How to Adopt a Child in Oregon: Process, Costs, and Consent

To adopt a child in Oregon, you must meet the state’s eligibility and residency rules, complete a home study, obtain the required consents, file a Petition for Adoption in circuit court, and attend a finalization hearing where a judge signs a General Judgment of Adoption. The full process runs through circuit court and, by statute, the finalization hearing must happen within six months of the petition being filed.¹

Who Can Adopt

Oregon takes a broad approach to who may petition. Under ORS 109.276, any person can petition a circuit court for permission to adopt another person, and the statute does not limit adoption to married couples.² Single adults, married spouses, and registered domestic partners can all file. If you’re adopting through the Department of Human Services foster care system, you also need to be at least 21 and have income to support yourself.³

At least one petitioner, the child, or a person consenting to the adoption must have lived in Oregon continuously for six months before the petition is filed. Temporary absences totaling up to 30 days within that window do not break residency. For minor-child adoptions, venue lies in the Oregon county the child has the strongest connection to, or where the licensed agency is located.⁴

Every applicant and every other adult in the household must pass a criminal records check, including fingerprint-based FBI records and a search of Oregon’s Law Enforcement Data System, plus a child abuse and neglect registry check.⁵ Serious felony convictions involving violence, domestic abuse, or crimes against children can disqualify an applicant.

Pick the Right Adoption Pathway

The rest of your process depends heavily on which pathway fits your situation. Timeline, cost, and paperwork all shift.

Foster Care Adoption Through DHS

DHS places children who can’t safely return to their biological families, and it prioritizes relatives or adults who already have a relationship with the child. Costs are generally covered by the state.

When a child has been permanently committed to DHS or a parent has signed a voluntary surrender, a streamlined “fast track” process applies. You don’t file a separate adoption petition. DHS instead files a placement report with the juvenile court requesting a judgment of adoption.⁶ A checklist is completed for each child.⁷

Private and Agency Adoption

Private adoptions happen outside foster care and are usually arranged through a licensed adoption agency or an adoption attorney. Agency adoptions come with more structured support; independent (attorney-facilitated) adoptions allow more direct contact between birth and adoptive families. Both cost considerably more than DHS placements.

Stepparent Adoption

A stepparent can adopt their spouse’s or domestic partner’s child and gain the same rights as a biological parent. The noncustodial biological parent must consent in writing unless the court excuses that requirement. The most common ground for waiving consent is willful abandonment, or a failure to provide care and financial support, for one year before the petition is filed.⁸ A court can also waive consent when a parent has been adjudged to have a mental illness or intellectual disability that continues at the time of the proceedings, or when a parent is serving a prison sentence of at least three years and has already served three of those years. The court weighs the child’s best interests before proceeding.

If the child is 14 or older, the child must consent as well. That consent is in addition to any other required consent, not a replacement for it.⁹

Interstate and International Adoption

Bringing a child from another state triggers the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), which requires approval from both the sending and receiving states before the child can cross state lines. Certain close-family placements are exempt.

Families who adopt internationally may need to re-adopt in Oregon circuit court so the state fully recognizes the foreign adoption. This matters especially for children who enter the country on an IR-4 or IH-4 immigrant visa, where the adoption wasn’t completed abroad. In those cases, U.S. citizenship generally is not automatic until the adoption is finalized domestically.¹⁰

Birth Parent Consent

Oregon requires written consent from the child’s parents (or the surviving parent). If there is no living parent, the guardian consents. If there is no guardian, the court appoints someone to act for the child.¹¹

A birth parent can make their consent irrevocable by signing a certificate of irrevocability and waiver, but that certificate has real teeth only once every one of the following has happened: the child is physically placed with the adoptive family, the adoption petition is filed, the court has appointed a guardian, an approving home study is on file, the birth parent has provided the child’s social and medical history, and an attorney who does not represent the adoptive family has explained the consequences of signing. Once all conditions are met, consent can be overturned only by proving fraud or duress.¹¹

Oregon doesn’t run this on a simple waiting-period clock. It ties irrevocability to concrete legal milestones, which means adoptive families should track every one of them with their attorney.

When the Indian Child Welfare Act Applies

If the child is a member of, or eligible for membership in, a federally recognized tribe and has a biological parent who is a tribal member, the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) applies. Your adoption petition must include a sworn declaration detailing your efforts to determine whether the child is an Indian child, along with a statement about whether you have reason to believe ICWA applies.

ICWA sets a placement preference: first, extended family members; second, other members of the child’s tribe; third, other Native American families. A tribe can set its own order, and the tribe’s order takes priority.

For children in DHS custody, the department must offer to coordinate mediation between the tribe and the proposed adoptive placement. If the tribe requests it, the adoptive family must agree to maintain the child’s connection with the tribe, and DHS writes those terms into its placement report.⁶

The Home Study

A home study is required for virtually every adoption of a minor child in Oregon, whether the placement goes through DHS or a licensed private agency. It has two jobs: preparing you for what adoption looks like, and confirming you can offer a safe, stable home.

Expect interviews with everyone in the household (including children already living there), in-home visits to check the safety of the residence, a review of finances and health, and personal reference checks. You’ll provide financial records, birth certificates, marriage or domestic partnership certificates, and proof of insurance. The safety inspection looks at practical items like gated stairs, secured cabinets, and how cleaning products are stored.

An approved home study is valid for two years from completion, provided nothing significant changes in the household.¹² If it expires before finalization, or if you move, add or lose a household member, or hit a major change in circumstances, you’ll need an update. DHS home studies are typically free; private studies can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

Filing the Petition

Once the home study is approved and a child is identified, file a Petition for Adoption in the local circuit court. File a separate petition for each child, except in fast-track DHS cases under ORS 419B.529.²

The petition must include your full name, state and length of residency, and marital or domestic partnership status; the child’s full name, gender, and date and place of birth; a statement of your ability to raise the child and provide suitable care and education; the names of anyone who has consented, anyone whose consent has been waived, and the basis for waiver; and the sworn ICWA inquiry described above. These requirements come from ORS 109.285.¹³ After filing, you must serve copies of the petition and supporting documents on the Department of Human Services within 30 days.

The Finalization Hearing

The finalization hearing is where the adoption becomes legally permanent. Under ORS 109.272, the court must hold it no later than six months after the petition is filed.¹ That’s a ceiling, not a minimum. The court can schedule the hearing sooner once post-placement requirements are met.

The judge reviews the whole case: valid consent (or lawful waiver), an approved home study, ICWA compliance if applicable, and evidence the placement serves the child’s best interests. The judge may ask about your motivation and your ability to provide a safe home. If everything is in order, the judge signs a General Judgment of Adoption, and you have full parental rights.

What to Handle After Finalization

After the judgment is signed, the court clerk sends a report to the state registrar. You can then request an amended birth certificate listing you as the child’s parents. If the child’s name changed as part of the adoption, the new certificate reflects the updated name.

To update the child’s Social Security record, visit a Social Security office with the final adoption decree. If the name changed, bring the court order approving the name change. Social Security requires originals or copies certified by the issuing agency; photocopies and notarized copies aren’t accepted.¹⁴

What It Costs and What Help Is Available

Cost depends on the pathway. DHS adoptions are typically free or close to it. Private agency and independent adoptions can run much higher once you add agency fees, attorney representation, home study costs, and court filing fees. Legal representation alone for an uncontested adoption commonly runs from around $1,000 on the low end to well over $10,000 for complex private placements.

Oregon Adoption Assistance

Families adopting children with special needs through DHS may qualify for the state’s Adoption Assistance Program, which provides monthly financial support and can cover medical care and related services. To be eligible, all of the following must be true:

A court determined the child cannot or should not return to the birth parents.
The child has a condition that makes adoption more challenging, such as a documented medical, physical, or emotional disability; being part of a sibling group that needs to stay together; being a member of an ethnic or racial minority; or being older than eight.
The state made a reasonable attempt to place the child without assistance and could not.

The monthly payment cannot exceed what the child would receive in foster care. There are no automatic cost-of-living increases, but families can request renegotiation if the child’s needs or family circumstances change. The assistance agreement must be negotiated and finalized before the adoption is legally completed.¹⁵

Federal Adoption Tax Credit

The federal adoption tax credit offsets qualifying expenses including agency fees, attorney costs, court costs, and travel expenses like meals and lodging. For the 2025 tax year, the maximum credit is $17,280 per eligible child, adjusted annually for inflation.¹⁶ Expenses for adopting a spouse’s child, surrogacy arrangements, or costs already reimbursed by an employer or government program do not qualify.

The credit phases out at higher incomes. For 2025, phase-out begins at a modified adjusted gross income of $259,191 and the credit disappears entirely above $299,190. A portion is refundable, so families can benefit even if they owe no federal income tax, and any unused non-refundable portion can be carried forward for up to five additional tax years.¹⁶

Time Off Work

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for bonding with a newly adopted child. You qualify if you’ve worked for your employer for at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the past year, and work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within 75 miles. Public agencies and schools are covered regardless of employee count. FMLA leave can also be used before the placement is final for activities like court appearances, counseling sessions, attorney consultations, and travel needed to complete the adoption. The entitlement expires 12 months after the placement date.¹⁷

Oregon Paid Leave provides up to 12 weeks of paid family leave for bonding with a child placed through adoption or foster care, and it also covers pre-adoption activities like home studies and court appearances. It’s funded through payroll contributions and covers most workers in the state, including many who don’t qualify for federal FMLA because of employer size. The two programs can run concurrently, so you may draw Oregon Paid Leave benefits during the same period that FMLA protects your job.¹⁸

1
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 109.272 – Court Required to Act Within Six Months of Filing of Petition for Adoption
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Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 109.276 – Petition for Adoption, Residency and Jurisdictional Requirements, Venue, Home Study
3
AdoptUSKids. Oregon Foster Care and Adoption
4
Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 109.276 – Petition for Adoption, Residency and Jurisdictional Requirements
5
Oregon Public Law. OAR 413-120-0440 – Circumstances in Which a Criminal Records Check Must Occur and Types of Records Checks Required
6
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 419B.529 – Adoption After Permanent Commitment or Surrender
7
Oregon Judicial Department. Fast Track Adoption Checklist
8
Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 109.324 – Consent When Parent Has Deserted or Neglected Child
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Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 109.328 – Consent of Child 14 Years of Age or Older
10
USCIS. Your New Childs Immigrant Visa
11
Justia. Oregon Code 109.312 – Consent in Writing to Adoption
12
Legal Information Institute. OAR 413-140-0035 – Adoption Home Study
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Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 109.285 – Petition for Adoption, Required Contents
14
Social Security Administration. Learn What Documents You Will Need to Get a Social Security Card
15
Oregon Department of Human Services. Help With Fees and Expenses for Adoption or Guardianship
16
Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit
17
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 28Q – Taking Leave From Work for the Birth, Placement, and Bonding With a Child Under the FMLA
18
Paid Leave Oregon. Employees and Paid Leave Oregon