How to File for Second-Parent Adoption in Texas

To file for second-parent adoption in Texas, an unmarried partner uses the ordinary adoption provisions of the Texas Family Code: establish standing to bring the suit, obtain the existing legal parent’s written consent, complete an adoption evaluation and criminal background check, file a petition in the county where the child lives, and attend a final hearing where the judge signs an Order of Adoption. Texas has no statute specifically labeled “second-parent adoption,” but the Family Code allows both adults to end up with full parental status without terminating the existing parent’s rights.¹

One threshold change matters before you do anything else. In September 2025, the standing rule tightened, and petitions filed in 2026 and after are judged against a stricter standard than older guides describe.

Step 1: Confirm You Have Standing

A Texas court will not hear your petition unless you can show you have legal standing to file it. For an unmarried partner, there are two relevant routes.

General Standing: Six Months of Exclusive Care

Section 102.003(a)(9) of the Texas Family Code grants standing to a person who has had exclusive care, control, and possession of the child for at least six months, ending no more than 90 days before filing.¹ Foster parents, relatives, and caregivers placed by the Department of Family and Protective Services are excluded from this provision and must rely on other standing categories.

The word “exclusive” is the recent change, and it matters. Before September 1, 2025, the statute required only “actual” care, control, and possession. House Bill 2350, passed during the 89th Legislative Session, raised the bar.² Under the old standard, courts looked for evidence of parental duties like making medical or educational decisions. Under the new one, you should expect to show that no one else shared primary caregiving responsibilities during the six-month window. If your caregiving began before September 2025 but you file after that date, the exclusive standard applies to your petition.

In a second-parent adoption, this is awkward because the other legal parent is still in the home. Talk to a Texas family law attorney about how to document your caregiving role in a way that fits the exclusive standard before you file.

Adoption-Specific Standing

Section 102.005 lists narrower categories of adults who may file a suit requesting adoption, including a stepparent of the child, an adult who has had possession and control of the child through a placement for adoption during the 30 days before filing, and an adult who has already adopted or is fostering a sibling of the child.³ If you have married the child’s legal parent, you qualify as a stepparent and the path is more direct. Unmarried partners generally fall back on Section 102.003.

Step 2: Get the Existing Legal Parent’s Written Consent

Where the child’s existing legal parent is your unmarried partner rather than your spouse, that parent’s written consent to the adoption must be filed with the court.⁴ The statute requires the consent to be in writing but does not specify notarization, though many attorneys recommend notarizing it as a safeguard against later disputes.

If a spouse is the existing parent, that spouse joins the petition itself and no separate consent document is filed. If a managing conservator refuses or revokes consent without good cause, the court can waive the consent requirement after a hearing, decided by the judge without a jury.⁴

If the child is 12 or older, the child’s consent is also required, either in writing or in open court, unless the judge waives it in the child’s best interests.⁴

Step 3: Complete the Adoption Evaluation

Texas requires an adoption evaluation in every adoption suit unless the court grants a waiver.⁵ A licensed evaluator conducts it under Chapter 107, visiting the home, interviewing both parents, and observing the child’s interactions with you. The written report gives the judge a professional assessment of whether the adoption serves the child’s best interests.⁶

Section 107.153(a-1) allows a waiver only in an uncontested adoption where the petitioner is a stepparent and the court has already reviewed criminal history and DFPS investigative records.⁶ Unmarried partners generally do not qualify, so plan on the evaluation.

Private adoption evaluations typically cost between $1,000 and $3,000 depending on the provider and complexity of the case.⁷ You pay the evaluator directly, and it is usually the single largest expense in the process.

Step 4: Submit Fingerprints and Criminal History

The court must order every person seeking to adopt a child to obtain their own criminal history record information through the process in Section 411.128 of the Texas Government Code, which routes the request through the Department of Public Safety.⁸

In practice, this means scheduling a fingerprint appointment at an IdentoGO location, which operates statewide on behalf of DPS. Use the domestic adoption service code 11BRXN when booking online or by phone. The total cost is $25, which breaks down into a $10 processing fee plus a $15 fee for the criminal history report itself. Bring a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID. Results more than 30 days old are not forwarded to the court, so do not schedule your appointment too far ahead of when the court will need them.⁹

Step 5: File the Petition and Supporting Records

The petition for adoption is filed with the District Clerk in the county where the child lives. It identifies the child, the petitioner, and the existing legal parent, and states the grounds for the adoption. Most petitioners work with an attorney to draft it, though the District Clerk’s office can tell you which local forms the court expects.

Filing fees vary by county because each county combines base civil filing charges with adoption-specific costs on its own schedule. Call the District Clerk’s office before filing to confirm the current amount and accepted payment methods.

In non-relative private adoptions where no agency is involved, the attorney handling the case must submit a Health, Social, Educational, and Genetic History (HSEGH) report and addendum to the Vital Statistics Unit before the adoption is finalized. The birth parents complete the addendum; the attorney completes the main form and an information cover sheet. There is no filing fee, and the court has authority to waive the requirement.¹⁰ Whether this applies in your particular second-parent case depends on the specific facts, so raise it with your attorney early.

Step 6: Attend the Final Hearing

Once documents are filed and the evaluation is complete, request a hearing date from the assigned court. Texas law gives adoption hearings preferential scheduling over other civil matters, so the wait is often shorter than for other family law proceedings.

You and the child typically both attend. The judge reviews the adoption evaluation, criminal background results, and all filed documents to confirm that the adoption is in the child’s best interests. If the judge approves it, they sign an Order of Adoption. Under Section 162.017, that order creates the parent-child relationship for all purposes.

The court then sends the order to the Vital Statistics Unit at the Texas Department of State Health Services, which issues a new birth certificate listing both parents. Processing takes several weeks after the hearing. That new birth certificate is what you will use going forward for school enrollment, insurance, passports, and anything else requiring proof of parentage.

After the Adoption Is Final

Hold on to receipts for every adoption-related cost. Families who complete an adoption may claim the federal adoption tax credit under 26 U.S.C. § 23, which offsets qualified expenses like attorney fees, court costs, and the adoption evaluation.¹¹ For the 2025 tax year, the maximum credit was $17,280 per eligible child, with phase-outs beginning at a modified adjusted gross income of $259,190.¹² Up to $5,000 of the credit is refundable, and any unused amount carries forward for up to five years.

Add the child to your health insurance promptly. Most employer-sponsored plans treat a finalized adoption as a qualifying life event, opening a special enrollment window that is typically 30 to 60 days. Contact your benefits administrator as soon as the Order of Adoption is signed. The child also becomes eligible for Social Security survivor benefits through you as an adoptive parent.¹³

1
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 102.003 – General Standing to File Suit
2
LegiScan. TX HB2350 – 89th Legislature – Enrolled
3
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 102.005 – Standing to Request Termination and Adoption
4
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 162.010 – Consent Required
5
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 162.003 – Adoption Evaluation
6
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 107.153 – Order for Adoption Evaluation
7
AdoptUSKids. Completing a Home Study
8
Texas Public Law. Texas Code FAM 162.0085 – Criminal History Report Required
9
Texas Department of Public Safety. Procedure to Access Criminal History Record Information for Persons Seeking to Adopt a Child
10
Texas Department of State Health Services. Health, Social, Education, and Genetic History Records
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 23 – Adoption Expenses
12
Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit
13
Social Security Administration. Benefits for Children