State
StatuteS
SerieS
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Administration on Children, Youth and Families
Children’s Bureau
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Children’s Bureau/ACYF
1250 Maryland Avenue, SW
Eighth Floor
Washington, DC 20024
703.385.7565 or 800.394.3366
Email: info@childwelfare.gov
www.childwelfare.gov
Consent refers to the agreement by a parent, or
a person or agency acting in place of a parent, to
relinquish a child for adoption and release all rights
and duties with respect to that child. Consent to
adoption is regulated by State statutes, not by
Federal laws, and States differ in the way they
regulate consent. In most States, the consent must
be in writing and either witnessed and notarized
or executed before a judge or other designated
official. State legislatures have developed a range
What Is Consent?
Electronic copies of this publication
may be downloaded at
www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/
laws_policies/statutes/consent.cfm
To find statute information for a
particular State, go to
www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/
laws_policies/search/index.cfm
To find information on all the
States and territories, order a copy
of the full-length PDF by calling
800.394.3366 or 703.385.7565, or
download it at
www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/
laws_policies/statutes/consentall.pdf
Consent to Adoption
Current Through
April 2007
Consent to Adoption
www.childwelfare.gov
This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child Welfare
Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/consent.cfm.
of provisions designed to ensure protection for all involved
individuals, including:
Children (to prevent unnecessary and traumatic separations
from their adult caregivers)
Birth parents (to prevent uninformed, hurried, or coerced
decisions)1
Adoptive parents (to prevent anxiety about the legality of the
adoption process)
In all States, the birth moth