ADOPTION IN
New Hampshire

Applicants must be at least 21 years old to adopt. You can be single, married, or divorced. Parents can own or rent a home. Applicants must submit a list of 5 character references. Criminal background checks as well as health/mental exams that show parents are in good health must be submitted. The home must pass a fire and safety examination. Parents must complete FACES training and participate in at least 2 home visits with a social worker. For a more complete list of licensing requirements click here.

Advertising: Licensed child-placing agencies may publish advertisements for the services which they are legally capable of performing. § 170-E:39

Relinquishment: Parents must wait at least 72 hours after birth to give consent for adoption. Parents wishing to revoke consent must do so before the final adoption decree. They must write to the court where surrender was taken. The court must find that surrender was taken by fraud or duress and that the withdraw is in the child’s best interest. § 170-B:12

Birth parent expenses: Adoptive parents may pay on behalf of the birth mother the following expenses: reasonable counseling, medical, and legal fees, paid directly to service providers; transportation, clothing, and lodging expenses directly related to the child’s placement; living expenses to maintain an adequate standard of living when the mother is unable to work due to pregnancy; agency related adoption expenses paid directly to the agency. Living expenses may not extend past 6 weeks after pregnancy. § 170-B:13(I)

Post-adoption contact agreements: Only when the adopted child is in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services can a contact agreement be legally enforceable in New Hampshire. § 170-B:14

Birth father rights: Unmarried fathers who register their claim to paternity with the NH Putative Father Registry gain the right to receive notice of adoption proceedings and request a hearing to prove paternity. § 170-B:6

Finalization: Out of 115 adoptions completed in 2014, the average time between TPR and adoption finalization was 8.9 months. (acf.hhs.gov)

Review New Hampshire adoption laws in detail.

It is always possible to adopt a child from another country, even if you live in the United States. Children under 18 adopted from a Hague Convention country entering the U.S. with an IH-3 visa may automatically receive U.S. citizenship.

Children adopted from a non convention country must qualify as orphans before receiving U.S. citizenship. When U.S. citizens finalize an adoption abroad, they must apply to the USCIS for an IR-3 visa for the child. An IR-3 visa classifies the child as an immigrant and provides the child with citizenship upon arrival in the States.

Readoption after a foreign adoption decree is an option but not a requirement in New Hampshire. Parents wishing to receive a State birth certificate for their adopted child must submit a validation or readoption of foreign adoption decree to the courts.

Gallery of children waiting to be adopted: https://adoption.com/photolisting?page=1&search_type=region&range=UnitedStates

State subsidy contact person:

Catherine Meister, Adoption Program Supervisor

Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF)

129 Pleasant St.

Concord, NH 03301-3951

603-271-8382 • fax: 603-271-4729

Catherine.L.Meister@dhhs.state.nh.us