How Old Do You Have To Be To Adopt?

How old you must be to adopt a child depends on which state you live in. In the U.S., there’s no national minimum  age requirement for domestic adoptions, so each state chooses a minimum age level for adoption on their own. Most states require a person to be somewhere between 18 and 25 years old to adopt.

While age is a factor considered in adoption, a person must meet other requirements beyond a minimum age to adopt a child. Read on to learn how to find the adoption age requirements for each state, which other criteria are considered when a person wants to adopt, and whether or not there’s an upper age limit for prospective adoptive parents.

State-by-State Minimum Age Requirements

Each state maintains its own minimum age requirement for adoption, because adoption is primarily governed by state law. For this reason, the minimum age required to become an adoptive parent of a child in the U.S. varies across the country. 

For example, in New York State, the minimum age to adopt is simply 18 years old. In California, you must be at least 10 years older than the child you’re adopting, unless you are related to the child. In Georgia, you must 21 years old to adopt a child if you’re married and living with your spouse, and 25 years old if you’re single. Regardless of if you’re single or married, you must be 10 years older than the child you’re adopting in Georgia.

Keep in mind that the minimum age requirements outlined by each state apply to domestic adoptions. When a single person wants to adopt an international child, federal law dictates that they must be 25 years of age or older, regardless of the laws in their state.

The minimum age requirements for adoption change over time as state laws change. Check the specific laws in your state to clarify current adoption age requirements. These requirements are likely posted on a court’s or family services website, or you can reach out to a licensed adoption agency or your state’s children and family services department to ask for them. 

Do Adoption Agencies Have Their Own Age Requirements?

Yes, some licensed adoption agencies maintain their own minimum age requirement for adoption that supersedes the state’s minimum age requirement. For example, if a state requires a person to be 18 years of age or older to adopt a child, there could be adoption agencies within the state that only facilitate adoptions to people who are 25 years of age or older.

Private adoption agencies may set their own higher age requirements because they are operating under the assumption that people of that age and older are more prepared to adopt. For example, they may reason that a person over age 25 has more life experience than someone between 18 and 25, and that more life experience often brings greater financial stability and emotional maturity.

Another reason private adoption agencies often have their own age requirements is that they want to meet the expectations of the expectant parents involved in infant adoptions. Expectant parents choosing a family for their infant child may feel more comfortable with adoptive parents who are above a certain age.

Is There a Maximum Age to Adopt?

Domestic Infant and Foster Care Adoption

When it comes to adopting children from foster care or infants from expectant parents within the U.S., there is usually not a maximum age limit imposed on adoptive parents by either the state government or private adoption agencies. That means people of any age, including in their 40s, 50s, and beyond, are eligible to apply to become adoptive parents in the U.S.

In infant adoptions, expectant parents may have their own preferences about the ages of adoptive parents. While these preferences wouldn't relate to any formal rules or an imposed maximum age to adopt, they could impact who is chosen to be an adoptive parent in some cases.

Generally, instead of creating rules stating that an adoptive parent must be younger than a certain age, states and agencies focus on how well a prospective adoptive parent can physically, emotionally, and financially care for a child until the child reaches adulthood. If a prospective adoptive parent is older, identifying their ability to care for a child over time might involve evaluating their overall health, stability, and life expectancy, rather than focusing on their age.

International Adoption

International adoptions differ from domestic adoptions on this matter. Unlike the U.S., many other countries do impose a hard limit on how old an adoptive parent can be. This upper age limit often falls between 45 and 55 years old. In some cases, a country may outline a maximum age gap between the adoptive parent and child, rather than an upper age limit. For example, an adoptive parent may be no more than 45 or 50 years older than the child they adopt.

What Matters More Than Your Age

While age factors into some adoptions, it isn't the most important criteria considered. If you're interested in adopting and either younger or older than the average adoptive parent, don't be discouraged. Adoption agencies, social workers, and expectant parents prioritize finding adoptive families that can provide children a safe, stable, loving home. That means there are many qualities that are given more weight than a person's age.

• Consistency and Stability: The ability to create a calm, stable home environment, the finances to support a child's needs, and the maturity to provide consistent emotional security.
• A Strong Support System: A network of family, friends, neighbors, and broader community networks that can be important fixtures in a child's life as they grow and learn.
• Health and Energy: The physical and mental strength and stamina to navigate the rigors of parenting, especially if the child is young or has special needs.
• Kindness and Empathy: Having understanding for a child, their history, and their birth parents, and expressing continual kindness as they grow and adjust to a new home and life.
• Flexibility and Openness: The willingness to change plans, habits, and approaches to parenting as needed based on the child's needs and to contend with challenges that arise.