South Carolina Adoption Laws: Consent, Home Study, and Costs

South Carolina adoption laws let any state resident, single or married, petition the Family Court to adopt a child under Title 63, Chapter 9 of the state code. The filing fee is $150, and the process runs on background checks, a home study, formal consent from anyone with parental rights, a placement period in your home, and a final hearing. One rule sits above all the others: when the interests of a child and an adult conflict, the child’s interests win.

Who Can Adopt

Any South Carolina resident can file a petition to adopt. The statute sets no minimum age for adoptive parents and no required age gap between parent and child.¹ Residency is usually shown with a driver’s license, utility bills, or tax returns.

Nonresidents can adopt a South Carolina child only in specific circumstances:

The child is being adopted by a relative by blood or marriage.
The child qualifies as a special needs child under state law.
At least one adoptive parent is stationed in South Carolina through military service.
The child has been in foster care at least six months after being legally freed for adoption, and no in-state family has been identified.
Every person required to consent has specifically agreed to placement with the nonresident.
The Department of Social Services or a contracted agency placed the child with the nonresident.
A court finds that the child’s best interests would be served by the nonresident adoption.

These exceptions come from the same eligibility statute.¹

A “special needs child” under state adoption law is a child who is part of a sibling group, is six or older, or has a physical, mental, or emotional disability.² That classification also stretches one of the court’s deadlines, discussed below.

Consent From Biological Parents

Before the adoption can go forward, the people with legal ties to the child have to give up their parental rights in writing. Consent or relinquishment is required from the biological mother, and from the biological father depending on his legal status and involvement with the child. If the child is over fourteen, the child must also consent, unless the court finds the child lacks the mental capacity or that the child’s best interests are served by waiving that requirement. When an agency holds legal custody, its authorized representative signs as well.³

The consent document is a sworn statement. It must be signed after the child’s birth; it cannot be signed before.⁴

How Consent Must Be Signed

Execution rules are strict, and a mistake here can void the consent. It has to be signed in front of two witnesses. At least one of them must be a family court judge, a South Carolina-licensed attorney who does not represent the adoptive parents, or a person certified by the Department of Social Services to take consents. If the consent is executed out of state, an attorney licensed in that state or another authorized person can serve as the qualifying witness, so long as the court finds the document substantially complies with South Carolina’s rules.⁵

Both witnesses must attach a written certification stating they discussed the document with the biological parent and believe the consent is voluntary. A copy has to be handed to the parent at the time of signing.⁵

Can Consent Be Withdrawn?

South Carolina does not give biological parents an automatic grace period after signing. Withdrawal only happens by court order, and the parent has to prove two things: that withdrawal serves the child’s best interests, and that the original consent was involuntary or obtained through duress or coercion.⁶ Once the court enters the final decree, consent is permanently irrevocable.

The Home Study and Background Checks

Before a child can be placed, state law requires both a preplacement investigation and a separate background investigation.⁷ The background side includes FBI fingerprint checks, a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) check, and a Central Registry of Child Abuse and Neglect clearance for every adult in the household. Anyone twelve or older must also clear state and national sex offender registry checks.⁸ FBI fingerprint fees are paid by the applicant.

The home study itself goes further than criminal history. A certified investigator reviews financial statements, tax returns, bank records, and medical documentation, visits the home, interviews everyone in the household, and evaluates the living environment. The final report covers the background checks, finances, the home’s condition, and the investigator’s read on the petitioners’ emotional readiness and motivations. If more than a year passes between the report and placement, it has to be updated before a child can be placed.⁹

Filing the Petition and the Court Timeline

The adoption petition must be filed in Family Court within sixty days of the child being placed in your home.¹⁰ The filing fee is $150.¹¹

Before any hearing, the court appoints a guardian ad litem to represent the child. The GAL reviews the home study, interviews the parties, and makes a recommendation to the judge.¹²

The final hearing cannot happen until the child has lived in the petitioner’s home for at least ninety days. It has to be held no later than six months after the petition is filed. For special needs children, that deadline extends to twelve months, and the court can grant additional time for good cause.¹³ If the judge finds the adoption serves the child’s welfare, the court enters a final decree that legally creates the parent-child relationship. Any name change requested in the petition takes effect at the same time.

Stepparent and Relative Adoptions

Adopting a spouse’s child, or a child you’re related to by blood or marriage, follows a shorter version of the standard process. The court can waive the home study investigation, the detailed financial accounting of adoption-related expenses, the ninety-day waiting period before the final hearing, and the appointment of independent counsel for an indigent biological parent.¹⁴ These waivers are not automatic; the petitioner has to show good cause. In practice, stepparent adoptions routinely proceed without a full home study because the child already lives in the home.

Consent from the other biological parent is still required unless that parent’s rights have been terminated. That’s often the sticking point. If the noncustodial parent refuses to consent, the stepparent may have to pursue involuntary termination first.

When a Parent Won’t Consent

When a biological parent will not consent, or when the state has removed a child from an unsafe home, the Family Court can terminate parental rights involuntarily. The court has to find at least one statutory ground and separately determine that termination serves the child’s best interests.¹⁵ The statutory grounds include:

Severe or repeated abuse or neglect of the child or another child in the home, where it is not reasonably likely the home can be made safe within twelve months.
Removal of the child under a court-ordered plan, with six months for the parent to address the problems and no meaningful progress.
Willful failure to visit for six months while the child has lived outside the parent’s home, provided the parent was not blocked from visiting by the custodian or a court order.
Willful failure to make a material financial or material contribution to the child’s care for six months while the child has lived outside the parent’s home.
A diagnosable condition such as substance addiction that makes minimally acceptable care of the child unlikely, and is not expected to improve within a reasonable time.

Once rights are terminated, the biological parent has no further legal relationship with the child, and adoption can proceed.

Adoptions That Cross State Lines or Involve a Tribe

If the child is being placed across state lines, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children applies. Every state participates. South Carolina’s ICPC office is housed within the Department of Social Services, and the child cannot legally cross state lines until both the sending and receiving states have signed off.¹⁶ Moving a child without ICPC approval can undo the adoption and expose the parties to legal consequences. The placing party also stays legally and financially responsible for the child after placement.

If the child is an “Indian child” as defined by federal law, the Indian Child Welfare Act applies and overrides conflicting state procedures. ICWA covers a child who is a member of, or eligible for membership in, a federally recognized tribe and is the biological child of a tribe member. It sets a placement hierarchy: first the child’s extended family, then other members of the child’s tribe, then other Indian families. A tribe can set its own preference order by resolution, and courts must follow it.

Consent rules are stricter under ICWA. No consent signed before ten days after birth is valid. Consent must be executed in writing before a judge, who has to certify that the terms and consequences were fully explained and understood, with interpretation into the parent’s language if needed. And a parent can withdraw consent for any reason at any time before the final decree is entered, at which point the child is returned. That revocation right is much broader than South Carolina’s state-law standard.

After the Decree: Birth Certificate and Sealed Records

Once the court issues the final decree, the adoptive parents or their attorney submit the decree along with a Certificate of Adoption form, a birth certificate application, a $15 amendment fee, and the certificate fee (currently $12, plus $3 for additional copies) to the South Carolina Department of Public Health.¹⁷ The state issues a new birth certificate listing the adoptive parents and any legal name change. If the child was born in another state, the Department of Public Health forwards the Certificate of Adoption to the appropriate office in the birth state.

All court records related to the adoption are sealed once the final decree is entered. No one can access them without a court order based on good cause.¹⁸

An adopted person who wants to learn the identity of biological parents, grandparents, or siblings can apply in writing to the adoption agency after turning twenty-one. Disclosure only happens if the biological relative has filed a matching affidavit consenting to release. Both sides also have to complete counseling through the agency before any identifying information is released.¹⁸

What Adoption Costs

The court filing fee is $150.¹¹ Beyond that, the total depends heavily on the path. Foster care adoption through the Department of Social Services generally costs little beyond the filing fee, because the state covers most expenses. Private agency adoptions run far higher, with placement fees, attorney fees, and sometimes birth-parent living expenses. Home study fees through private agencies typically run $1,000 to $3,000 or more. Attorney fees vary; an uncontested stepparent adoption sits at the lower end, while a contested case involving involuntary termination runs much higher.

Federal Tax Credit and FMLA Leave

Adoptive parents may qualify for a federal adoption tax credit. For the 2025 tax year the maximum is $17,280 per eligible child, and the figure adjusts annually for inflation.¹⁹ The credit begins to phase out at higher incomes and covers qualifying expenses such as court costs, attorney fees, travel, and other costs directly related to the adoption. Employer-provided adoption assistance can be excluded from taxable income up to a separate annual cap, and you can use the credit and the exclusion together, though you cannot double-count the same expenses. The credit is nonrefundable, and unused credit carries forward for up to five years.

Federal law treats adoptive parents the same as biological parents for family leave. Under the FMLA, eligible employees can take up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the placement of a child for adoption and to bond with the child, used within twelve months of placement.²⁰ To qualify, you must have worked for a covered employer for at least twelve months, logged at least 1,250 hours in the previous twelve months, and work at a location with at least fifty employees within seventy-five miles. FMLA leave is unpaid, though some employers allow or require you to use accrued paid leave at the same time.

1
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9-60 – Persons Who May Adopt
2
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9-30 – Definitions
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9-310 – Persons Who Must Give Consent or Relinquishment
4
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9-330 – Form and Content of Consent and Relinquishment
5
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9-340 – Signing Consent and Relinquishment
6
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9 – Adoptions – Section 63-9-350
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9-520 – Investigations and Reports
8
South Carolina Department of Social Services. Adoption FAQ
9
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9 – Adoptions – Section 63-9-520
10
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9-710 – Petition for Adoption; Use of Fictitious Names
11
The South Carolina Judicial Branch. Court Fees
12
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9 – Adoptions – Section 63-9-720
13
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9 – Adoptions – Section 63-9-750
14
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9-1110 – Adoption by Stepparent or Relative
15
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-7 – Section 63-7-2570
16
South Carolina Department of Social Services. The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children
17
South Carolina Department of Public Health. Adoptions
18
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 63-9 – Adoptions – Section 63-9-780
19
Internal Revenue Service. Notable Changes to the Adoption Credit
20
U.S. Department of Labor. Taking Leave from Work for Birth, Placement, and Bonding with a Child Under the FMLA