How to File a Petition to Terminate Parental Rights in PA

To file a petition to terminate parental rights in PA, you take the completed petition to the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas in the county where the child lives or where the agency with custody is located. Before you draft anything, though, you need to confirm two things: that you are legally allowed to file, and that you have a statutory ground the court will recognize. Termination permanently severs every legal tie between parent and child, so Pennsylvania courts scrutinize these petitions closely and enforce the procedural rules strictly.

Confirm You Have Standing

Pennsylvania’s Adoption Act limits who can file. Believing termination would be a good idea is not enough. The categories with standing are:

The child’s other parent, biological or legal.
A child welfare agency that has custody or supervision of the child, usually a county children and youth agency.
A prospective adoptive parent who already has physical custody of the child and has filed either a Report of Intention to Adopt or an adoption petition.
The child’s legal representative, such as an attorney or guardian ad litem appointed in a dependency proceeding.

If you are a prospective adoptive parent and no agency is involved, the court cannot grant termination unless a Report of Intention to Adopt or an adoption petition is already on file.¹ That report must be filed within 30 days of the child being placed with you.

Identify the Ground for Termination

A court will not end parental rights without a specific legal basis. You have to plead and prove at least one of the grounds in 23 Pa.C.S. § 2511. The ones petitioners rely on most often are:

Abandonment of parental duties. The parent has shown a settled intent to give up their parental claim, or has refused to perform parental duties, for at least six consecutive months.
Repeated incapacity or neglect. The parent’s ongoing inability or refusal to provide essential care has left the child without proper parental support, and the parent cannot or will not fix it.
Continued placement conditions. The child was removed and placed with an agency, the conditions that caused removal still exist after a reasonable period, and there is no realistic prospect of change.
A presumptive father who is not the biological father.
Serious criminal convictions, including homicide, aggravated assault, or sexual offenses against a child.
Conception through rape or incest.

Incarceration by itself is not a ground. A long sentence can support a petition when combined with other factors, especially if the parent has made no effort to contact the child, arrange visitation, or contribute financially. Minor offenses like a DUI or drug possession generally do not qualify on their own. Violent crimes and offenses against a child weigh much more heavily.

One federal timeline is worth knowing. When a child has been in foster care for 15 of the most recent 22 months, the Adoption and Safe Families Act generally requires the state to file a termination petition. The narrow exceptions are placement with a relative, compelling reasons that termination would not serve the child’s best interests, or agency failure to provide required reunification services.

Draft the Petition

The petition is a formal court document, and missing content is a common reason petitions are rejected or delayed. For involuntary termination, include:

Full names and last known addresses of the petitioner, the child, and the parent whose rights are being terminated.
The child’s date and place of birth.
A detailed statement of facts matching one of the statutory grounds, with specific behaviors, circumstances, and timeframes. Vague allegations will not survive the hearing.
Information about any related custody, dependency, or protection-from-abuse cases.

Official petition forms are available from the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas in the county where you plan to file. Using the court’s own forms is the safest way to make sure nothing required is left out.

File the Petition, Pay the Fee, and Serve Notice

The completed petition goes to the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court in the appropriate county. Filing fees vary by county but can run roughly $155 or more per petition, covering the initial filing plus surcharges for judicial computer and automation funds.² Check the current amount with the county clerk before you go.

Once filed, the court schedules a hearing no sooner than ten days later.³ You then have to formally notify the parent whose rights are at stake. Notice must be provided at least ten days before the hearing, and can be delivered by:⁴

Personal service, meaning someone physically hands the papers to the parent.
Registered or certified mail with restricted delivery and return receipt requested, sent to the parent’s home, known location, or workplace.
First-class mail to the same addresses, in voluntary relinquishment proceedings.

The notice itself must contain specific language warning the parent that if they fail to appear, the hearing will proceed without them and their rights may be terminated. It must also inform them of their right to an attorney and provide contact information for legal aid.³

Who Gets a Lawyer

In any contested involuntary termination case, the court is required to appoint an attorney to represent the child.⁵ The child’s attorney advocates for the child’s interests, independent of either parent’s position. A parent who cannot afford counsel, or for whom paying would cause substantial financial hardship, may petition the court for appointed counsel by demonstrating their financial situation. The same attorney or firm cannot represent both the child and the adoptive parents. If the court orders the adoptive parents to cover part of the cost of appointed counsel, the fee is capped at $150.

The Hearing and the Burden of Proof

At the hearing, you present evidence and testimony to prove the ground you pleaded. The standard is clear and convincing evidence, which is substantially higher than the “more likely than not” standard in ordinary civil cases. Your proof has to be strong enough to produce a firm belief in the judge’s mind that termination is warranted. Stale evidence and vague allegations will not carry that weight.³

The hearing may be held privately. The parent has the right to attend, present evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and be represented by counsel.

Proving a statutory ground is only half the job. The court then separately evaluates whether termination serves the child’s developmental, physical, and emotional needs and welfare. The judge looks at the bond between the child and each parent, whether the child has formed a stable attachment to a foster family or prospective adoptive parent, and the likely effect of severing the parental relationship. A petition can meet the grounds and still be denied if the judge concludes termination would do more harm than good.

Voluntary Relinquishment

If the parent is willing to surrender their rights, the filing path is different. Voluntary relinquishment is common in stepparent adoptions and in agency placements. For relinquishment to an agency, the petition must include identifying information for the parent and child, the date the child was placed with the agency, the reasons for relinquishment, the parent’s marital status at the time of birth and during the prior year, and confirmation that the parent has been informed about counseling services, alternatives to termination, and the opportunity to enter a post-adoption contact agreement.⁶

A mother generally cannot sign a consent to relinquishment until at least 72 hours after the child’s birth. A father may sign at any time. Even when both parents agree, a court hearing is still required, and it cannot be scheduled sooner than ten days after filing.⁷ The judge questions the relinquishing parent to confirm the decision is knowing, voluntary, uncoerced, and made with full understanding of its permanence.

If the Child Is an Indian Child

If the child is a member of, or eligible for membership in, a federally recognized tribe, the Indian Child Welfare Act imposes additional requirements that override Pennsylvania’s standard procedures. The evidence standard rises from clear and convincing to beyond a reasonable doubt, and the petitioner must present testimony from qualified expert witnesses establishing that leaving the child with the parent would likely cause serious emotional or physical harm.⁸ The petitioner must also prove that active efforts were made to provide services designed to keep the family together, and that those efforts failed. An indigent parent in an ICWA case has a guaranteed right to court-appointed counsel. For voluntary relinquishments, consent given within ten days of the child’s birth is automatically invalid, and a parent may withdraw voluntary consent at any time before the court enters a final decree.

After the Decree

Once the court enters a termination decree, the parent permanently loses the right to object to or receive notice of any adoption proceeding involving the child. Custody transfers to the agency, the prospective adoptive parent, or the petitioner named in the decree.⁹ Termination does not automatically produce an adoption. It clears the legal path for one, but adoption is a separate proceeding that must be filed and approved.

Appeals go to the Pennsylvania Superior Court under the Children’s Fast Track designation, which imposes accelerated deadlines.¹⁰ A concise statement of the specific errors alleged must be filed at the same time as the notice of appeal. Anyone considering an appeal should consult an attorney immediately after the decree is entered, because the window to act is short.

1
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Rule 15.6 – Filing of Termination Petitions When an Agency Is Not Involved
2
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Bulletin – Clerk of Orphans Court Fee Schedule
3
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 23 Pa.C.S.A. Domestic Relations 2513
4
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Rule 15.4 – Notice of Hearing to Terminate Parental Rights
5
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 23 Domestic Relations – 2313 Representation
6
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Code Rule 15.7 – Voluntary Relinquishment to Agency
7
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 23 Pa.C.S.A. Domestic Relations 2503
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 25 U.S. Code 1912 – Pending Court Proceedings
9
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 23 Chapter 25 Section 2521 – Effect of Decree of Termination
10
Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. Chapter 18 – Appeals