Florida Adoption

Adoption in Florida creates a legal parent-child relationship where one did not previously exist. The adoptive parent gains full parental rights and responsibilities, and the adoption is permanent once the one-year window to challenge it closes. Chapter 63 of the Florida Statutes governs the process for all adoption types.

The type of adoption controls what consent is required, whether a home study is needed, what it costs, and how long it takes. Which type applies depends on the relationship between the adoptive parent and the person being adopted.

Types of Adoption

Stepparent Adoption. A married stepparent adopts their spouse’s child. The absent biological parent’s rights are terminated through the adoption. No home study is required. Stepparent adoptions typically cost $3,500 to $4,500 and take two to three months.

Adult Adoption. Any adult can adopt another adult who is 18 or older, other than their own spouse. No home study, no biological parent consent, and no residency requirement. Adult adoptions are common in stepparent-stepchild relationships that were never formalized when the stepchild was a minor. Cost is typically $3,500 to $4,500, and the process takes two to three months.

Kinship Adoption. A grandparent, aunt, uncle, or adult sibling adopts a relative’s child. Relatives by blood within the third degree of consanguinity are exempt from the home study requirement. Kinship adoptions typically cost $3,500 to $4,500 and take two to three months.

Second Parent Adoption. One member of an unmarried couple adopts the other’s child without terminating the existing parent’s rights. Chapter 63 has no category for two unmarried adults petitioning together, and whether a judge will grant the adoption depends on where in Florida the couple files. A home study is required, and a separate case terminating parental rights must be completed before the adoption petition is filed. Cost is typically $5,000 to $8,000, and the process takes three to six months.

Recognition of Foreign Adoption. Families who adopted a child in another country can have the adoption recognized by a Florida court. After the judgment, the Florida Department of Health issues a Certificate of Foreign Birth on request, which functions like a Florida birth certificate. The process typically takes one to two months.

Who Can Adopt in Florida?

Any adult can adopt in Florida. Florida’s adoption statute lists three categories of adopter: a married couple adopting jointly, a single unmarried adult, or a married person adopting alone. A married person can adopt alone only when the spouse is the child’s parent and consents, or when a court excuses the spouse from joining.

Florida law sets no upper age limit, and the adoptive parent needs only to be an adult, 18 or older. That threshold is the same whether the person being adopted is a minor or an adult. Adoption agencies and foster-care programs often require an adoptive parent to be at least 21, but that is an agency rule rather than a requirement of Chapter 63.

Same-sex couples have the same adoption rights as any other couple in Florida. A 2010 court ruling struck down the state’s former ban on gay adoption.

If the child being adopted is 12 years old or older, the child’s consent is required unless the court waives it in the child’s best interest.

How the Adoption Process Works

A Florida adoption is granted by a circuit court. An adoption completed abroad is already recognized in Florida, and the recognition proceeding confirms and documents it. Stepparent, kinship, second parent, and adult adoptions run through the same four steps:

1. Consent or termination of parental rights. The biological parent either consents to the adoption or has their parental rights terminated by the court. Adult adoptions require the adult adoptee’s written consent, plus spousal consents when either party is married; the biological parents receive notice but cannot block the adoption.
2. Home study (when required). Second parent adoptions and private adoptions require a home study by a licensed child-placing agency or a licensed clinical social worker. Stepparent, kinship, and adult adoptions are exempt, though a judge can order a home study in any case for good cause.
3. Petition and court filing. The adoptive parent files a petition for adoption with the circuit court. The petition includes documentation supporting the adoption and any required consents.
4. Finalization hearing. A judge reviews the case and issues a final judgment of adoption if everything is in order. At that point the adoptive parent becomes the child’s legal parent. A birth parent has one year after the termination judgment to ask a court to undo the adoption. After that year, Florida bars any challenge on any ground.

The timeline varies by adoption type. Stepparent, kinship, and adult adoptions typically take two to three months. Second parent adoptions take three to six months, because they require a home study and a separate case terminating parental rights.

Can a Birth Parent Undo a Florida Adoption?

A birth parent can undo a Florida adoption only by proving that the adoption substantially failed to meet Florida’s adoption requirements, and only within one year after the court terminated parental rights. Chapter 63 sets that standard, and it turns on how the adoption was carried out, so a parent who simply regrets consenting has no ground under it. The motion goes back to the judge who entered the judgment. One year is the outer limit, and the statute also requires the motion to be filed within a reasonable time.

The year starts when the court terminates parental rights, not when it grants the adoption. Where the termination is decided in its own case, the adoption cannot be finalized until the appeal period on that judgment has passed with no appeal pending, so part of the year is already gone when the adoption becomes final. A stepparent adoption has no separate termination case, because the same final judgment ends the other parent’s rights and grants the adoption.

An unmarried biological father may have no standing to file the motion at all. Florida denies him standing to seek relief from the termination judgment if the mother never identified him, before she signed her consent, to the adoption entity handling the case. That entity is the state department, a licensed child-placing agency, or the attorney placing the child. The same rule applies when he was not located because the mother failed or refused to supply enough information to find him.