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State Adoption Laws

In every domestic child adoption the adoption laws of your state (or country) of residence, the laws of the state of residence of the birth mother and birth father, and the adoption laws of the state where your adoption agency is located all need to be considered.

The Child Adoption Laws for Each State are Listed Below

We realize that finding the child adoption laws for your state can be very difficult. This page is our effort to help you. We have put together the most comprehensive and current list of adoption laws on the Internet.

You may want to save this page to your favorite places now because there is so much information on some of these state websites that you may need to come back more than once. Because some state websites use outdated technologies we can provide a link to a main page, but not a specific law. If that is the case we have provided a link to their main area and the exact steps you need to follow to get to the adoption laws for your state. If you feel you may not remember the steps shown below then we recommend printing this page for later use.

Should you want to do the research to find these sites on your own, the place to start is the Guide to Law Online prepared by the U.S. Law Library of Congress Public Services Division. You can also find help at ChildAdoptionLaws.com and Justia.com.

Adoption Laws By State

ALABAMA

Adoption Code of Alabama1975, Title 26, Chapter 10A

ALASKA

Alaska Adoption Statutes 1999, Title 25 Chapter 23, Section 25.23

ARIZONA

Arizona Adoption Revised Statutes, Title 8, Chapter 1

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Adoption Code, Family Law Title 9, Subtitles 2,3 and ,4. Click on the link, then click on the "+" by the Arkansas Code. Then scroll to title 9, subtitles 2,3, and 4.

CALIFORNIA

Adoption Law, Family Law Code, Division 13, Parts 1-2, Chapters 1-8

	PART 1. Definitions
	PART 2. Adoption of unmarried minors
	CHAPTER 1. General provisions
	CHAPTER 1.5.Adoption facilitators
	CHAPTER 2.Agency adoptions
	CHAPTER 2.5.Adoptions by relative care givers or faster parents
	CHAPTER 3. Independent adoptions
	CHAPTER 4. Intercountry adoptions
	CHAPTER 5. Stepparent adoptions
	CHAPTER 6. Vacation of adoption
	CHAPTER 7. Disclosure of information
	CHAPTER 8. Adoption proceedings: Conflict of laws

COLORADO

Colorado Revised Statutes (1999),Title 19, Article 5.

CONNECTICUT

Connecticut Adoption Code, Title 45a, Chapter 803, Sections 45a.707 to 45a.770.

DELAWARE

Delaware Adoption Code, Title 13, click on Chapter 9.

FLORIDA

Florida Adoption Statutes, Title VI, Chapter 63

GEORGIA

Georgia Adoption Code, Title 19, chapter 8, Sections 1-26

HAWAII

Hawaii Revised Statutes (Adoption), Sections 578-1 to 578-17. Click on here on Section 578-1 and use the "next" button at the bottom of the page to navigate to the next sections.

IDAHO

Idaho Statutes (Adoption), Title 16, Chapter 15

ILLINOIS

Illinois Compiled Statutes (Adoption), Chapter 750, Section 50

INDIANA

Indiana Code (Adoption), Title 31, Article 19

IOWA

Iowa Code (Adoption), Chapter 600.

KANSAS

Kansas Statutes (Adoption 1998). Chapter 59, Article 21, 2111-2144.

KENTUCKY

Kentucky Revised Statutes (Adoption, 1998), Chapter 199, Sections 470 to 590. Click KENTUCKY then scroll to Sections .470-.590.

LOUISIANA

Louisiana Children's Code (Adoption). The first site is the Louisiana Children's Code, Title XII, Articles 1167 to 1278. Click LOUISIANA and use the "next" and "previous" buttons at the top of the page to navigate. The second site is the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 40, Sections 72 to 79.

MAINE

Maine Revised Statutes (Adoption PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. C, §7), Title 18A, Article IX, Parts 1-4

MARYLAND

Maryland Statutes (Adoption, 1999), Family Law, Sections 5-301s, 401, and 5. Click MARYLAND, then scroll in the "enter articles" box to Family Law, the enter 5-301 in the "enter section" box, then click "submit entry". Continue to the next Sections by using the "next button" on each page.

MASSACHUSETTS

Massachusetts General Laws (Adoption, 1998), Part II, Title III, Chapter 210, Sections 1-11

MICHIGAN

Michigan Compiled Laws (Adoption Act 203, 1994), Sections 710.21-710.70

MINNESOTA

Minnesota Statutes (Adoption revised 2004), chapter 259, sections 259.01-259.89

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi Code, Title 93, Chapter 17. Click MISSISSIPPI, then on the left hand side click on the "+" in front of "Mississippi Code", then click on the "+" in front of "more", then click on Title 93, then click on chapter 17.

MISSOURI

Missouri Revised Statutes (Adoption), title XXX, chapter 453, Sections .005-.503

MONTANA

Montana Code (1999 Adoption), Title 42, Chapter 1-10

NEBRASKA

Nebraska Statutes, Title 43, Sections 43-101 to 43-165.

NEVADA

Nevada Revised Statutes (Adoption), Chapter 127, Sections .003 to .186

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire Revised Statutes (Adoption), Title XII, Chapter 170-B, Sections 1 to 31

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey Revised Statutes (Adoption, 1999), Title 9, Sections 3-38 to 3-55.

NEW MEXICO

New Mexico Statutes (Adoption),Title 32A, Article 5, Sections 1 to 45. Click NEW MEXICO and then in the left hand box, click on New Mexico Statutes and Court Rules, then click on Statutory Chapters in NM statutes, then scroll down the left hand box and click on Title 32A, the scroll down 32A to Article 5, and then scroll to Sections 1 to 45.

NEW YORK

New York State Consolidated Laws, Domestic Relations (DOM), Chapter 14, Article 7, Sections 1 to 4. Click (NEW YORK), at the bottom of the page click on "New York Laws", then scroll to DOM (Domestic Relations) and click on DOM, then scroll to Article 7, Titles 1 to 4. You may also want to scroll down not only to DOM but also to SS (Social Services, Chapter 55, Article 6, Title 1, Sections 372 to 374.

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina General Statutes (Adoptions, 1999), Chapter 48, Articles 1 to 10

NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota Century Code (Adoption, 1999), Title 14, Chapter 15, Sections 1 to 23. Click NORTH DAKOTA, then scroll to, and click, on Chapter 15, then scroll to Sections 1 to 23

OHIO

Ohio Revised Code (Adoption, 1999), Title XXXI Domestic Relations, Adoption Section 3107 (1 to 99). Click (OHIO), then in the box on the left hand side scroll to and click on Title XXXI, then scroll to and click on Chapter 3107. Use the buttons on the bottom of the pages to go to next and previous pages.

OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma Statutes (Adoption, 1999), Title 10, Sections 7501 to 7510. Click OKLAHOMA, then us the next and previous buttons to navigate.

OREGON

Oregon Revised Statutes (Adoption, 1999), Chapter 109, Sections .304 to .502. Click here OREGON, then scroll down the page to the content section to Section .304.

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes (Adoption, 1999), Title 23, Part III.

RHODE ISLAND

Rhode Island General Laws (Adoption), Title 15, Chapter 7, Sections 2 to 26

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina code of Laws (Adoption), Title 20, Chapter 7 (Children's Code), Sections 1646 to 1897

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota Codified Laws (Adoption), Title 25, chapter 6, Sections 1 to 24

TENNESSEE

Tennessee Code, Title 36, Chapter 1, Parts 1 and 2.

TEXAS

Texas Statutes (Adoption), Family Code, Title 5, Chapter 162. Click (TEXAS), then scroll and click on Title 5 Chapter 162, and look through all Sections.

UTAH

Utah Code (Adoption), Title 78, Chapter 30, Sections 1 to 19

VERMONT

Vermont Statutes (Adoption), Title 15A, Articles 1 to 7

VIRGINIA

Virginia Code (Adoption), Title 63.2, Chapter 12, Sections 1200 to 1248

WASHINGTON

Washington Revised Code (Adoption), Title 26, Chapter 33, Sections 010 to 901

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia Code (Adoption), Chapter 48, Sections 48-22-501 to 48-23-701.

WISCONSON

Wisconsin Statutes (Adoption), Chapter 48, Subchapter VIII, Sections 48.40 to 48.975. Click WISCONSIN, then in the left hand box scroll to and click on Chapter 48, then scroll to Subchapter VIII Sections 48.40 by using the "more" button at the bottom of the scroll page.

WYOMING

Wyoming Statutes (Adoption), Title 1, Chapter 22, Articles 1 and 2

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Adoption Consultant Resource

Why You Need an Adoption Consultant

There are many risks when you go to adopt a child including losing a child after you have already taken them home (referred to as a disruption), loosing all of the money you have invested in the adoption if the birth mother changes her mind, or finding that there are previously unknown or undisclosed fees that may appear. Dr Berger has helped thousands of adopting families with domestic adoptions and international adoptions and he is available to assist you no matter what type of adoption you chose to pursue and regardless of whether you work with an adoption agency, facilitator or adoption attorney. He can help you save your time, effort and money in helping you to decide what routes to take and the best way to achieve your goal of adopting a child. He can help reduce your risks and potential pain and can help you avoid many of the problems and pitfalls found in the adoption process. You can read and download his free adoption manual or, for more information on how he can help you, please visit his Adoption Consultant link or contact him by phone (1-800-943-0400) or email.

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