ll receive.

After finalization, three sets of records need to be updated:

Birth certificate. The court clerk sends a report of adoption to the state vital records office, which issues a new birth certificate listing you as the child’s parent and reflecting the child’s new legal name. Processing takes several weeks, and fees for certified copies vary by state.
Social Security card. File Form SS-5 with the Social Security Administration along with the Final Decree and the new birth certificate to update the child’s name and records.⁵
Other records. Update the child’s school, health insurance, and any other institution still carrying the prior name.

Getting these records aligned matters more than people realize. Mismatched names across government systems create problems later when the child applies for a passport, enrolls in college, or files their own tax returns.

Situations That Add Rules

Adopting Across State Lines

If the child lives in a different state, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children governs the transfer. The ICPC is a statutory agreement in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The receiving state must evaluate and approve the proposed placement before the child can cross state lines, and federal law requires states to complete a home study and provide a written report to the sending state within 60 calendar days of receiving a placement request.

ICPC approval adds time, and skipping it creates serious legal risk. Moving a child across state lines without clearance can jeopardize the entire adoption. Your attorney or agency handles the paperwork, but factor in several additional weeks of waiting. The compact does not apply when a child is placed with a parent, stepparent, grandparent, or other close relative who has full legal authority to plan for the child.

Adopting a Child With Native American Heritage

The Indian Child Welfare Act imposes additional requirements when the child is a member of, or eligible for membership in, a federally recognized tribe. In any involuntary proceeding, the party seeking to terminate parental rights must notify the child’s tribe and the parent or Indian custodian by registered mail with return receipt requested.⁶ No termination or placement hearing can occur until at least 10 days after the tribe receives notice, and the tribe can request an additional 20 days to prepare.

ICWA also establishes a placement preference order. Absent good cause to deviate, preference goes first to the child’s extended family, then to other members of the child’s tribe, then to other Indian families.⁷ Raise any potential tribal heritage with your attorney immediately. Failing to comply with ICWA notice and placement rules can get an adoption overturned after finalization.

Adopting a Child With Special Needs

If you adopt a child with special needs through foster care, you may qualify for federal adoption assistance under Title IV-E. Monthly payments help cover the ongoing costs of raising a child who has a physical, emotional, or developmental condition, or who is harder to place due to age, sibling group membership, or ethnic background.⁸

To qualify, the child must meet a three-part test: they cannot safely return to their biological parents, a specific factor or condition makes placement without assistance unlikely, and the state has documented reasonable efforts to place the child without financial support (unless doing so would harm the child, such as when the child is being adopted by foster parents with whom they’ve already bonded).⁸ States also cover nonrecurring adoption expenses like court costs and attorney fees for special needs adoptions. The assistance agreement is negotiated before finalization, so ask your caseworker about it early.

Time Off Work

Federal law treats adoption the same as birth for family leave. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, an eligible employee can take up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the placement of a child for adoption and to bond with the child.⁹ Entitlement to bonding leave expires 12 months after the date of placement.

To qualify, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the previous 12 months, and work at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles. You can also use FMLA leave before placement for court appearances, attorney consultations, and travel.¹⁰ FMLA leave is unpaid; some employers offer paid adoption leave as a separate benefit, so check your company’s policy before assuming you’ll go without income.

Open vs. Closed Adoption

In a closed adoption, no identifying information passes between the birth parents and the adoptive family, and there is no post-placement contact. In an open adoption, the two sides exchange some identifying information and agree to ongoing contact, from occasional letters and photos through regular in-person visits. Most private domestic infant adoptions today involve some degree of openness, with specifics worked out before placement.

Whether an open adoption agreement is legally enforceable depends on state law. In some states these agreements are binding contracts; in others they’re unenforceable expressions of good faith. If ongoing contact matters to you or the birth parent, get the terms in writing and ask your attorney whether your state’s courts will enforce them.

1
Children’s Bureau. Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – 671 State Plan for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance
3
Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 26 – 23 Adoption Expenses
5
Social Security Administration. Application for a Social Security Card
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 25 – 1912 Pending Court Proceedings
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 25 – 1915 Placement of Indian Children
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 42 – 673 Adoption and Guardianship Assistance Program
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 29 – 2612 Leave Requirement
10
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28Q Taking Leave from Work for the Birth, Placement, and Bonding with a Child under the FMLA