Guidance

Intercountry adoption: exception requests

Guidance on how to make an exception request to adopt a child from a country with a special restriction.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 12 March 2021
• Last updated: 16 July 2026 — See all updates

Applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales

• Publication for Scotland

Documents

Exception requests: adoptions from countries with special restrictions

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Guidance on exception requests to adopt children from countries with special restrictions.

Exception requests are only for cases that both: 

• meet the high threshold of exceptionality  
• have a level of necessity to adopt a child from a country which is subject to restrictions, beyond a general wish to adopt a child from another country

This guidance explains:

• the criteria needed for making an exception request
• how to make an exception request
• how DfE makes a decision

It explains the process set out in the Adoptions with a Foreign Element (Special Restrictions on Adoptions from Abroad) Regulations 2008.

Published 12 March 2021

Last updated 16 July 2026 — Show all updates

1. 16 July 2026

   Updated the 'Exception requests: adoptions from countries with special restrictions' guidance to clarify the requirement to demonstrate a high threshold of exceptional circumstances where adoption from a restricted country is considered necessary.

2. 3 April 2023

   'Exception requests: adoptions from countries with special restrictions' has been updated to reflect policy changes on how exception requests are processed.

3. 12 March 2021

   First published.