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The adoption process - eligibility, assessment, adoption agencies, adoption court orders, overseas adoptions and the rights of birth parents.
To be adopted, a child must: be under the age of 18 when the adoption…
To adopt a child you can go through either: an adoption agency that’s part…
Once the agency gets your application it will do the following: Invite you…
To make an adoption legal, you need to apply for an adoption court order.…
You need to tell your local council if you want to adopt your spouse’s or…
You can adopt a child from overseas if: they cannot be cared for in a safe…
For another couple (or person) to adopt your child, you normally have to…
If you were adopted you can access your birth records or get on the Adoption Contact Register to find birth relatives - how to apply, forms and information for birth relatives
You can access your birth records if you don’t have them because you were…
You can add yourself to the Adoption Contact Register at the General…
You can use an intermediary agency to help you trace a birth relative if…
How to register an overseas adoption in the Adopted Children Register.
Legal rights, birth certificates, parental rights and child maintenance
Immigration staff guidance on considering applications for entry or leave as an adopted child or a child coming to the UK for adoption.
Local authorities and regional adoption agencies can apply for therapeutic funding for eligible adoptive, special guardianship order and child arrangement order families.
How adoption agencies should handle applications from people wishing to adopt a child from another country.
Adoption contact register form - part 1
This document covers what happens at the General Register Office once an adoption order is received.
Apply to adopt a child through your local council if you are 21 or over and can offer a stable home to a child
Use this guidance to find out how your child can become a British citizen if you adopt in the UK from abroad.
Work out your Statutory Adoption Leave dates - Ordinary and Additional Adoption Leave period, notice period and earliest start date
How the government plans to address challenges in the adoption system over the next 4 years.
This page provides country-specific information for British nationals on what to do if they are planning to adopt a child overseas.
What to do if you are planning to adopt a child in China.
What the fund is for and how to apply for it.
What to do if you are planning to adopt a child in Singapore.
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