To adopt a child in Alabama, you complete a preplacement home study, obtain written consent from the birth parents (or rely on a prior termination of parental rights), file a Petition for Adoption in the probate court where you live, pass a post-placement investigation, and appear at a final hearing where a judge signs the decree that makes you the child’s legal parent. Anyone 19 or older can petition, single or married. Most of the process runs through probate court, and the timeline from placement to finalization typically stretches several months.
Who Qualifies to Adopt
Alabama sets the age floor at 19. Marital status does not disqualify you, and the code bars a court from denying a petition based on marital status or age alone.1Marshall County Probate Court. Adoption in Alabama Beyond age, what the court cares about is whether your home is safe and suitable for a child. Housing stability, health, and financial ability to care for a child all factor into the home study rather than acting as fixed statutory prerequisites.
Choosing an Adoption Path
The route you take shapes the cost, the paperwork, and how long things take.
Public adoption through the Alabama Department of Human Resources places children whose parents’ rights have already been terminated. Costs are low because DHR handles most of the work, and subsidies may be available.2Alabama Department of Human Resources. Adoption Checklist Licensed private agency adoption pairs you with birth parents who voluntarily place their child; the agency runs the home study, matching, and counseling, and this is usually the most expensive path. Independent adoption is arranged directly between birth parents and adoptive parents, generally with an attorney, though the court still orders an independent home study and post-placement investigation. Stepparent and relative adoptions run on a streamlined track with a limited investigation instead of a full home study.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-26 – Stepparent Adoptions
The Preplacement Home Study
Before a child can be placed in your home, an investigator has to complete a preplacement study. That investigator is either DHR, a licensed child-placing agency, or a licensed social worker certified for independent practice.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-19 – Pre-placement and Post-Placement Investigations
Expect home visits, interviews with everyone in the household, and record checks. The investigator pulls criminal history, child abuse clearances from every state you have lived in during the past five years, and searches the national sex offender registry for every household member aged 14 or older. The physical safety of the home and your ability to provide stable care are both assessed.
Gather documents before the first visit: certified birth certificates for everyone in the household, a marriage license if you have one, any divorce decrees, proof of income or employment, and medical records showing reasonable health. Having those ready keeps the process moving.
Birth Parent Consent and the Five-Day Window
Most adoptions require written consent from one or both birth parents. A birth mother can sign before the child is born, but if she does, the consent must be signed or confirmed in front of a probate judge.5Alabama Department of Human Resources. Non-DHR Adoption
Understand this part clearly. A birth parent who has signed consent has five business days to change their mind. The clock runs from the child’s birth or from the signing date, whichever comes later. During that window, the parent can withdraw consent for any reason, without going to court, by delivering a signed and dated written withdrawal (witnessed by two people or a notary) to the court.6Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-14 – Express Consent – Withdrawal
After those five business days, withdrawal is only possible by proving fraud, duress, mistake, or undue influence, which requires court action. Until the five-day window closes, the placement is not secure.
Consent is not required from a parent whose rights have already been terminated. Involuntary termination grounds include abandonment, chronic abuse, and a child being in foster care for at least 12 of the most recent 22 months, among others.7Alabama Administrative Code. Rule 660-5-30-.03 – Termination of Parental Rights Process
Filing the Petition in Probate Court
You file a Petition for Adoption with the clerk of the probate court. Alabama gives you 60 days after the child is physically placed in your home to file, unless the child is in DHR custody or with a licensed agency. Courts can extend the deadline for good cause.8Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-16 – Petition for Adoption
The petition asks for detailed information about you and the child: names, addresses, dates of birth, and the circumstances of placement. Attach the birth parents’ consents or relinquishments, the preplacement investigation report, and a vital statistics form for the new birth certificate.
After filing, you must serve notice on everyone with a legal stake: anyone whose consent is required, the child’s legal father, any known putative father who has registered with the state, the child’s guardian or custodian, DHR, and the assigned investigator or agency. Service is usually by certified mail, though the court can authorize publication or courthouse posting if a party cannot be reached.9Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-17 – Notice of Pendency of Adoption Proceedings
The Interlocutory Order and Post-Placement Investigation
Once the petition is filed, the court enters an interlocutory order. That is a provisional order giving you temporary legal authority to consent to medical care, enroll the child in school, and handle day-to-day parenting while the case works through the system.10Legal Information Institute. Alabama Administrative Code r. 660-5-22-.04 – Adoption Legal Process
The court also orders a post-placement investigation. The investigator must visit your home and interview each petitioner within 45 days of the child’s placement, then file a written report confirming the child is adjusting well, the home remains safe, and the adoption serves the child’s best interest. The judge cannot enter a final decree until that report is on file.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-19 – Pre-placement and Post-Placement Investigations
For children placed by DHR, expect a minimum three-month post-placement period before DHR issues its consent to finalization, unless DHR determines an earlier consent serves the child’s best interest.10Legal Information Institute. Alabama Administrative Code r. 660-5-22-.04 – Adoption Legal Process
The Final Hearing and Decree
After the post-placement report is filed and every other requirement is met, the court sets a dispositional hearing. The judge reviews the petition, the reports, the consents, and any other evidence, and will ask questions to confirm you understand what adoption means legally and that you intend to treat the child as your own.
If everything checks out, the judge signs a final decree of adoption. That decree permanently makes you the child’s legal parent. The biological parents’ legal relationship ends at the same moment, except in a stepparent adoption, where the spouse’s parental rights remain intact.
Stepparent Adoptions
Stepparent adoptions follow a simpler track. The child must have lived with the stepparent for at least one year before the court can enter a final judgment. Instead of a full home study, the court orders a limited investigation covering background checks, child abuse clearances, a sex offender registry check, and a home safety inspection. The legal parent married to the stepparent is excluded from the background requirements. The limited investigation has to be filed within 30 days of the petition’s filing date.3Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 26-10E-26 – Stepparent Adoptions
The noncustodial biological parent still needs to consent, or their rights have to be terminated first. That is where most stepparent adoptions run into trouble. If the noncustodial parent refuses to consent, you may need to pursue a termination based on abandonment, failure to support, or other statutory grounds before the adoption can move forward.
Grandparent, aunt, uncle, and other relative adoptions follow a process closer to the standard one, with some requirements relaxed depending on the court’s discretion.
If the Child Lives in Another State
When the child is in another state, both states have to approve the placement before the child can cross state lines. This is governed by the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, which Alabama has enacted.11Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 44-2-20 – Text of Compact
The sending state’s agency files a formal request with Alabama’s ICPC office with the child’s information, reasons for the placement, and proof of legal authority. Alabama runs its own review, including a home study. The child cannot be brought into Alabama until the state issues written approval that the placement does not appear contrary to the child’s interests.11Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 44-2-20 – Text of Compact
Moving a child across state lines without ICPC approval violates the law in both states and carries penalties, including possible revocation of an agency’s license. The process adds weeks or months, so plan for it if the birth family or agency is out of state.
After the Decree: Birth Certificate and Social Security
Once the final decree is entered, the court sends the order and the child’s new name and parent information to the Alabama Center for Health Statistics. If the child was born in Alabama, the center automatically prepares a new birth certificate listing the adoptive parents. You can then request a certified copy through the Alabama Department of Public Health.12Alabama Department of Public Health. Application to Request a New Birth Certificate After Adoption The original birth certificate is sealed and replaced in state files.13Alabama Department of Public Health. Vital Records – Adoption Information
If the child needs a new Social Security number or a card reflecting the new name, file Form SS-5 with the Social Security Administration. The form is available at socialsecurity.gov, at any local SSA office, or by calling 1-800-772-1213. Processing usually takes about two weeks once SSA has everything it needs.
Costs and the Federal Adoption Tax Credit
Costs range widely. Foster care adoptions through DHR carry minimal out-of-pocket costs because the state covers most fees. Private agency adoptions can run into the tens of thousands of dollars once agency fees, attorney costs, home study expenses, and court filing fees are added up. Independent adoptions land somewhere in between.
Foster care adoptions of children with special needs may qualify for an ongoing subsidy. A child meets the “special needs” definition if they have a documented physical or mental disability, a known emotional or behavioral condition requiring treatment, are age five or older, or are part of a sibling group of two or more placed together. The monthly amount is negotiated with DHR on a case-by-case basis and cannot exceed what the child’s foster care payment would have been. DHR can also reimburse up to $1,000 per child for nonrecurring adoption expenses such as court costs, attorney fees, and travel, and children receiving the subsidy typically stay Medicaid-eligible.14Alabama Department of Human Resources. Adoption Subsidy
The federal adoption tax credit offsets a substantial share of costs. In recent tax years the credit has been approximately $17,280 per eligible child, with a partially refundable portion of up to $5,000. The amount adjusts annually for inflation, and the credit phases out at higher income levels.15Internal Revenue Service. Notable Changes to the Adoption Credit You claim it on your federal return for the year the adoption is finalized using IRS Form 8839. Qualifying expenses include court costs, attorney fees, adoption-related travel, and other expenses directly tied to the legal process.