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How to Adopt an Adult in Georgia

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Georgia · Last updated October 7, 2026

Adult adoption in Georgia is a superior court case that makes one adult the permanent legal parent of another adult, with the inheritance and next of kin consequences that follow. Georgia runs the whole thing through one statute, O.C.G.A. 19-8-21, and opens it to any adult who gives written consent. There is no list of approved categories, no disability requirement, and no rule that the adult lived with you before turning 18. Georgia sets no minimum age gap either, and does not require the adult to be younger than you. The ten year gap and the bona fide residence rule you will find in searches sit in O.C.G.A. 19-8-3, which governs adopting a child, and Georgia defines a child as a person under 18. The consent list is short. Only the adult being adopted signs. Georgia asks nothing of that adult's husband or wife, and nothing of yours, who neither consents nor joins your petition. What Georgia does ask is unusual. Your petition must state whether one or both of the adult's parents are replaced by the adoption, and if only one, the decree must make clear which one. You file in the superior court for the county where you or the adult lives, and the statutory cost is $58.00 to the clerk plus a $15.00 civil filing fee the code applies to adoptions by name. The judge may set the hearing at any time and examines both of you before signing. Georgia expressly excuses adult adoption petitioners from the criminal history records check (O.C.G.A. 19-8-16). Attorney review of your petition is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Georgia

Who are you hoping to adopt?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Who can be adopted as an adult in Georgia?

Any adult can be adopted in Georgia on giving written consent to the adoption (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). The statute attaches no qualifying categories, no disability condition, and no requirement that the adult once lived in the adopting person's home. Consent of the adult is the gateway, and it is pleaded in the petition.

Which court handles an adult adoption in Georgia?

The superior court. Georgia's superior courts hold exclusive jurisdiction in all matters of adoption (O.C.G.A. 19-8-2). For an adult adoption the petition is filed in the superior court for the county where any petitioner or the adult to be adopted resides, so either side's county works (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21).

What does it cost to file an adult adoption in Georgia?

Georgia law sets $58.00 for all clerk services through entry of judgment in a civil case, and adoptions are listed as civil cases (O.C.G.A. 15-6-77). A further $15.00 filing fee applies expressly to all adoptions (O.C.G.A. 15-21A-6). Service of process costs are set locally and sit outside those sums.

Is there a minimum age difference for adult adoption in Georgia?

No. O.C.G.A. 19-8-21 states no age gap and does not require the adult to be younger than the adopting person. The ten year rule and the 21 year minimum age appear in O.C.G.A. 19-8-3, which opens with who may adopt a child, and Georgia defines a child as a person under 18.

Georgia adult adoption at a glance

An adult adoption in Georgia is a superior court decree that makes one adult the permanent legal parent of another adult, so that the relation between them becomes, in legal rights and liabilities, the relation of a parent and adult child (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). Georgia gates nothing. Adult individuals may be adopted on giving written consent. No spouse signs anything, on either side. The lever that makes Georgia different is the parent election: the petition must say whether one or both of the adult's parents are replaced by the adoption, and if only one, the decree must identify which. A spouse of the petitioner and that spouse's relatives are carved out of the severance rule, so a stepparent adoption leaves the other legal parent in place (O.C.G.A. 19-8-19).

A Houston County stepfather replacing only one parent

In Houston County, a man who raised his wife's daughter from the age of nine wants the record to say so now that she is 34 and he is 61. Georgia asks her to fit no category. She signs a written consent, and because her mother is still her legal parent and is his wife, he elects in the petition that only her father is replaced, and asks that the decree say so (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). His wife neither consents nor joins as a co-petitioner. The severance rule carves out a spouse of the petitioner and that spouse's relatives, so the tie to her mother survives (O.C.G.A. 19-8-19). He files in Houston County superior court, pays $58.00 plus $15.00, and both are examined at the hearing.

Relevant Laws

O.C.G.A. 19-8-21 (adoption of adult individuals)

Georgia's entire adult adoption statute. Provides that adult individuals may be adopted on giving written consent, sets the verified petition and its contents, places venue where any petitioner or the adult resides, requires the petition to state whether one or both parents are replaced, and authorizes a name change in the decree.

O.C.G.A. 19-8-2 (jurisdiction and venue of adoption proceedings)

Provides that the superior courts of the several counties have exclusive jurisdiction in all matters of adoption, and that petitions under the article are filed in the county where any petitioner resides, with listed exceptions keyed to a child.

O.C.G.A. 19-8-19 (effect of decree of adoption)

Applied to adult adoptions by O.C.G.A. 19-8-21. Terminates legal relationships with former relatives for inheritance and document construction, except as to a spouse of the petitioner and that spouse's relatives, and creates full parent and child inheritance rights with each petitioner.

O.C.G.A. 19-8-16 (investigation; criminal history records check)

Subsection (d) requires a criminal history records check of adoption petitioners except where the petition is brought under O.C.G.A. 19-8-8 or O.C.G.A. 19-8-21, which excuses adult adoption petitioners by name. Subsections (a) through (c) address the court appointed investigating agent.

O.C.G.A. 15-6-77 and 15-21A-6 (superior court filing costs)

O.C.G.A. 15-6-77 lists adoptions among civil cases and sets $58.00 for all clerk services through entry of judgment, with certification of a record at $2.50 for the first page. O.C.G.A. 15-21A-6 adds a $15.00 filing fee applied expressly to all adoptions.

Regional Variances

Georgia adult adoption rules at a glance

Who may be adopted

Any adult individual, on giving written consent to the adoption (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). No enumerated categories, no disability predicate, no prior household or foster condition. Georgia's adoption chapter defines a child as a person under 18, which marks where the adult route begins.

Age relationship

None. Georgia sets no minimum number of years between the parties and does not require the adult to be younger. The ten year gap and the 21 year minimum age in O.C.G.A. 19-8-3 open with who may adopt a child.

Consent of the adult being adopted

Required and written, and set forth in the petition itself along with the name by which the adult is to be known (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). The judge also examines the adult in person at the hearing before entering the decree.

Consent of the adopting person's spouse

Not required by the adult adoption statute, which makes no reference to a spouse. The both spouses filing rule in O.C.G.A. 19-8-3 is written around a petition to adopt a child. Attorney review of this point is available.

Consent of the adult's spouse

Not required. O.C.G.A. 19-8-21 contains no mention of a husband, wife or spouse, and no other section of the adoption chapter imposes a consent on the spouse of the person being adopted.

Birth parents

No consent and no notice appears in O.C.G.A. 19-8-21. Instead the petition must state whether one or both parents are replaced by the adoption, and where only one is replaced the decree must make clear which parent that is.

Court and venue

Superior court, which holds exclusive jurisdiction in all matters of adoption (O.C.G.A. 19-8-2). File in the county where any petitioner or the adult to be adopted resides, which is wider than the general adoption venue rule (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21).

Residency

No durational period appears in the adult adoption statute. The bona fide residence requirement in O.C.G.A. 19-8-3 sits inside the provision on who may adopt a child, so whether it reaches an adult filing is a question for a lawyer.

Filing cost

$58.00 for all clerk services through entry of judgment in a civil case, with adoptions listed as civil cases (O.C.G.A. 15-6-77), plus $15.00 under O.C.G.A. 15-21A-6, which names adoptions. Service of process costs are set locally.

Background check and investigation

The criminal history records check is expressly excused where the petition is brought under O.C.G.A. 19-8-21 (O.C.G.A. 19-8-16). The adult adoption statute itself orders no investigation, no agent and no home study. How the chapter's investigation provision reads here is an attorney review point.

Timing

The court may assign the petition for adoption for hearing at any time (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). Georgia imposes no waiting period and no placement period on an adult adoption, so the calendar belongs to the county superior court.

Name change

Granted in the same decree if requested, with no separate name change action (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). The petition must already set forth the name by which the adult is to be known.

Inheritance

Full parent and child inheritance with each petitioner and the petitioner's relatives, including class gifts in a third person's will, and severance from former relatives except a spouse of the petitioner and that spouse's relatives (O.C.G.A. 19-8-19, applied by O.C.G.A. 19-8-21).

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Confirm the adult route applies

Before you draft anything days after starting

Check that the person is 18 or older, since Georgia's adoption chapter routes anyone under 18 through a different set of sections entirely. Then confirm the person is willing to give written consent, which is the only eligibility gate O.C.G.A. 19-8-21 sets.

Decide the parent replacement election

Before drafting the petition days after starting

Work out whether one or both of the adult's parents are replaced by the adoption, because the petition must say so and the decree must identify the parent where only one is replaced (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). Weigh the inheritance effect under O.C.G.A. 19-8-19 first.

Obtain the written consent

Before filing days after starting

Prepare the written consent of the adult being adopted, which O.C.G.A. 19-8-21 makes the gateway to the whole proceeding and requires the petition to set forth. No spousal consent and no birth parent consent appears in the adult adoption statute.

Draft the verified petition and one conformed copy

With the consent days after starting

Include the name, age and residence of each petitioner and of the adult, the name by which the adult is to be known, the written consent, and the parent replacement election (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.

Confirm venue with the superior court clerk

Before filing days after starting

Venue lies in the county where any petitioner or the adult to be adopted resides (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21), which gives you a choice the general adoption venue rule does not. Ask the clerk about local filing packets, since Georgia publishes no statewide adult adoption form that this guide could confirm.

File the petition and pay the statutory costs

When the papers are signed days after starting

File in superior court with a proposed decree. Budget $58.00 for clerk services through entry of judgment under O.C.G.A. 15-6-77 and the $15.00 additional civil filing fee under O.C.G.A. 15-21A-6. Service of process costs are set locally and are charged separately.

Attend the hearing and request the certificate

On your hearing date days after starting

Both of you are examined by the judge before the decree is entered, and the name change is granted in that decree if requested (O.C.G.A. 19-8-21). Afterward either of you may ask the clerk for a certificate of adoption under the seal of the court (O.C.G.A. 19-8-20).

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Georgia guides

Adverse Possession in Georgia: Twenty Years, or Seven With Written Title

Asset Protection Planning in Georgia (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Georgia (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Georgia (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Georgia

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Georgia (2026)

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