Do I need a home study to adopt an adult in Oregon?

No. ORS 109.329(6) provides that ORS 109.276 does not apply to an adult adoption, and 109.276(7) and (8) are the subsections carrying the home study and the state agency placement report. Oregon's remaining home study provisions are all keyed to a minor child.

Can the judge still order someone to look into our Oregon adult adoption?

Yes. ORS 109.329(4)(a) lets the court appoint counsel or a visitor under ORS 125.150, which expressly covers a proceeding under ORS 109.329. A visitor interviews each petitioner and the person being adopted in person and files a written report within fifteen days (ORS 125.155(1)).

Do birth parents get notice of an adult adoption in Oregon?

No. Oregon's general consent section reaches only the adoption of a minor child under a petition filed pursuant to ORS 109.276 (ORS 109.301(1)), and ORS 109.329(6) makes 109.276 inapplicable. The only people the court may order notified are on the petitioner's side of the case.

Who might the Oregon court require us to notify?

Three categories, all discretionary and all tied to the petitioner: the spouse of each petitioner, a person cohabiting with a petitioner who is interested in that petitioner's affairs and welfare, and the adult children of each petitioner (ORS 109.329(4)(d)). The court may require any or all of them.

How long does an adult adoption take in Oregon?

Oregon sets no waiting period for an adult adoption. The ninety day bar in ORS 109.276(10) is keyed to a minor child, and the six month hearing deadline in ORS 109.272 runs only on petitions filed under ORS 109.276, which ORS 109.329(6) switches off. Timing follows the court's calendar.

Do we have to attend a hearing in Oregon?

Not necessarily. ORS 109.329(3) lets the court grant the petition on the allegations set out in it, and holding a hearing is listed among the things the court may do (ORS 109.329(4)(b)). The court may also take testimony or confer with each party separately.

Can the person being adopted change their name in the Oregon judgment?

Unresolved on the statute's face. The authority to request a name change in an adoption petition sits in ORS 109.276(1), which ORS 109.329(6) excludes, and ORS 109.360 is keyed to a child. ORS 33.410 provides a separate name change application, priced at $124 under ORS 21.145(1).

How does an Oregon adult adoption affect inheritance?

Intestate succession runs fully in both directions as though the person were your biological child (ORS 112.175(1)). But a reference to children, descendants, heirs or next of kin in a will, deed or trust includes an adopted person only if adopted as a minor or a household member while a minor (ORS 112.195).

How to Adopt an Adult in Oregon

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

Oregon runs adult adoption through one statute, ORS 109.329, and that statute spends more of its words on the person doing the adopting than on the person being adopted. Adult adoption here is a circuit court proceeding that permanently makes one adult the legal parent of another adult, with the inheritance and next of kin consequences that follow. Eligibility is wide open. Any person may petition to adopt any person who is 18 or older, or who is legally married, and the section attaches no category list, no disability requirement, no former stepchild or foster test, and no minimum number of years between you. Both of you file a written consent with the petition, the petitioner included. The court must then find that each petitioner understands the significance and ramifications of the adoption and is not acting under duress, coercion or undue influence. No home study and no state agency placement report apply, because ORS 109.329(6) switches off the section carrying them, but the judge may appoint a visitor who interviews both of you in person and apportions the cost between you. The judge may also order you to notify your own spouse, a person you live with, and your own adult children. Neither spouse consents, neither joins the petition, and birth parents consent to nothing. One of you, either a petitioner or the person being adopted, must have lived in Oregon continuously for six months before filing, and the case goes in that person's county. The fee is $263. Oregon publishes no statewide form for this, so you draft the papers. Attorney review of your documents is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Oregon

Who are you hoping to adopt?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Who can be adopted as an adult in Oregon?

Any person 18 or older, or any person who is legally married, may be adopted by any person who petitions the circuit court (ORS 109.329(1)). Oregon attaches no category list, no disability condition and no prior relationship requirement, and it does not require the person being adopted to be younger.

Does Oregon's six month residency rule apply to adopting an adult?

Yes, but it is satisfied from either side. One petitioner or the person being adopted must have resided in Oregon continuously for six months before the petition is filed, and the petition goes in the county where that person lives (ORS 109.329(2)).

Does a spouse have to consent to an adult adoption in Oregon?

No. Oregon requires written consent only from each petitioner and from the person being adopted (ORS 109.329(1)). Neither spouse consents and neither joins the petition. The court may instead order each petitioner to give notice of the proceeding to that petitioner's spouse (ORS 109.329(4)(d)).

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

The circuit court collects $263 in adoption cases under ORS chapter 109, and that amount covers issuing one or more certificates of adoption (ORS 21.135(3)(a)). If the court appoints counsel or a visitor, it apportions those costs between the petitioners and the person being adopted.

Oregon adult adoption at a glance

An adult adoption in Oregon is a circuit court judgment declaring that, from its date, the person adopted is for all legal intents and purposes the child of the petitioner (ORS 109.329(5)). Eligibility is open to any person 18 or older or legally married, with no category list and no age gap. What makes Oregon unusual is where the scrutiny lands. The petitioner files a written consent too, and the judge must find that each petitioner grasps the significance and ramifications of the adoption and is acting free of duress, coercion or undue influence. The judge may order notice to the petitioner's own spouse, cohabitant and adult children, and may appoint a visitor to interview both parties. Six months of Oregon residency by either party is required. The fee is $263.

A Deschutes County adoption where the paperwork is easy and the estate plan is not

Suppose you are 64, living outside Bend for thirty years, and the 41 year old you have cared for since his accident wants you recorded as his legal parent. Oregon asks him to fit no category, so ORS 109.329(1) is satisfied by his consent and yours, both filed in writing with the petition. Your residency alone covers the six month rule. You file in Deschutes County, pay $263, and plead that you understand the significance and ramifications and act free of coercion. The judge orders notice to your two adult children and appoints a visitor, who interviews you both and reports in fifteen days. Then the real work begins: your existing will leaves everything to your descendants, and ORS 112.195 does not read him into that word. Attorney review of your documents is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

ORS 109.329 (adoption of a person 18 or older or legally married)

The whole of Oregon's adult adoption law. It sets the open eligibility rule, the written consents of each petitioner and of the person being adopted, the six month residency and county venue, the two findings the court must make, the discretionary notice and visitor powers, and the exclusion list in subsection (6).

ORS 109.276 (the minor track Oregon switches off for adults)

Carries the home study in subsection (7), the state agency placement report in subsection (8), the ninety day waiting period in subsection (10) and the name change request in subsection (1). ORS 109.329(6) makes the entire section inapplicable to an adult adoption.

ORS 21.135(3)(a) (the $263 adoption filing fee)

Directs the circuit court to collect a filing fee of $263 in adoption cases under ORS chapter 109, excluding readoptions, and provides that the fee includes the cost of issuing one or more certificates of adoption under ORS 109.410.

ORS 125.150 (the visitor the court may appoint instead of a home study)

Permits the court to appoint a visitor in a proceeding under ORS 109.329 and extends the visitor's duties expressly to each petitioner and the person being adopted, including a personal interview. ORS 125.155(1) requires the written report within fifteen days of appointment.

ORS 112.175 and ORS 112.195 (inheritance, with an adult adoptee limit)

Section 112.175 gives full intestate succession in both directions. Section 112.195 then limits class references in a will, deed or trust to an adopted person who was adopted as a minor or was a member of the adoptive parent's household while a minor.

Regional Variances

Oregon adult adoption rules at a glance

Who may be adopted

Any person 18 years of age or older, or any person who is legally married (ORS 109.329(1)). No category list, no disability condition, no former stepchild or foster test, and no bar on adopting a spouse anywhere in ORS 109.266 to 109.410.

Age relationship

None. The adoption series contains no minimum number of years and no requirement that the person being adopted be younger. A sweep of all 156,000 characters of ORS 109.266 to 109.410 returns no instance of years older, older than or younger.

Consent of the person being adopted

Required in writing and filed with the petition (ORS 109.329(1)). There is no dispensation clause and no route that proceeds without it. ORS 109.328, the consent of a child 14 or older, belongs to the minor track.

Consent of the petitioner

Also required in writing and filed with the petition (ORS 109.329(1)). An unusual requirement: the person doing the adopting files a formal consent of their own, which pairs with the findings the court must make about that person.

Consent of the petitioner's spouse

Not required, and no joinder as co-petitioner either. The series contains no joinder provision at all. The court may instead order each petitioner to give notice of the proceeding to that petitioner's spouse (ORS 109.329(4)(d)(A)).

Consent of the adopted person's spouse

Not required. Every occurrence of spouse across ORS 109.266 to 109.410 concerns a petitioner's spouse, a birth parent's spouse in a nonparentage adjudication under ORS 109.326, or an adopting stepparent's spouse on a certificate form.

Birth parents

No consent and no notice. ORS 109.301(1) reaches only the adoption of a minor child under a petition filed pursuant to ORS 109.276, and ORS 109.329(6) makes 109.276 inapplicable to an adult adoption.

Other notice the court may order

Any or all of three people, all on the petitioner's side: the petitioner's spouse, a cohabitant interested in the petitioner's affairs and welfare, and the petitioner's adult children (ORS 109.329(4)(d)). All of it is discretionary.

Court and venue

Circuit court, the single tier trial court of general jurisdiction (ORS 109.329(1)). The petition is filed in the county in which one petitioner or the person being adopted resides (ORS 109.329(2)(b)).

Residency

Six months continuous Oregon residency immediately before filing, satisfied by one petitioner or by the person being adopted (ORS 109.329(2)(a)). The broader residency rule in ORS 109.276(2) does not apply to an adult adoption.

Filing fee

$263, collected by the circuit court in adoption cases under ORS chapter 109, including the cost of one or more certificates of adoption (ORS 21.135(3)(a)). The concurrent multiple petition discount in 21.135(3)(b) is keyed to minor children.

Home study and investigation

None applies. ORS 109.329(6) makes ORS 109.276 inapplicable, and 109.276(7) and (8) carry the home study and placement report. In their place the court may appoint a visitor under ORS 125.150, with the cost apportioned between the parties.

Findings the court must make

That each petitioner understands the significance and ramifications of the adoption, and is not acting under duress, coercion or undue influence (ORS 109.329(3), (5)). The court may decide on the allegations in the petition without a hearing.

Waiting period

None. ORS 109.276(10)'s ninety day bar is keyed to a minor child, and ORS 109.272's six month hearing deadline runs on petitions filed under ORS 109.276, which the adult section excludes.

Name change

TODO(source). ORS 109.329 does not mention a name, the general authority in ORS 109.276(1) is excluded by 109.329(6), and ORS 109.360 is keyed to a child. ORS 33.410 supplies a separate application at $124 under ORS 21.145(1).

Certificate of adoption

Issued on request by the clerk or by the judge who granted the adoption, and it carries the same force and presumptions of validity as the judgment (ORS 109.410). Your $263 filing fee already covers issuing it.

Inheritance

Full intestate succession in both directions as though the person were your biological child (ORS 112.175(1)). But under ORS 112.195 a class reference in a will, deed or trust includes an adopted person only if adopted as a minor or a household member while a minor.

Forms

No statewide Oregon Judicial Department adult adoption form. The four adoption documents the court publishes are all records access forms, so the petition, consents and proposed judgment are drafted by the parties.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Pin down which side supplies the six months

Before you pick a county days after starting

Establish whether a petitioner or the person being adopted has six months of continuous Oregon residency immediately before filing (ORS 109.329(2)(a)). That answer also decides venue, because the petition goes in that person's county.

Draft the petitioner's written consent

With the petition days after starting

Oregon requires the written consent of each petitioner, filed with the petition rather than produced at a hearing (ORS 109.329(1)). This is the document most often missed. Attorney review of the consent is available through DocDraft.

Draft the written consent of the person being adopted

With the petition days after starting

Prepare and file the separate written consent of the person 18 or older, or legally married, who is being adopted (ORS 109.329(1)). Oregon provides no dispensation from it and no statewide form, so the document is drafted for your facts.

Draft the petition to address both required findings

Before filing days after starting

Plead the parties' identity and relations, that each petitioner understands the significance and ramifications of the adoption, and that no petitioner acts under duress, coercion or undue influence (ORS 109.329(3), (5)). The court may grant on these allegations alone.

Decide who you will notify

Before filing days after starting

The court may order each petitioner to notify that petitioner's spouse, a cohabitant interested in the petitioner's affairs, and the petitioner's adult children (ORS 109.329(4)(d)). Identifying them early avoids a continuance if the judge orders notice.

File in circuit court and pay $263

When the consents are signed days after starting

File the petition, both written consents and a proposed judgment in the circuit court for the correct county (ORS 109.329(2)(b)), and pay the $263 adoption filing fee under ORS 21.135(3)(a). Ask about fee deferral or waiver if cost is an obstacle.

Budget for a possible visitor

After filing days after starting

If the court appoints counsel or a visitor under ORS 125.150, it apportions the cost among each petitioner and the person being adopted (ORS 109.329(4)(a)). A visitor interviews both of you in person and reports within fifteen days.

Request the certificate and review your estate plan

After the judgment days after starting

Ask the clerk for the certificate of adoption your fee already covers (ORS 109.410). Then revisit any will, deed or trust using the word children or descendants, because ORS 112.195 limits those references to a person adopted as a minor.

Task	Description	Document	Days after starting
Pin down which side supplies the six months	Establish whether a petitioner or the person being adopted has six months of continuous Oregon residency immediately before filing (ORS 109.329(2)(a)). That answer also decides venue, because the petition goes in that person's county.	-	Before you pick a county
Draft the petitioner's written consent	Oregon requires the written consent of each petitioner, filed with the petition rather than produced at a hearing (ORS 109.329(1)). This is the document most often missed. Attorney review of the consent is available through DocDraft.	-	With the petition
Draft the written consent of the person being adopted	Prepare and file the separate written consent of the person 18 or older, or legally married, who is being adopted (ORS 109.329(1)). Oregon provides no dispensation from it and no statewide form, so the document is drafted for your facts.	-	With the petition
Draft the petition to address both required findings	Plead the parties' identity and relations, that each petitioner understands the significance and ramifications of the adoption, and that no petitioner acts under duress, coercion or undue influence (ORS 109.329(3), (5)). The court may grant on these allegations alone.	-	Before filing
Decide who you will notify	The court may order each petitioner to notify that petitioner's spouse, a cohabitant interested in the petitioner's affairs, and the petitioner's adult children (ORS 109.329(4)(d)). Identifying them early avoids a continuance if the judge orders notice.	-	Before filing
File in circuit court and pay $263	File the petition, both written consents and a proposed judgment in the circuit court for the correct county (ORS 109.329(2)(b)), and pay the $263 adoption filing fee under ORS 21.135(3)(a). Ask about fee deferral or waiver if cost is an obstacle.	-	When the consents are signed
Budget for a possible visitor	If the court appoints counsel or a visitor under ORS 125.150, it apportions the cost among each petitioner and the person being adopted (ORS 109.329(4)(a)). A visitor interviews both of you in person and reports within fifteen days.	-	After filing
Request the certificate and review your estate plan	Ask the clerk for the certificate of adoption your fee already covers (ORS 109.410). Then revisit any will, deed or trust using the word children or descendants, because ORS 112.195 limits those references to a person adopted as a minor.	-	After the judgment

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Oregon guides

Adverse Possession in Oregon: 10 Years Plus an Honest Belief of Ownership

Asset Protection Planning in Oregon (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Oregon (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Oregon (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Oregon

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Oregon (2026)

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