Private adoption in Georgia runs on one of two legal tracks: placement through a licensed child-placing agency, or an independent placement where the birth parents choose you directly and an attorney handles the paperwork. Either route sidesteps the state foster system and moves through Georgia’s adoption code at Title 19, Chapter 8, with a home study, a sworn surrender of parental rights, a four-day window for the birth parent to change their mind, a court investigation, and a final decree from a Superior Court judge. Expect the process to take several months and cost anywhere from about $15,000 for a lean independent adoption to $40,000 or more through a full-service agency.
Agency Placement or Independent Placement
The two tracks are governed by separate statutes and the differences matter for your paperwork and timeline.
Agency adoptions fall under O.C.G.A. § 19-8-5. The birth parents surrender their rights to a licensed child-placing agency, which then matches the child with you. A completed home study recommending the placement must exist before the child moves into your home, though a court can waive that timing if the child is already living there under a guardianship or custody order.1Justia Law. Georgia Code Title 19 Domestic Relations 19-8-5 You then have 60 days to file the adoption petition. Miss that deadline without an extension and the surrender shifts according to the birth parent’s pre-selected fallback: back to the parent, to a designated agency, or to DFCS.
Independent adoptions fall under O.C.G.A. § 19-8-4. The birth parents still surrender their rights to the Department of Human Services, a Georgia-licensed agency, or an out-of-state licensed agency, but there’s no agency matchmaking. You and the birth parents found each other on your own, and an attorney coordinates the placement.2Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-4 – Adoption Through the Department or Agency This is the common route when a birth mother already knows the family she wants to raise her child.
Who Can Adopt
Under O.C.G.A. § 19-8-3, you need to meet four requirements to petition:
- Be at least 21 years old, or married and living with your spouse (no minimum age if married).
- Be at least 10 years older than the child. This age gap doesn’t apply to stepparent or relative adoptions.
- Be a bona fide Georgia resident when you file. There is no waiting period; residency on the filing date is enough. Out-of-state residents can petition only if the child was born in Georgia or lives here and the placement complies with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.
- Be financially, physically, and mentally capable of taking permanent custody.
If you’re married, both spouses have to be named on the petition. The exception is a stepparent adoption, where only the stepparent files.3Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-3 – Who May Adopt a Child
The Home Study
No child can be placed with you in a third-party adoption under § 19-8-5 until a home study recommends it.1Justia Law. Georgia Code Title 19 Domestic Relations 19-8-5 An evaluator, licensed agency, or DFCS looks at the physical safety of your home, your finances, your medical and mental health history, and the backgrounds of everyone in the household. You’ll also submit fingerprints to the Georgia Crime Information Center, which runs them through state records and the FBI database.4Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-16 – Investigation by Court-Appointed Agent A private home study typically runs $900 to $4,000.
There’s a second reason to get the home study done early. If you plan to advertise or search for a birth parent match, Georgia’s advertising statute requires an approved home study in hand before you can legally do so.
Surrender of Parental Rights and the Four-Day Window
Nothing moves forward until each living parent or guardian voluntarily surrenders their rights. Georgia prescribes the surrender forms in O.C.G.A. § 19-8-26, and the formalities are strict enough that cutting corners can void the document outright.
The surrender must be signed under oath, in front of both a notary public and an adult witness. It generally cannot be executed before the child is born. The form has to certify that the parent is signing voluntarily, without duress, and understands the decision becomes permanent once the revocation window closes. The parent also waives the right to notice of future adoption proceedings and agrees to cooperate with a court investigator. A copy of the signed surrender goes to the parent at signing.5Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-26 – Forms
Then comes the four-day revocation window, which is the most nerve-racking stretch of any private adoption. Under O.C.G.A. § 19-8-9, the four days begin the day after signing and run in consecutive calendar days. If day four falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline rolls to the next business day. The revocation has to be in writing and delivered to the address printed on the surrender. In person, it must arrive by 5:00 p.m. on the fourth day; by registered mail or statutory overnight delivery, it must be submitted to the carrier by midnight.6Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-9 – Revocation of Surrender of Rights
Once the window closes with no revocation, the surrender is final and generally cannot be undone. The surrender document itself has to spell out these revocation instructions. If it doesn’t, the surrender isn’t valid.
Biological Fathers and the Putative Father Registry
Georgia keeps a putative father registry through the Department of Human Services under O.C.G.A. § 19-11-9. A man who thinks he may be the biological father of a child, but isn’t married to the mother and isn’t on the birth certificate, can register to preserve his right to be notified of any adoption proceeding.7Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-11-9 – Putative Father Registry
Registering doesn’t by itself give a father power to block an adoption; it preserves his right to notice, nothing more. Agencies, attorneys, and DFCS can search the registry for $10 per certification, and the department has to respond within two business days. Your attorney or agency should run that search before finalization. A biological father who was never notified is one of the most common sources of a later challenge.
What You Can Pay the Birth Mother
Georgia prohibits “inducements” offered to birth parents to part with a child, but the statute lets licensed agencies or Georgia Bar attorneys pay or reimburse specific categories of expenses:
- Medical expenses tied to the pregnancy, delivery, and the baby’s care.
- Counseling and legal fees for the birth parent that relate to the placement.
- Living expenses for the birth mother such as rent, utilities, food, and maternity clothing, paid through an agency or from an attorney’s trust account.
Paying anything outside those categories, or routing payments through anyone other than a licensed agency or a Georgia Bar attorney, risks a felony charge. Birth parents who falsely claim pregnancy or collect expenses from multiple agencies for the same child are also exposed to criminal liability.8FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 19 Domestic Relations 19-8-24
The same statute, O.C.G.A. § 19-8-24, limits who may run adoption-related ads in print, online, on social media, or anywhere else: licensed child-placing agencies, prospective adoptive parents with an approved home study, and Georgia Bar attorneys representing such parents. The ad has to carry the agency’s license number, the attorney’s Bar number, or a statement that the individual has an approved home study. A violation is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Private conversations are exempt: a birth parent can tell people privately that she wants to place her child, and you can privately say you want to adopt, without triggering the statute.
Filing the Petition and the Court Investigation
The adoption petition is filed in the Superior Court of your county of residence. If both spouses are petitioning, either spouse’s county works.9Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-13 – Petition Filing and Contents The petition is verified under oath and lays out your identifying information, the name the child will carry after the adoption, any property the child owns, and enough information to locate and notify the birth parents.
In a third-party adoption under § 19-8-5, the petition also has to include a detailed financial disclosure accounting for every payment made or promised in connection with the adoption, including medical costs, placement fees, and services received by either side. Your attorney files a separate affidavit itemizing every dollar received or promised for adoption-related services.10Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-13 – Petition Filing and Contents Financial Disclosures Keep careful records of everything you pay from day one, because the court will see the full ledger.
Once the petition is on file, the court appoints an agent to investigate it. The investigator (often DFCS, a licensed agency, or an individual the court names) verifies your household’s suitability and your capacity to raise the child. This is a separate step from your pre-placement home study, and both are required in agency adoptions. The investigation cost is capped at $250 by statute, though the court can authorize more with your written agreement.4Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-16 – Investigation by Court-Appointed Agent
Final Decree and New Birth Certificate
After the investigator files a report, the judge sets a final hearing. You, and often the child, appear in court. If the judge grants the petition, the Final Decree of Adoption ends every legal relationship between the child and the birth family (except for a spouse of the petitioner and that spouse’s relatives) and creates a new parent-child relationship as if the child had been born to you.11Justia Law. Georgia Code 19-8-19 – Effect of Decree of Adoption
A report of adoption then goes to the state registrar on a prescribed form so the state can issue a new birth certificate. The court cannot enter the final decree until it has the information needed for that new certificate.12FindLaw. Georgia Code Title 31 Health 31-10-13 – Certificates of Adoption
If the Child Is Born in Another State
When the child is born outside Georgia or you live out of state, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children applies. Georgia’s DFCS ICPC Unit handles requests involving a Georgia-born child placed in another state, and vice versa.13Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. Georgia DFCS Child Welfare Policy Manual – 11.21 Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children The rule is inflexible: the child cannot leave the sending state until both the sending and receiving ICPC administrators approve the placement. In practice, that means staying in the birth state for one to two weeks after taking custody. Only one parent has to remain with the child during the wait.
ICPC doesn’t apply to placements with stepparents, grandparents, adult siblings, aunts, uncles, or guardians when the child is placed directly by the parent. If that describes your situation, you skip the ICPC process.
If the Child Is an Indian Child Under ICWA
If the child meets the federal Indian Child Welfare Act’s definition of an “Indian child” (25 U.S.C. § 1901 et seq.), ICWA overrides Georgia’s standard consent rules. The voluntary surrender has to be signed in writing before a judge, who certifies that the parent fully understood the terms, in English or through an interpreter. No consent given before the child is 10 days old counts.
The biggest practical difference is the revocation timeline. Instead of Georgia’s four-day window, the parent can withdraw consent for any reason at any time before the final adoption decree is entered. The adoption remains legally vulnerable for months longer than a standard placement, so if there’s any chance ICWA applies, get the child’s tribal status determined early.
What It Costs
Private adoption in Georgia is expensive, and totals depend heavily on which track you choose.
- Home study and background checks: $900 to $4,000.
- Attorney and court costs for an independent adoption: generally $5,000 to $15,000, plus filing fees and the $250 investigation cost (higher if the court authorizes it).
- Allowable birth mother expenses: typically $6,000 to $8,000 for medical costs, counseling, and living expenses.
- Travel and post-placement costs when applicable: another $2,000 to $3,000.
- Full-service agency fees: roughly $12,000 to $40,000 or more, often bundling several of the categories above.
These ranges swing with the complexity of the case, whether the birth mother has insurance, and whether the placement crosses state lines.
Federal Adoption Tax Credit
The federal adoption tax credit can offset a meaningful share of your out-of-pocket costs. For the 2025 tax year, the credit covers up to $17,280 per eligible child in qualified adoption expenses, including legal fees, court costs, travel, and other costs tied to the adoption.14Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit The 2026 amount hadn’t been published at the time of writing but is adjusted annually for inflation.
The credit begins phasing out at a modified adjusted gross income above $259,190 and disappears entirely above $299,190 (2025 figures). It is nonrefundable, so it can reduce your tax bill to zero but won’t generate a refund on its own. Any unused portion carries forward for up to five years. Expenses paid before the home study can still qualify, including early application and home study fees, so start tracking costs from the beginning.15Internal Revenue Service. Understanding the Adoption Tax Credit