To adopt a child in Texas, you file a petition under Chapter 162 of the Texas Family Code, complete a home study, wait for the biological parents’ rights to end, let the child live with you for at least six months, and then appear before a district judge who signs the final decree. Any adult can petition, and the route you choose, through Child Protective Services, a licensed private agency, an international program, or as a stepparent, decides most of what the process looks like for your family.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 162.001
Choose Your Path First
The path shapes the cost, the wait, and the paperwork more than anything else you’ll decide.
Child Protective Services. CPS places children of all ages who were removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. There are no agency fees, and many families qualify for a monthly subsidy after finalization.2Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Requirements for Foster/Adopt Families
Private or agency adoption. Licensed child-placing agencies handle most newborn placements. Fees vary widely between agencies, and the wait for a match can run from a few months to several years.3Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Adoption Options
International adoption. Programs work with children of all ages from other countries, though many are infants and toddlers. When the adoption is finalized abroad before you return to the United States, some post-placement requirements may differ.
Stepparent adoption. If you are adopting your spouse’s child, the process is substantially simpler. When the case is uncontested and you pass a criminal background check, the court may waive the home study entirely.4Texas Law Help. Stepparent Adoption in Texas
Who Can Adopt
Texas Family Code Section 162.001 lets any adult petition to adopt. The minimum age is 18, not 21 as some older guides suggest. Single people, married couples, and divorced people can all apply. If you are married, your spouse has to join the petition.5Texas Law Help. Adopting a Child in Texas Same-sex married couples have the same right to adopt jointly as any other couple.
Every prospective parent goes through a state and federal criminal background check. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services keeps a long list of disqualifying offenses, including violent crimes, sexual offenses, crimes against children, and trafficking.6Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Background Checks Appendix 3 – Criminal History Bars A past finding in the central child abuse and neglect registry triggers a review, but not every finding is an automatic bar; the agency weighs those case by case.7Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Foster and Adoptive Home Background Checks Resource Guide
The Home Study
The home study is the most involved part of preparing. A qualified evaluator conducts individual interviews with each prospective parent, joint interviews with the family, and at least one in-person visit with every household member present. The evaluator also talks with children age four and older who live in the home, adult children who live elsewhere, and outside references such as neighbors or community members.8Child Welfare Information Gateway. Home Study Requirements for Prospective Parents in Domestic Adoption – Texas
At the home visit, the evaluator looks for basic safety: a clean, hazard-free house, working smoke detectors, and enough space for another child. The written report pulls together the background check results, the family’s strengths and dynamics, and a recommendation to the court.
Adopting through CPS also means completing a 19-hour pre-service course called the National Training and Development Curriculum.9Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Foster Parent Training Private agencies set their own training requirements. The whole preparation phase usually takes one to six months, depending on how fast you move through the paperwork.
Ending the Biological Parents’ Rights
No adoption can go through until the legal relationship between the child and every living biological parent is terminated. Texas does this two ways.
Voluntary Relinquishment
A birth parent can sign an affidavit of voluntary relinquishment. The affidavit cannot be signed until at least 48 hours after the child’s birth, and once signed it is generally irrevocable unless fraud or duress is proven.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 161.103 Both the mother and any presumed or alleged father must relinquish before the child is legally free for adoption.
Involuntary Termination
When a parent refuses or cannot be located, the court can involuntarily terminate rights under Texas Family Code Section 161.001. The judge must find clear and convincing evidence of at least one statutory ground, such as:
- Abandonment: leaving the child alone or with someone else without adequate support for six months or more, or without any means of identification.
- Failure to support in line with the parent’s ability for a year ending within six months of the petition.
- Endangerment: knowingly placing or leaving the child in conditions that threaten physical or emotional well-being, or engaging in conduct that does the same.
- Conviction for a violent crime against a child, including murder, sexual assault, or serious bodily injury.
The court also has to make a separate finding that termination is in the child’s best interest.11State of Texas. Texas Family Code 161.001 – Involuntary Termination of Parent-Child Relationship
Placement, Petition, and Finalization
Once parental rights have ended and the home study is finished, you file a Petition for Adoption in the district court. Texas Family Code Section 162.009 requires the child to live with you for at least six months before the court can grant the adoption, though the judge may waive that period if it serves the child’s best interest.12State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 162.009
During the post-placement period a social worker visits to see how the child is adjusting. Those observations go into a post-placement report for the court.
If the child is 12 or older, the child must consent in writing or in open court, unless the judge waives that for the child’s best interest.13State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 162.010 – Consent Required A child age 10 or older must separately consent to any name change.
At the finalization hearing, the judge reviews the home study, the post-placement reports, and the social worker’s recommendation. You and your spouse (if any) attend, and so does the child if 12 or older. The judge asks straightforward questions about your commitment and your ability to provide a permanent home, then signs the final decree, which gives you all the rights and responsibilities of a biological parent.
The New Birth Certificate
After the decree is signed, the court sends a Certificate of Adoption (form VS-160) to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Vital Statistics Unit. Vital Statistics then issues a new birth certificate with your names and the child’s new legal name; the original date and place of birth stay the same.14Texas Department of State Health Services. New Birth Certificate Based on Adoption Vital Statistics can only issue adoption birth certificates for children born in Texas, even when the adoption was finalized in another state.
What It Costs
Cost tracks the path. Adopting through CPS carries no agency fees. If the child qualifies for adoption assistance, you can also seek reimbursement of up to $1,200 per child for legal fees, court costs, and related expenses after finalization, provided you sign an adoption assistance agreement before the decree.2Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Requirements for Foster/Adopt Families
Private agency adoptions typically run between roughly $5,000 and $50,000, covering placement fees, home study costs, legal representation, and birth-parent expenses where state law permits them. Home study fees alone generally fall between $900 and $3,000, and attorney fees for an uncontested proceeding commonly run $2,000 to $5,000. Refund policies vary, so read the agency contract carefully.
Monthly Adoption Assistance
Families who adopt children with special needs through CPS may receive a monthly subsidy. The maximum depends on the child’s service level at placement: up to $400 a month at the basic service level, and up to $545 a month at the moderate, specialized, or intense service level. If you accept the maximum at the outset, you cannot later request an increase or appeal the amount.15Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Adoption Assistance
Federal Adoption Tax Credit
The federal government offers a tax credit for qualified adoption expenses such as agency fees, legal costs, court costs, and travel. For the 2025 tax year, the maximum credit is $17,280 per eligible child, with a phase-out beginning at modified adjusted gross income above $259,190.16Internal Revenue Service. Notable Changes to the Adoption Credit The IRS adjusts those figures each year, so check the current limits when you file. Some employers offer separate adoption benefits that can stack with the credit.
Time Off Work
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the placement of a child for adoption. To qualify, you must have worked for your employer for at least 12 months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the previous year, and work at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within 75 miles.17U.S. Department of Labor. Taking Leave from Work for the Birth, Placement, and Bonding with a Child under the FMLA
You can start FMLA leave before placement if you need time off for court hearings, counseling sessions, meetings with attorneys or doctors, or travel to complete an international adoption.18eCFR. 29 CFR 825.121 – Leave for Adoption or Foster Care The entitlement expires 12 months after the placement date. If both spouses work for the same employer, their combined bonding leave may be capped at 12 weeks total, though each can separately take up to 12 weeks if the child has a serious health condition.
If the Child Is Native American
When the child is a member of, or eligible for membership in, a federally recognized Indian tribe, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) adds requirements that override the usual Texas timeline. The party seeking termination must send notice by registered mail to the child’s parent or custodian and to the tribe. The proceeding cannot move forward until at least 10 days after the tribe receives notice, and the tribe can request up to 20 more days to prepare.
ICWA sets a mandatory order of preference for adoptive placement. Unless the court finds good cause to deviate, the child must be placed with, in order:
- A member of the child’s extended family
- Other members of the child’s tribe
- Other Indian families
A tribe can set a different order by resolution, and the court must follow it.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 USC 1915 – Placement of Indian Children
Voluntary consent in an ICWA case is stricter than the standard Texas process. The parent must consent in writing before a judge, who must certify that the terms were fully explained in a language the parent understands. Consent given within 10 days of birth is invalid, and the parent can withdraw consent for any reason before the final decree.