Adoption

Adoption Placement in Virginia: Agency, Parental, Relative

In an adoption, placement is the point when a child goes to live with the prospective adoptive parents with the intent of adoption. Virginia law decides who may make that placement, and the type of placement decides which court hears consent, when the home study happens and what the circuit court still has to review.

For the overview, see our guide to the types of adoption in Virginia.

What does placement mean in adoption?

Placement is the step that comes before the adoption itself. The Code of Virginia defines an adoptive home as a family home “selected and approved by a parent, local board or a licensed child-placing agency for the placement of a child with the intent of adoption” (Va. Code § 63.2-100). The adoption becomes legal only when a circuit court enters a final order.

Va. Code § 63.2-1200 lists who may place a child for adoption: a licensed child-placing agency, a local board of social services (which acts through the local department of social services), the child's parent or legal guardian in a parental placement, and a licensed or authorized agency from outside Virginia. A placement made by anyone else is not one of these routes.

Agency placement

In an agency placement, a licensed child-placing agency or a local board places a child who has been committed or entrusted to its care (Va. Code § 63.2-1221). The birth parents typically sign an entrustment agreement that terminates their parental rights and responsibilities so the agency can place the child and consent to the adoption. The agreement must be in writing and notarized. This agency route also covers a child in foster care whose commitment order to a local board provides for terminating parental rights so the child can be adopted.

A birth parent may revoke an entrustment agreement until the child is 10 days old and seven days have passed since signing, or at any time before the child is placed in the adoptive home (Va. Code § 63.2-1223). The child-placing agency chooses the adoptive parents and must consider recommendations from the birth parents. It may place the child with adoptive parents the birth parents recommend if it finds that placement is in the best interests of the child. A married couple or an unmarried individual may receive a placement (Va. Code § 63.2-1225).

After placement, the agency supervises. Under Va. Code § 63.2-1212, the child must be visited at least three times within six months, with at least 90 days between the first and last visit. This is often called the probationary period. The same visit rule applies after an interlocutory order in a parental placement, with the agency that did the home study making the visits. The circuit court then reviews the agency's report under Va. Code § 63.2-1208 before entering a final order of adoption.

Parental placement

In a parental placement, the birth parent or legal guardian chooses the adoptive parents directly. Va. Code § 63.2-1230 allows a parent to place a child “directly with the prospective adoptive parents of his choice.” Consent is then given before a juvenile and domestic relations district court, which should hear the consent petition within 10 days of filing or as soon as practicable.

Before the consent hearing, a licensed or authorized child-placing agency must complete a home study of the adoptive parents. A social worker must meet at least once with the birth parents and at least once with the adoptive parents (Va. Code § 63.2-1231). The court must make the findings listed in Va. Code § 63.2-1232. They include that the birth parents' consent is informed and uncoerced, that the birth parent and adoptive parents have exchanged identifying information unless both waive it in writing, and that all fees and payments have been disclosed to the court.

If the court decides the prospective adoptive home would be contrary to the best interests of the child, it tells the birth parents, and they may keep custody or choose other prospective adoptive parents (Va. Code § 63.2-1235). Consent is signed in court, in the presence of the prospective adoptive parents, once the child is at least in the third calendar day of life (Va. Code § 63.2-1233). A consenting birth parent may revoke for any reason for up to seven days after signing. That period can be waived in writing only if the child is at least 10 days old and the parent has had independent legal advice (Va. Code § 63.2-1234). A birth father who is not married to the mother need not consent if he denies paternity under oath and in writing, or if he did not register with the Virginia Birth Father Registry, and a birth father may consent before the child is born (§ 63.2-1233). The adoptive parents then petition the circuit court. Where consent was properly executed, no further investigation is required unless the court orders one (Va. Code § 63.2-1238).

Close relative placement

Va. Code § 63.2-1242.1, titled “Relative adoption,” defines a close relative placement as an adoption by the child's grandparent, great-grandparent, adult nephew or niece, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, adult great uncle or great aunt, stepparent, adult stepbrother or stepsister, or another adult relative by marriage or adoption. The court may accept the birth parents' consent in writing, signed under oath and acknowledged before an officer such as a notary.

The route depends on how long the child has lived with the relative. If it has been less than two years, the case starts in the juvenile and domestic relations district court under the parental placement rules, but consent need not be signed in court in front of the relatives, the joint meeting is not required, and no hearing is required (Va. Code § 63.2-1242.2). If it has been two years or more, the case goes straight to circuit court, and no investigation is made unless the court asks for one (Va. Code § 63.2-1242.3). In either case the circuit court may skip the probationary period and enter a final order.

Payments connected with a placement

Va. Code § 63.2-1218 bars anyone from paying or accepting money or anything of value in connection with a placement or adoption, except for the items the statute lists. These include reasonable agency fees, medical and counseling costs connected with the pregnancy and birth, some living expenses when a doctor advises that the birth mother cannot work, court-related travel, and usual legal fees. In a parental placement, all such payments must be disclosed to the court.

Stepparent adoption is a separate path with its own article of the Code and is covered in a separate guide. Whichever placement applies, read the current statutes and get advice on your own facts before acting.

Read the legal sources

Checked for this guide on November 14, 2026. Read the current source and case-specific instructions before acting.

For the wider picture, read the Virginia adoption overview.

Browse all practical Virginia family-law guides. For broader context, explore our family-law topics or legal-aid and referral resources.