Adoption

Who Can Adopt in Virginia: Age, Marriage and Home Study

Virginia's adoption statutes do not set a minimum age for the person who files an adoption petition. The rules for approving an adoptive home do: both state home study regulations require applicants to be at least 18. Beyond age, eligibility turns on residence, marital status, a home study and background checks.

For the overview, see our guide to how adoption works in Virginia.

How old do you have to be to adopt in Virginia?

Title 63.2, Chapter 12 of the Code of Virginia, the adoption chapter, does not state a minimum age for a petitioner. Va. Code § 63.2-1201 allows a petition by “any natural person who resides in the Commonwealth” and by certain other people described below.

The age floor comes from the home study rules. Local departments of social services may approve only providers who are “at least 18 years of age” (22VAC40-211-20). A licensed private child-placing agency must document that applicants are at least 18 before a child is placed in the home (22VAC40-131-200). Adult adoption has its own age rule: under the good-cause path in Va. Code § 63.2-1243, the adoptee must be at least 15 years younger than the petitioner.

The sections cited here set no upper age limit for adoptive parents. The home study instead asks whether the applicant is in satisfactory physical and mental health and able to care for a child.

Residence and who may file the petition

Under § 63.2-1201, a petition to adopt a minor may be filed by a natural person who lives in Virginia, by a person who has custody of a child placed by a Virginia child-placing agency, by an adopting parent of a child who was the subject of a Virginia consent proceeding under § 63.2-1233, or by intended parents who are parties to a surrogacy contract.

The petition is filed in the circuit court for the county or city where the petitioner lives, where the placing agency is located, or where a birth parent signed consent under § 63.2-1233.

Can a single person adopt in Virginia?

Yes. Va. Code § 63.2-1225 says that “a married couple or an unmarried individual shall be eligible to receive placement of a child for purposes of adoption,” and § 63.2-1232 repeats the same rule for parental placements.

Married people file together. Under § 63.2-1201, the petition of a married couple must be a joint petition. If the child is already the legal child of one spouse, that spouse joins the petition only to show consent, which is how a stepparent adoption is filed. In some cases former spouses may also adopt together under Va. Code § 63.2-1201.1.

Being eligible to adopt does not settle the birth parents' parental rights. Those must be addressed separately, through consent, an entrustment agreement or a court order, and Va. Code § 63.2-1232 requires that prospective adoptive parents in a parental placement be counseled about that step.

What the home study looks at

A home study is the assessment of a prospective adoptive family by a local department of social services or a licensed child-placing agency, often called an adoption agency. It is an early step in the adoption process, and a local department's approval can cover foster care, adoption or both (22VAC40-211-20). Under Va. Code § 63.2-1231 and § 63.2-1208, it asks whether the adoptive parents are financially able, morally suitable, and in satisfactory physical and mental health to care for a child.

The regulations set the process. The agency must hold at least three face-to-face interviews on three separate days with each applicant. At least one interview must take place in the home, and at least one must include everyone who lives there. The agency must also collect at least three references for each applicant, one of them from someone who is not a relative (22VAC40-211-40 and 22VAC40-131-180). The written assessment records the applicant's age, marital history with verification of marriages and divorces, family composition, employment, assets and debts, so expect to provide documents such as marriage and divorce records, proof of income and a list of debts.

Local departments also require a physical examination within 13 months before approval and tuberculosis screening for household members who have contact with children (22VAC40-211-30), plus preservice training (22VAC40-211-60). A local department approval lasts 36 months (22VAC40-211-50). A home study for a parental or agency placement is valid for 36 months from completion (§ 63.2-1231).

Background checks for adoptive homes

Background checks cover each applicant and every adult in the household. Va. Code § 63.2-1721 requires a sworn statement disclosing any criminal conviction, pending charges or founded child abuse or neglect complaint, a criminal history check through the Central Criminal Records Exchange, and a search of Virginia's child abuse and neglect central registry.

For placements by local boards and licensed agencies, Va. Code § 63.2-901.1 adds fingerprinting for a national FBI record check and a search of the abuse and neglect registry of any other state where a prospective parent or other adult in the home lived in the preceding five years. The agency must tell the person they can get a copy of the report and challenge its accuracy before a final decision is made.

Can you adopt in Virginia with a criminal record?

It depends on the offense and how long ago it happened. Under § 63.2-901.1(E), a local board or child-placing agency may not approve a foster or adoptive home if anyone in it has been convicted of a “barrier crime” as defined in Va. Code § 19.2-392.02, or is the subject of a founded complaint of child abuse or neglect. That definition is long and includes many violent, sexual and child-related offenses.

The same section lists narrow exceptions. A home may be approved if the applicant and adult household members each have no more than one misdemeanor assault and battery conviction under § 18.2-57, not involving a minor, and 10 years have passed. Felony drug possession convictions may be considered after 10 years with civil rights restored, or after eight years if the person meets conditions including completed treatment and a negative drug test. Felony drug distribution convictions may be considered after 20 years with civil rights restored.

Approval for adoption depends on the whole picture, and when birth parents recommend adoptive parents, an agency may make that placement only if it finds it is in the best interests of the child (Va. Code § 63.2-1225). A record outside these rules is not automatically disqualifying, and a record that fits an exception does not guarantee approval. The agency still assesses the whole home, and the circuit court decides the adoption itself.

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.