To adopt a child means to become the child’s legal guardian.
Adoption is a legal process. The court confirms an adoption by granting an adoption order, which says who the child’s guardians are. An adoption order may also take away guardianship rights from the child’s previous guardians.
Need to know
- Adoption is a legal process that ends with the court granting an adoption order.
- All the child’s guardians must consent to the adoption.
- An adoption order says who the child’s guardians are and can take away guardianship rights from the child’s other guardians.
- You can adopt a child from government care, through someone you know, through a licensed adoption agency or internationally.
- The adoption process can take a long time and involves many steps.
Get started
Learn the basics about who are a child’s parents and guardians before you adopt a child.
Then, there are a few other things you should know before you start the adoption process.
Check you are eligible
To adopt a child, you must:
- be an Alberta resident, meaning you have lived in Alberta for the last 12 months
- be at least 18 years old
- show you have a stable home and finances
- if you are adopting a child in government care, show you are physically and mentally capable of parenting a child
Get consent from the child’s parents
Consent from the child’s parents is required for a private or international adoption. The adoption cannot go through without it. If the child is in government care, Children’s Services must consent to the adoption.
Know the costs
There are many costscosts Money the more successful party in a court proceeding can ask the justice to order the less successful party to pay. Costs reimburse the more successful party for having to go through the court process to get a resolution. throughout the adoption process:
- approximately $250 court fee to file the application package for adoption
- fees to serve court documents on everyone who needs to receive them
- legal fees to help with the application process
- fees for a licensed adoption agency, if you use one
- approximately $3,000 for a Home Study Report, if you need one, to show you have a stable home and finances
- fees for photocopying documents and accessing official documents, as needed
If you are adopting an adult
Adopting an adult is common when an adult wants to recognize the parental role that adoptive parents played in their life. Adult adoptions also happen when an adult lacks capacitycapacity The ability to understand information for making a decision and the ability to appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of making or not making the decision. Legal capacity is black or white – either a person is capable or is not capable. and needs a legal guardian to make decisions for them but they no longer have one.
Follow the instructions on the Government of Alberta’s Adult Adoption webpage.
Types of adoption
From government care
In this process, you adopt a child whose guardian is Children’s Services.
Privately
In this process, you adopt a child who is not in government care.
A direct private adoption is where you adopt a child you know, such as your spouse’s child or a relative.
You may also work with a licensed adoption agency to connect with an adoptable child. The agency helps with the adoption process.
Internationally
In this process, you adopt a child from another country.
Government funding, benefits and tax breaks
If you adopt a child in Alberta, you may qualify for funding, benefits and tax breaks from the Government of Alberta. For example, you may qualify for a $6000 subsidy if you are adopting a child through a licensed adoption agency and meet other requirements.
Learn more on the Government of Alberta’s website.
Choose a type of adoption
Review the types of adoption above and choose the one that best fits your situation.
If you want to adopt a child through a licensed adoption agency, browse the list of licensed adoption agencies on the Government of Alberta’s website.
If you want to adopt a child in government care, contact your local Child and Family Services office or Delegated First Nation Agency.
If you are adopting an Indigenous child
You must show how you will respect, support and preserve the child’s Indigenous identity, culture, heritage, spirituality, language and traditions.
If the child holds status under Canada’s Indian Act, you must also help the child exercise any rights they have and inform the child of their status as soon as the child is old enough to understand.
Complete the application process
An adoption is a legal process where you apply to the court for an adoption order. Alberta’s Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act sets out the law about adoption.
An adoption order names you as the child’s legal guardian. An adoption order can also take away guardianship rights from other adults.
The application process requires you to complete an application package, which includes court forms and other personal documents. The contents of the application package depends on the type of adoption.
The Government of Alberta has step-by-step instructions to help you put together your application to the court:
- adopt a child in government care
- adopt a child privately, either directly or through a licensed adoption agency
- adopt a child internationally
You may also need to send in more documents with your application, depending on your situation. Review the scenarios below to see if any apply to you.
A child who is 12 years of age or older must consent in writing to their adoption.
You must send in the original or notarized copynotarized copy A copy of a document that is stamped by a Notary Public to be a true copy. Most places will accept a notarized copy the same way they will the original document. of your marriage certificate issued by Vital Statistics in the province where you got married. You cannot use a marriage documents prepared by the person who performed your wedding.
If you do not have a copy of your marriage certificate, apply to the Vital Statistics Office in the province where you got married. You can do this by visiting a registry in that province. You can order one or more certified copies.
If you have your original marriage certificate, you can photocopy it and take the original and photocopy to a Notary PublicNotary Public A person appointed by the Government of Alberta to administer oaths, certify a document is a true copy of another and witness the signing of legal documents to be used anywhere in the world. For example, a person can swear/affirm an affidavit before a Notary Public that will be filed with a court in another province.. They will stamp the photocopy to confirm it is a true copy of the original. The photocopy is then known as a notarized copynotarized copy A copy of a document that is stamped by a Notary Public to be a true copy. Most places will accept a notarized copy the same way they will the original document..
You must send in a notarized copynotarized copy A copy of a document that is stamped by a Notary Public to be a true copy. Most places will accept a notarized copy the same way they will the original document. of all orders about the divorce, such as the parenting order and the divorce judgment.
You must send in a notarized copynotarized copy A copy of a document that is stamped by a Notary Public to be a true copy. Most places will accept a notarized copy the same way they will the original document. of the death certificate for any guardian who would have to consent to the adoption if they were still alive.
If the child is mentioned in a protection order, guardianship order or parenting order, you must send in a notarized copynotarized copy A copy of a document that is stamped by a Notary Public to be a true copy. Most places will accept a notarized copy the same way they will the original document. of the order.
You must send in a notarized copynotarized copy A copy of a document that is stamped by a Notary Public to be a true copy. Most places will accept a notarized copy the same way they will the original document. of your Permanent Resident card to show you are eligible to adopt a child in Canada.
To adopt a child in Alberta, you must also be an Alberta resident, meaning you have lived in the province for the last 12 months.
If any of your official documents, such as your birth certificate or marriage certificate, are not in English, you must get the documents translated into English.
Hot tip
It is a good idea to get legal help to prepare your application process. A lawyer with experience in adoptions can make the process go faster as they know what the court is looking for.
Wait for the adoption order
Adoption is usually a desk applicationdesk application Applying for a court order by submitting your documents at the courthouse for a justice to review on their own. You do not speak to the justice. The court contacts you once the justice grants your order, if they need more information or if the justice refuses to grant your order., meaning you do not have to attend court. Once you file your applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues. at the Court of King’s Bench nearest you, a justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. will look over it in their office and make a decision. The court will let you know what the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. decides.
The justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. may approve your applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues. by granting an adoption order that names you as the child’s legal guardian(s).
The justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. may also request more information. For example, the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. may order a Home Study Report, which assesses how your family works and whether you are a suitable candidate to adopt the child.
The justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. can also order a hearing where they can hear from witnesses before making a decision on the adoption.
Finally, the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. can dismiss your applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues.. This means they do not approve of your applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues.. Get legal support to see if you can reapply.
Adoptions can take a long time to complete. It is very common for the court to request more information or direct you to change your applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues. package. This feedback allows you to update your applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues. package to make sure the justicejustice The title for judges in both the Alberta Court of Justice and the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta. has all the information they need to grant an adoption order. Remember to be patient throughout the process and follow the court’s instructions.
Did you know?
The Post Adoption Registry is a government registry that keeps sealed adoption records for all children adopted in Alberta. It controls what information can be released to birth parents or adopted persons over 18 years of age.
The Ongoing Information Exchange is a program run by the Post Adoption Registry that allows adoptive parents and birth family members to keep in contact with each other by exchanging non-identifying photos, letters and cards until the child turns 18. Both the adoptive parents and the birth family members must agree to take part in the program.
Learn more on the Government of Alberta’s website.
Potential issues
The court rejects your adoption applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues..
Review why the court rejected your applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues.. Do you need to fix something or provide more information? Follow the court’s instructions before resubmitting your applicationapplication A court appearance where the applicant asks the court for an order to resolve some or all of their legal issues.. Consider getting legal support if you haven’t already.