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How to Adopt an Adult in Maryland

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

Maryland rebuilt adult adoption twice in two years, and the result is a process in which nobody has to consent to anything. Adult adoption here is a circuit court case that permanently makes one adult the legal parent of another adult, with the inheritance and next of kin consequences that follow. Family Law 5-3B-13(a) opens it to anyone: "Any adult or minor may be adopted under this subtitle." There is no category list, no disability requirement, no former stepchild or foster care test, and no minimum age gap. Maryland does not even require the person being adopted to be younger. Chapter 501 of the 2025 laws, effective October 1, 2025, then switched off both the consent section and the show cause section for adult adoptees. Family Law 5-3B-20(a) now reads "This section does not apply to an adoption of an adult," so no one gives consent: not the birth parents, not either spouse, not even the adult being adopted. Maryland Rule 9-103.1, effective July 1, 2026, closes that gap a different way. You and the adult you are adopting both sign and verify the petition as co-petitioners. If you are married or in a registered domestic partnership, your spouse or partner may join the petition but is not required to. Birth parents get no consent right and no advance notice, although they may ask the court to let them intervene. After the judgment, the clerk mails them notice anyway, along with each adult child of the person adopted. Expect a hearing, a $165 civil filing fee, and no investigation unless the judge finds good cause. Attorney review of your petition is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Maryland

Who are you hoping to adopt?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Who can be adopted as an adult in Maryland?

Any adult. Family Law 5-3B-13(a) provides that any adult or minor may be adopted under the subtitle, with no list of qualifying categories. Maryland sets no minimum age gap and does not require the person being adopted to be younger than the adopting adult. The age of majority is 18.

Does anyone have to consent to an adult adoption in Maryland?

No. Family Law 5-3B-20(a) states that the consent section does not apply to an adoption of an adult, so no consent is required from birth parents, from either spouse, or from the adult being adopted. Instead, Maryland Rule 9-103.1(c)(1) requires that adult to join the petition.

Must a married person's spouse join a Maryland adult adoption petition?

No. Family Law 5-3B-13(b)(3) provides that where the prospective adoptee is an adult, the petitioner's spouse may join in the petition. Joining is optional. Maryland Rule 9-103.1(c)(2) extends the same choice to a registered domestic partner. A spouse must join only when the adoptee is a minor.

Which court handles an adult adoption in Maryland?

The circuit court, which under Courts and Judicial Proceedings 1-501 holds original jurisdiction in all civil cases within its county. Maryland has no family court and no probate court of adoption jurisdiction. The Orphans' Court handles decedents' estates and cannot take jurisdiction not expressly conferred on it.

Maryland adult adoption at a glance

An adult adoption in Maryland is a circuit court judgment that makes one adult the permanent legal parent of another adult, so that the adopted person becomes the offspring of the adoptive parent for all intents and purposes (Family Law 5-3B-25). Maryland gates nothing: any adult may be adopted, with no categories and no required age difference. What makes the state unusual is that the consent machinery was turned off. No birth parent, spouse, or adoptee consent is required, and the adopting person's spouse may join the petition rather than having to. The adult being adopted signs the petition as a co-petitioner instead of signing a consent. Birth parents and the adoptee's own adult children are mailed notice by the clerk only after the judgment is entered, and that judgment is open to public inspection.

Adopting the adult stepson whose father you cannot locate

Suppose you live in Howard County and want to adopt your wife's 34 year old son, whose biological father has had no contact for twenty years and whose address nobody has. In most states that missing father is the whole problem. In Maryland he is not. Family Law 5-3B-20(a) and 5-3B-15(a)(1) mean he gives no consent and gets no show cause order, so there is nothing to serve and nothing to publish. You and your stepson sign the petition together as co-petitioners. Your wife reads Family Law 5-3B-13(b)(3), sees that joining is optional for an adult adoptee, and stays off the petition so her own parental rights are untouched. You list the father's last known address anyway, because Rule 9-111(g) has the clerk mail him notice after the judgment is entered. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

Md. Code, Family Law 5-3B-13 (who may be adopted and who may petition)

Provides that any adult or minor may be adopted under the subtitle and that any adult may petition. Subsection (b)(3) makes joinder by the petitioner's spouse optional where the prospective adoptee is an adult, in contrast with the mandatory joinder that applies to a minor.

Md. Code, Family Law 5-3B-20 (consent section does not reach adults)

Opens with the statement that the section does not apply to an adoption of an adult. Because this is the section that otherwise requires parental consent and the adoptee's own consent, no consent at all is statutorily required in a Maryland adult adoption.

Md. Code, Family Law 5-3B-16 (investigation only for good cause)

Lets the court order a court investigator or child placement agency to investigate before ruling, then provides in subsection (c) that if a prospective adoptee is an adult the court may order that investigation only for good cause shown.

Md. Code, Family Law 5-3B-25 (effect of the judgment on inheritance)

Makes the adoptee the offspring of the adoptive parent for all intents and purposes, divests each living birth parent of parental rights, routes inheritance to the Estates and Trusts Article, and states in subsection (c) that adoption of an adult has the same legal effect as adoption of a minor.

Maryland Rules Order of February 19, 2026 (adopting Rule 9-103.1)

The Supreme Court of Maryland order adopting new Rule 9-103.1, the petition rule for adoption of an adult, effective July 1, 2026. The same order amended Rules 9-102, 9-103, 9-107, 9-109, 9-111 and 9-112 to carry adult adoptions through Chapter 100.

Regional Variances

Maryland adult adoption rules at a glance

Who may be adopted

Any adult. Family Law 5-3B-13(a) states that any adult or minor may be adopted under the subtitle, with no enumerated categories, no disability predicate, and no former stepchild or foster care route. The age of majority is 18 under General Provisions 1-401(a)(1).

Age relationship

No requirement at all. Subtitle 3B sets no minimum number of years between the parties and does not require the adopted adult to be younger than the adopting adult. No age differential language appears anywhere in the subtitle.

The adult being adopted

Signs as a co-petitioner, not as a consenting party. Rule 9-103.1(c)(1) requires the petitioner and the prospective adoptee to join in the petition, and Rule 9-103.1(d)(1) requires the petition to be signed and verified by each petitioner, including the person to be adopted.

Spouse of the adopting person

May join, need not join, and gives no consent. Family Law 5-3B-13(b)(3) makes joinder permissive where the adoptee is an adult. Rule 9-103.1(c)(2) extends the same option to a registered domestic partner. Mandatory joinder under 5-3B-13(b)(2) applies only to a minor adoptee.

Spouse of the adult being adopted

No consent and no joinder is required. The only express treatment is in Rule 9-103.1(d)(1)(F), which requires the petition to state the name of each spouse or registered domestic partner of each petitioner, and the adopted adult is a petitioner.

Birth parents

No consent under Family Law 5-3B-20(a) and no show cause order under 5-3B-15(a)(1). The Rule 9-107 committee note confirms they have no statutory right to file an objection but may move to intervene under Rule 2-214. Their last known addresses must still be pleaded.

Notice after judgment

Rule 9-111(g) requires the clerk to mail notice of entry of the judgment to each living parent, each de facto parent, and each living adult child of the adoptee, by first class mail, with the caption, case number, and a statement of the Family Law 5-3B-25 effect.

Court and venue

Circuit court, which holds original jurisdiction in all civil cases in its county under Courts and Judicial Proceedings 1-501. The Orphans' Court is confined to decedents' estates by Estates and Trusts 2-102 and plays no adoption role. No statute or rule fixes the county for an adult adoption.

Residency

None. Subtitle 3B imposes no durational residency requirement on either party, and 5-3B-13(b)(1) attaches no residency qualifier to who may petition. No months in state or months in county period appears in the subtitle.

Filing fee

$165 for docketing a civil action or proceeding under the Circuit Court Fee Schedule effective September 2, 2026, plus the surcharges Courts and Judicial Proceedings 7-202 requires in civil cases. The schedule has no adoption entry, and 7-202(a)(1) makes fees uniform throughout the State.

Investigation

Not required. Family Law 5-3B-16(c) permits the court to order one for an adult only for good cause shown. This narrows the judge's discretion rather than waiving the investigation outright. No home study, fingerprint, or criminal background check provision reaches an adult adoption.

Hearing and timing

A hearing is required by Family Law 5-3B-17 and by Rule 9-109(a)(1)(D). Family Law 5-3B-18 bars entry of an order until a revocation period expires, though that period is defined by reference to a parental consent that an adult case does not file.

Name change

Granted in the same judgment. Rule 9-111(d) requires the judgment to state the new name, and Rule 9-103.1(d)(1)(I) requires the request in the petition with a certification against illegal or fraudulent purpose and a sexual offender registration disclosure.

Inheritance

Full and undiscounted. Family Law 5-3B-25(b) makes the adoptee the offspring of the adoptive parent for all intents and purposes, and 5-3B-25(c) states that adoption of an adult has the same legal effect as adoption of a minor. Estates and Trusts 1-207 governs intestate succession.

Class gifts in deeds and instruments

Real Property 2-123 provides that unless an instrument executed on or after June 1, 1947 clearly indicates otherwise, the words child, descendant, heir, or issue include an adoptee. No carve out turns on the age at adoption. A will may still direct a different result.

Public access to the record

Greater than for a minor adoption. Rule 9-103.1(b) captions the case with the adoptee's full first and last name, and Rule 9-112 opens the docket entries and the judgment to public inspection. Other pleadings remain shielded and the file is sealed after judgment.

Accounting of payments

Family Law 5-3B-24 bars an order until the petitioner files an accounting of all payments and disbursements of any item of value made in connection with the adoption. It does not apply where the petitioner is the spouse of the adoptee's parent or a relative of the adoptee.

Recent changes

Chapter 501 of the 2025 laws, effective October 1, 2025, created the adult carve outs from consent and show cause. Rule 9-103.1 took effect July 1, 2026. Guidance written before mid 2026 is out of date on consent, notice, objection, name change, and public access.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Confirm the adult meets Maryland's only threshold

Before you draft anything days after starting

Verify the person is 18 or older under General Provisions 1-401(a)(1). Family Law 5-3B-13(a) adds no category, no age gap, and no prior relationship requirement, so there is nothing else to qualify for.

Check for a pending Subtitle 3 case

Before filing days after starting

Family Law 5-3B-13(c) requires a petitioner to move for, and the court to order, closure of any case pending under Subtitle 3 of the title before this petition is filed. Search for an open guardianship or agency matter involving the same person.

Decide whether your spouse or partner joins

While drafting the petition days after starting

Family Law 5-3B-13(b)(3) and Rule 9-103.1(c)(2) make joinder by a spouse or registered domestic partner optional for an adult adoptee. Weigh the effect on that person's own legal relationship to the adopted adult before choosing.

Draft the joint petition for adoption of an adult

First document to prepare days after starting

Prepare the petition Rule 9-103.1(d)(1) requires, signed and verified by you and the adult being adopted as co-petitioners, including every living parent's last known address and each child of each petitioner. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.

Assemble the exhibits Rule 9-103.1 requires

With the petition days after starting

Collect a certified copy of the adoptee's birth certificate, a certified copy of any order adjudicating parentage or de facto parentage, and a brief health statement for each petitioner signed by a physician or other licensed health care provider where applicable.

Prepare the payments accounting if it applies

Before the court enters an order days after starting

Family Law 5-3B-24 requires an accounting of all payments and disbursements of any item of value made in connection with the adoption, unless you are the spouse of the adoptee's parent or a relative of the adoptee.

File in circuit court and pay the fee

When the papers are signed days after starting

File with the circuit court clerk and pay the $165 civil docketing fee from the Circuit Court Fee Schedule, plus the surcharges Courts and Judicial Proceedings 7-202 requires. Confirm the filing county with the clerk, since no statute or rule fixes venue for an adult adoption.

Attend the hearing and file the closing documents

On your hearing date days after starting

Family Law 5-3B-17 requires a hearing. Before judgment, Rule 9-103.1(d)(3) requires a proposed judgment of adoption and a Maryland Department of Health Certificate of Adoption Form, which leads to a new birth certificate under Health General 4-211.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Maryland guides

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Dealing With Debt Collectors in Maryland (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Maryland (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Maryland

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Maryland (2026)

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