File for adoption

We strongly recommend you find a lawyer to help you with the adoption process. How long the process will take varies, and depends on issues such as whether surrenders are filed, notice needs to be given, or a home study needs to be completed. When you file your paperwork, ask the adoption clerk for a timeline for the next steps.

To begin the process, you'll need to submit these forms:

Required at initial filing

• Petition for Adoption and Affidavit of Petitioner for Adoption 
• Child Care or Custody Disclosure Affidavit. In cases involving a child, use this form to tell the court about any other open or closed cases involving the child.  You must file the Affidavit in cases involving the care, custody, visitation, or change of name of a child.  See Trial Court Rule IV for more details.
• Supplemental Child Care or Custody Disclosure Affidavit. In cases involving more than 4 children, use this form along with the Child Care or Custody Affidavit for additional space to tell the court about any other open or closed cases.  See Trial Court Rule IV for more details.

Alert: These documents are not expressly required by statute or rule, but failure to collect these documents at the initiation will result in a citation being issued for notice to persons who have no legal right to notice.

• Adoption Surrender form (G.L. c. 210, § 2) if either of the parents gave up legal rights to the child.
  • The surrender form must be in the correct format. A parent can’t surrender a child until 4 days after the day of birth of the child to be adopted. It must be signed in front of a notary public with 2 witnesses watching, and the birth parent must have chosen at least 1 of these witnesses (see G.L. c.210, § 2 for more information.)
    • If given by a legal parent; required to avoid service of citation on parent
• Certified Copy of Termination of Parental Rights Decree
  • If entered against a legal parent; required to avoid service of citation on parent
• Certified Copy of Death Certificate
  • If parent is deceased; required to avoid service of citation on deceased parent

Additional filings

These forms are not required at initial filing. These forms may need to be filed before the court can give you a hearing date or have your case heard by a judge. The division where you file can help answer questions on when these forms should be filed. 

• Certified copy of Minor’s Birth Certificate
  • Strongly recommended at time of initial filing
  • The certified copy should be issued within six months of filing the petition
• Certified copy of each Petitioner’s Birth Certificate
• Court Activity Record Information (CARI) Record Check. This includes your criminal record, juvenile record, and civil restraining order information.
  • This requirement does not include a legal parent of the adoptee
  • A CARI Release Request Form for the adoptee is required when the adoptee is over the age of 12
• A Federal Register of Missing Children Report must be obtained from the Department of Children and Families (DCF), usually gathered by the court adoption clerk
• An Agency Report/Home study is required only when the child is 14 years or younger
  • This requirement may be waived by the judge upon filing a Motion to Waive Investigation Report of Department of Children and Families (DCF) when one of the petitioners is the child’s legal parent
• Motions to waive any of the requirements enumerated in G. L. c. 210, §5A, may be grouped into a single motion
  • A supporting affidavit filed by the petitioners may be used to support such a motion
• Military Affidavit when the defendant does not file an answer or appearance, or not appear on the hearing date. If you do not have a lawyer and are representing yourself in a case, use the Military Affidavit Instructions for Self-Represented Litigants to help you fill out the Military Affidavit form.

Other forms you may need

• If you're married: A certified copy of your Marriage Certificate. This is available from the Registry of Vital Records or from the city or town where you were married.
• If you’re divorced: A certified copy of your Divorce Judgment. You can get this from the Probate and Family Court where your divorce was filed. You’ll need the names of the people, the approximate date of the divorce, and, if you have it, the docket number. The fee is $20 for a certified copy plus $1 per page for every page except the first. Learn more about how to get a copy of your divorce record.
• If you're adopting a child whose birth mother wasn’t married and the birth father hasn’t signed a surrender: Affidavit from DCF Regarding a Search of the Parental Responsibility Claims. This is a document DCF will provide to you.
• If a court ended the legal rights of one or both parents: Certified copies of Judgments from Other Legal Proceedings. You’ll need to get a copy of the court judgment from that court.

Please note that other documents may be required from additional agencies. See the “Related” section for more information.

In addition to filing these forms, you must respond to a Federal and Central Registers of Missing Children Search Request. The court will send this to you after you have filed the other forms. You must then send your response to the Department of Children and Families (DCF). DCF will then perform a search and make sure your intended child wasn’t reported missing.

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