Adopting a child: You have to meet these requirements

According to the Federal Statistical Office, 3,744 children were adopted in 2019. In previous years, there were a similar number of adoption procedures. In order for all these procedures to always have the well-being of the child in mind, you as potential adoptive parents must meet many different conditions. The Youth Welfare Office will check whether you have certain partnership, financial, health and professional requirements to be able to adopt a child. On the whole, adopting a child is a far-reaching decision.

Conditions for adoption

We have put together a checklist with the different requirements for adoptive parents for you.

• Your age: In order to adopt a child, either your partner or yourself should be at least 25 years old. The other spouse must be at least 21 years old. An upper age limit is not fixed. However, the age gap between you and the child should not exceed 35 to 40 years.
• Stable partnership: You can only adopt together if you are a married couple. Your partnership should have existed for at least four years and, of course, be intact. An adoption serves to give a child a secure, stable home in an intact family. So you should think carefully beforehand whether your partnership is permanent and will withstand the future burdens.
• Childlessness: Your examination of the (so far) unfulfilled desire to have children should now be completed and positively processed. All medicalfertility treatmentsshould be completed and under no circumstances continue alongside the application for adoption!
• Financial situation: You should be financially secure so that you can adequately support the child in its development.
• Employment: Your professional situation must give you enough time to take care of the child. Your adopted child should have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with you and be brought up mostly at home. By the way, the regulations on parentalleaveandparental allowancealso apply to adoptive parents.
• Consent of the biological parents: In principle, both biological parents, if they are still alive, must agree to an adoption. With the consent of the parents, the guardianship of the child is then transferred to the responsible youth welfare office, which also takes care of the adoption. The child must also give consent to the adoption. If it is not yet 14 years old, the Youth Welfare Office as guardian gives consent, if it should be 14 years or older, it gives its own consent.
• Single applicants: If you area single parent, there is also the possibility of adoption. For example, you can take in a relative’s child or adopt your partner’s child. However, the prerequisite is that a parent-child relationship already exists or will develop between you and the child.
• Bless you: You need a health certificate from the health department to prove that you are physically able to care for and educate the child.
• Criminal record: When applying for adoption, you must present a certificate of good conduct, which may not receive any entries.
• Religion: The religious affiliation of the child or the wish of his biological parents, should they still be alive, is taken into account in the award.

Advice and support during and after adoption

According to aruling by the Federal Constitutional Court of 6 November 2019, all those involved in adoption proceedings will in future have a legal right to support even after adoption. This is intended to ensure comprehensive advice and support throughout the entire process.

Here you will find all the most importantcontact points that mediate adoptions in Germany.