Alabama adoption laws let any adult who is at least 19 years old petition the probate court to adopt a minor, and the state cannot turn you away because you are single. To finalize an adoption, you’ll need the right consents, a home study (in most cases), a properly filed petition, and a judge’s final decree. The process usually runs six to twelve months from filing to finalization.
Who Can Adopt
Any single adult or married couple can file an adoption petition in Alabama. Married couples must file jointly so both spouses take on legal responsibility for the child. Single applicants cannot be rejected solely because they are unmarried; the statute specifically forbids that.1Justia. Alabama Code 26-10A-5 – Who May Adopt “Adult” here means 19 or older, because Alabama’s age of majority is 19 rather than 18.2Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-1-1 – Age of Majority Designated as 19 Years
There is no statewide minimum residency period before you can file. The petition goes to the probate court in the county where you live, where the child lives, or where the agency with custody of the child is located.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-4 – Venue Filing elsewhere is possible on a showing of good cause, provided no party objects within 30 days and the court agrees it serves the child’s best interest.
Whatever your relationship to the child, the judge will evaluate whether you can provide a stable home. You’ll need to show you are physically, emotionally, and financially able to raise a child, and you will be screened through criminal background checks and the state child abuse registry.
Whose Consent You Need
Before a court will grant an adoption, specific people must formally agree to it: the birth mother, any legal or presumed father, any agency or the Department of Human Resources holding custody of the child, and the child being adopted if they are 14 or older, unless the court finds the child lacks capacity to consent.4Justia. Alabama Code 26-10A-7 – Persons Whose Consents or Relinquishment Are Required
A birth mother’s consent can be taken before the child is born, but a pre-birth consent must be signed or confirmed before a probate judge. The clock on withdrawing that consent does not start until the child arrives. Within five days after the birth or five days after signing, whichever is later, a parent can withdraw consent for any reason. For up to 14 days after birth or 14 days after signing, whichever is later, a parent can still withdraw if the court finds it reasonable and in the child’s best interest. After that window, consent can only be challenged by proving fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence, and only before the final decree. Once a year has passed from the final decree, consent cannot be challenged on any ground except kidnapping.
The Putative Father Registry
Alabama’s Department of Human Resources keeps a Putative Father Registry for biological fathers who were not married to the birth mother. To preserve the right to receive notice of an adoption, an unmarried father must register before the birth or within 30 days after the birth. A father who misses that window is considered to have given irrevocable implied consent to the adoption.5Alabama Department of Human Resources. Putative Father Information If you are an unmarried father who wants a role in the child’s life, registering on time is the only guaranteed way to be heard.
When Consent Is Not Required
The court can dispense with consent from a parent whose rights have already been terminated, who has abandoned the child, or who cannot be located after a diligent search. A parent convicted of certain serious crimes, or one who has failed to provide financial support or maintain contact for an extended period, may also lose the right to block the adoption.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-10 – Consent to Adoption or Relinquishment for Adoption – Persons From Whom Consent Is Not Required
A separate juvenile-court proceeding can terminate parental rights when clear and convincing evidence shows a parent is unable or unwilling to meet their responsibilities, on grounds such as abandonment, severe mental illness or substance abuse, physical abuse, felony imprisonment, or failure to provide material support. A completed termination clears the path for an adoption to move forward without that parent’s consent.
Stepparent and Relative Adoptions
Adoptions by stepparents and close relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings) run on a shorter track. If the child has lived with the petitioner for at least one year, the court typically waives the pre-placement and post-placement investigations and does not require a detailed accounting of adoption-related costs.7Mobile County Probate Court. Adoption That one-year period measures how long the child has been in your home, not how long you have been married to the child’s parent.
A stepparent still needs consent from the non-custodial biological parent unless that parent’s rights have been terminated or a statutory exception applies. This is where most stepparent cases stall. If the non-custodial parent refuses, the case becomes contested and the court has to decide whether grounds exist to proceed without the objection. When consent is available, these adoptions are noticeably faster and cheaper than unrelated placements.
The Home Study
For non-relative adoptions, a licensed investigator must complete a pre-placement study before a child can be placed with you. The investigator visits your home, interviews everyone in the household, and evaluates whether the family is ready.8Alabama Department of Human Resources. Application and Home Studies – Adoption Policy 2024 The study covers:
- Criminal history screening, including fingerprint-based checks for every petitioner.
- A search of the Alabama Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect.
- Financial documentation showing you can support the child.
- Individual and joint interviews, plus interviews with references and other people in the household.
- Physical and mental health assessments.
A completed home study is valid for 24 months. If no placement happens within that window, you’ll need an update. Federal rules impose a shorter six-month update cycle for international adoptions.
After the child is placed, a post-placement investigation must happen within 45 days. The investigator observes the child in the home, interviews you, and verifies what you said in your petition. That report goes to the judge.
Filing and Court Process
The petition is filed in probate court. It must include the child’s full legal name, date and place of birth, information about you and your background, any prior marriages, and documentation showing venue is proper.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-4 – Venue Forms are available through the local probate office or a licensed child-placing agency.
Once the petition is filed and the child is placed with you, the court enters an interlocutory decree. That temporary order gives you responsibility for the child’s care, maintenance, support, and medical treatment while the case runs. Legal custody stays with the placing agency or DHR until the final decree.9Justia. Alabama Code 26-10A-18 – Custody Pending Final Decree
When a case is contested or when the child’s interests need independent representation, the judge can appoint a guardian ad litem, either on a party’s motion or on the court’s own initiative.10Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-21 – Legal Counsel, Guardian Ad Litem The guardian ad litem advocates for the child and reports findings to the court.
The Final Decree
At finalization, the judge reviews the full case file, including the home study, post-placement report, consents, and any guardian ad litem findings. If everything is in order, the court issues a final decree of adoption. Most cases run six to twelve months from petition to decree, longer when contested.
The decree’s effects are complete. The adopted child is treated as the natural child of the adoptive parents and gains all rights that flow from that relationship, including full inheritance rights under Alabama’s intestate succession laws. At the same time, the decree severs all legal ties to the biological parents. The court clerk then notifies DHR and the state registrar to update the child’s records.
Interstate Adoptions
If the adoption involves moving a child across state lines, both states must approve the placement under the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. Alabama has enacted the ICPC, which requires anyone sending a child into another state for adoption to comply with both the compact and the receiving state’s laws before the child moves.11Justia. Alabama Code 44-2-20 – Text of Compact The receiving state must formally sign off before the child travels.
Alabama also requires DHR approval before anyone brings a child into the state for adoption. The compact does not apply to placements made by close relatives (parents, stepparents, grandparents, adult siblings, aunts, or uncles) acting on their own rather than through an agency. Intentionally skipping the ICPC process on a non-exempt placement can put the entire adoption at risk.
Costs and Financial Help
Costs vary widely. Court filing fees for the petition run roughly $65 to $111, with related adoptions at the lower end. Attorney fees for an uncontested adoption typically fall between $1,500 and $5,000. Private domestic agency placements can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
Alabama allows adoptive families to cover certain expenses for the birth mother, including housing, food, utilities, medical and hospital care, and legal fees. Every dollar must be reported to the court in a detailed accounting. Paying a birth parent anything beyond court-approved expenses is illegal under state and federal law.
Subsidies for Children With Special Needs
Children who qualify as special needs may be eligible for ongoing monthly adoption subsidies through DHR. A child may qualify if they are over five, have physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, are at risk because of a parental history of substance abuse or mental illness, or are part of a sibling group being adopted together. The child must also be in DHR custody, in the custody of an Alabama-licensed child-placing agency, or eligible for SSI benefits.12Alabama Administrative Code. Subsidized Adoption – Alabama Administrative Code 660-5-22-.06
The subsidy amount is negotiated between the adoptive parents and DHR based on the child’s needs and the family’s circumstances, and it cannot exceed the foster care maintenance payment the child would have received in a foster home. Children with higher-level needs may qualify for a difficulty-of-care supplement. DHR also reimburses up to $1,000 per child for non-recurring adoption expenses such as court costs, attorney fees, and travel. Special needs adoptees may qualify for Medicaid.
Federal Adoption Tax Credit
For the 2026 tax year, the federal adoption tax credit allows up to $17,670 in qualified adoption expenses per eligible child, with up to $5,120 refundable.13Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Qualified expenses include attorney fees, court costs, travel, and other costs tied directly to the adoption. The credit phases out at higher incomes. For adoptions of children with special needs from foster care, you can claim the full credit regardless of what you actually spent.
Access to Records After Finalization
Once the final decree is entered, all adoption papers are sealed as a permanent court record. No one can access them without a court order showing good cause.14Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10A-31 – Confidentiality of Records, Hearing, Parties
Adult adoptees 19 or older can request a copy of their original birth certificate from the state registrar, even if it was removed from the file due to the adoption. The copy is marked non-certified and cannot be used for legal identification, but it shows the biological parents’ names and other information recorded at birth. Birth parents can file a contact preference form with the registrar indicating whether they want direct contact, contact through an intermediary, or no contact; that form travels with the birth certificate when it is released.15Alabama Department of Public Health. Alabama Vital Statistics Laws The fee for a birth certificate search is $15, which includes one copy or a no-record certificate; additional copies ordered at the same time are $6 each.16Alabama Department of Public Health. Birth Certificates
Adoptees 19 or older can also request nonidentifying information from DHR or the licensed agency that handled the case, including health and medical histories of the biological parents, the adoptee’s own medical history, general family background and ancestry without names or locations, physical descriptions, and the circumstances that led to the adoption.14Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10A-31 – Confidentiality of Records, Hearing, Parties
Post-Adoption Contact Agreements Are Not Enforceable
Some families want ongoing contact between adoptive and biological relatives after finalization. Alabama law does not make those agreements legally enforceable. You can write a contact plan, but no court will compel an adoptive parent to follow through on promised visits or updates. Contact stays entirely at the adoptive parents’ discretion, so treat any informal promise as informal before you rely on it in a consent decision.