How to Adopt a Child in Michigan: Steps, Costs, and Consent

To adopt a child in Michigan, you must be at least 18 years old, pass a criminal background check that includes fingerprinting, complete a court-ordered home study, secure either the biological parents’ consent or a court order terminating their rights, and file a petition in the family division of circuit court. After the child is placed with you, a waiting period of three or six months has to pass before a judge can enter the final order of adoption. The whole process runs under the Michigan Adoption Code and, depending on the pathway you take, lasts anywhere from several months to well over a year.

Who Can File

Any adult 18 or older can petition. There is no upper age limit, though state guidelines suggest no more than a 50-year gap between the youngest adoptive parent and the child, evaluated case by case.¹ Married couples must file together.² Single people can adopt, and placement workers sometimes look specifically for a single parent when that fits a child’s needs. If you are unmarried but living with a partner, only one of you can legally be the adoptive parent.

There is no minimum income requirement, but financial stability gets weighed in the home study. A history of child abuse, neglect, or certain other serious offenses can disqualify you.¹

Pick the Pathway

Which type of adoption you pursue determines almost everything else: how long it takes, how much it costs, and how much of the process the state handles versus you.

Private Agency Adoption

A licensed child-placing agency, regulated by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, matches you with a child and handles screenings, birth-parent counseling, and much of the paperwork.³ Total fees commonly run between $5,000 and $45,000. If the child is coming from another state, the placement must clear the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, which coordinates approvals between both states.⁴

Foster Care Adoption

Children in Michigan’s foster system become adoptable when reunification with their biological family is no longer possible. This is the least expensive route, because the state covers most costs and monthly subsidies may continue after finalization. You will still need foster-parent training and a home study, but if you have already been the child’s foster parent for at least 12 months, the court can accept your existing foster family study instead of ordering a new investigation.⁵

Relative or Kinship Adoption

A family member can petition to adopt to preserve existing family bonds. The process is often streamlined, and some requirements may be modified when the judge finds it serves the child’s best interests. Termination of the biological parents’ rights and any inheritance issues still need to be handled carefully, so legal help is worth the money even here.

Stepparent Adoption

A stepparent can adopt their spouse’s child once the other biological parent’s rights are terminated, either by that parent’s consent or by court order. Under Michigan’s Adoption Code, involuntary termination through the adoption process itself is limited to stepparent cases.⁶ Because the stepparent typically already lives with the child, judges sometimes handle the investigation on a simpler basis, though the court can still order a full home study.

International Adoption

If you are adopting from a country that participates in the Hague Adoption Convention, you must file Form I-800A with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to establish your eligibility, then Form I-800 to classify the specific child. If you are unmarried, you must be at least 25 when you file the child-specific petition, and the child must be under 16 at the time of the I-800 filing unless a sibling exception applies. Do not adopt the child or take legal custody before USCIS approves both forms; doing so violates the Convention and can derail the immigration case.⁷

The Home Study

After you file, the court orders a formal investigation into your household. A licensed social worker or child-placing agency conducts it, covering three things: the child’s best interests, the child’s family background including information about the biological parents, and the reasons the child is being placed away from the birth family.⁵

In practice, expect in-home visits, interviews with everyone in the household, a review of your finances, personal references, medical records, and a doctor’s statement confirming you are physically and mentally able to raise a child. The written report must be filed with the court within three months of the order authorizing the investigation.⁵

An initial home study typically costs between $900 and $4,900. Updates run from $500 to $1,500. Foster parents of a year or more can ask the court to waive the full investigation and accept the existing foster family study.

Getting Consent or Terminating Parental Rights

No adoption moves forward until the biological parents’ rights are either voluntarily released or terminated by the court. This is where most delays happen.

Voluntary consent must be executed in front of a judge or referee, with a verbatim record, and the court must explain the parent’s rights and the permanence of the decision before accepting it.⁸ For an out-of-court release, a birth parent cannot sign until at least 72 hours after the child’s birth.⁹

If a biological parent cannot be located, refuses to consent, or has abandoned the child, the court can hold a hearing to terminate their rights involuntarily. In stepparent cases the judge weighs whether the child’s relationship with the absent parent justifies preserving those rights. A guardian ad litem may be appointed to represent the child throughout.

Filing the Petition

The petition is filed in the county where you live, where the child is found, or where the biological parents’ rights were terminated. If both parents’ rights were terminated in different counties, the petition goes to the county where rights were first terminated.²

Include the child’s birth certificate and documentation that the biological parents have consented or that their rights have been terminated. At least seven days before the child is formally placed with you, file a verified accounting of every payment made in connection with the adoption, including attorney fees, agency fees, and other costs. Your attorney must file a separate verified statement itemizing services and compensation. This financial disclosure requirement exists to prevent baby-selling and confirm every payment is lawful.¹⁰

Waiting Period and Finalization

Michigan does not allow same-day finalization. After formal placement, you wait at least six months before the court can enter a final adoption order. For infants under one year old at the time of filing, the wait drops to three months. In either case, the judge can waive part or all of the waiting period when doing so serves the child’s best interests.¹¹

If a biological parent appeals the termination of their rights, the adoption cannot be finalized until the appeal is resolved, whether that means denial, an appellate affirmance, or the Michigan Supreme Court declining to hear the case. That can add months or years.¹¹

At the final hearing, the judge reviews the home study, the financial accounting, and every consent or termination order. If it all checks out and the judge finds the adoption in the child’s best interests, the court enters the final order. From that point you have the same legal rights and responsibilities as if the child had been born to you.

What It Costs

Cost depends almost entirely on the pathway. Foster care adoption is the cheapest because the state covers most expenses and monthly subsidies may continue after finalization. Private agency adoptions commonly run between $5,000 and $45,000, driven by agency fees, birth-parent services, and whether interstate placement is involved.

Attorney fees for uncontested adoptions typically range from about $2,000 to $18,000, with hourly rates between $200 and $600. The home study adds another $900 to $4,900. Every dollar spent gets itemized in the verified accounting filed with the court.¹⁰

The federal adoption tax credit offsets qualified adoption expenses, including court costs, attorney fees, travel, and agency fees. For the 2026 tax year, the maximum credit is $17,670 per child, phasing out for modified adjusted gross incomes above $265,080 and disappearing above $305,080.¹² Starting with the 2025 tax year, up to $5,000 of the credit is refundable, meaning you can receive that portion even if you owe no federal income tax. The rest is nonrefundable but carries forward. For foster care adoptions of a child with special needs, you can claim the full credit even without out-of-pocket expenses. Claim the credit on IRS Form 8839.

What to Do After the Judge Signs the Order

Several housekeeping tasks kick in the moment the adoption is final.

New birth certificate. MDHHS issues a new birth certificate in the child’s adoptive name. It does not mention the adoption or the biological parents, and the original is sealed.¹³

Social Security number. Apply for a new SSN through the Social Security Administration using Form SS-5, with the new birth certificate and the adoption order as supporting documents. Processing usually takes about two weeks.¹⁴ If you needed to file a return before the adoption was final, you may have used an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number obtained with IRS Form W-7A; once you have the SSN, stop using the ATIN.¹⁵

Health insurance. Adoption triggers a special enrollment period. Marketplace plans give you 60 days from the placement date to enroll the child. Employer-sponsored plans must offer at least 30 days.¹⁶ Miss the window and you may have no coverage for the child until the next open enrollment.

Workplace leave. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act entitles eligible employees to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the placement of a child for adoption, and it must be used within 12 months of placement.¹⁷ You qualify if you have worked for the employer at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the past year, and work at a location with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. Public agencies and schools are covered regardless of size. Give 30 days’ notice when you can; when placement happens on short notice, tell your employer as soon as possible.¹⁸ The federal leave is unpaid, but your employer may allow or require you to use accrued paid time off during it, and some Michigan employers offer paid adoption leave on top.

Subsidies for special-needs adoptions. Families who adopt children with special needs through foster care may qualify for continuing subsidies, including monthly payments and the Adoption Medical Subsidy, which reimburses out-of-pocket costs for physical, mental, or emotional conditions that existed before the adoption. The medical subsidy is a payer of last resort: Medicaid, Children’s Special Health Care Services, and private insurance apply first.¹⁹

1
Michigan Adoption Resource Exchange. Adoption FAQ
2
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 710.24 – Petition for Adoption, Filing, Jurisdiction
3
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Adoption Services Policy Manual
4
Justia Law. Michigan Code Act 114 of 1984 – Interstate Compact on Placement of Children
5
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 710.46 – Investigation, Report, Waiver
6
Michigan Courts. Michigan Judicial Institute Benchbooks – Termination Pursuant to Adoption Code
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Hague Process
8
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 710.44 – Consent to Adoption
9
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 710.29 – Release, Separate Instrument
10
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 710.54 – Documents, Accounting, Filing Requirements
11
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 710.56 – Order of Adoption, Waiting Period
12
Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit
13
Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws 710.67 – Adoption Records, New Birth Certificate
14
Internal Revenue Service. Provide a Social Security Number for Adoptive Child
15
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7A – Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending US Adoptions
16
HealthCare.gov. Special Enrollment Period
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 2612 – Leave Requirement
18
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28Q – Taking Leave for Birth or Placement of a Child under the FMLA
19
Social Security Administration. POMS SI CHI00830.416 – Michigan Adoption Subsidies