Skip to content

How to Adopt an Adult in Pennsylvania

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

Pennsylvania settles who may be adopted as an adult in a single sentence, and it is the broadest wording in the Adoption Act: 23 Pa.C.S. 2311 provides that any individual may be adopted, regardless of his age or residence. The proceeding itself permanently makes one adult the legal parent of another, with the inheritance and next of kin consequences that follow. There is no list of qualifying categories to fall outside of, no requirement that the person be disabled or a former stepchild, no minimum number of years between you, and no residency period. Section 2312 is equally short: any individual may become an adopting parent. You file in the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas, except in Philadelphia County, where 20 Pa.C.S. 713 moves adoption to the Family Court Division instead. Consent is narrower than most filers expect. The person being adopted consents, and that is the one consent a judge may not dispense with once the adoptee is over 18 (23 Pa.C.S. 2711, 2713). A married petitioner either files a spousal consent or has that spouse join the petition, and Pennsylvania leaves the choice to you. Birth parents consent only for an adoptee under 18, so they do not consent here. The adoptee's own husband or wife has no role at all. The surname is where this process catches people out: an adoptee over 18 who wants your family name must also show compliance with the change of name law. Attorney review of your petition is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Pennsylvania

Who are you hoping to adopt?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Who can be adopted as an adult in Pennsylvania?

Any individual. Pennsylvania provides that any individual may be adopted, regardless of his age or residence (23 Pa.C.S. 2311), and that any individual may become an adopting parent (23 Pa.C.S. 2312). There is no category list, no disability or stepchild requirement, and no minimum age gap between the two parties.

Which spouse has to consent to an adult adoption in Pennsylvania?

Only the adopting person's spouse, and that spouse may consent or instead join the petition (23 Pa.C.S. 2711(a)(2)). Joining makes your husband or wife a petitioner and a second adoptive parent. The adult being adopted is not required to obtain anything from their own spouse.

Which court handles an adult adoption in Pennsylvania?

The Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas in the county of filing, because 20 Pa.C.S. 711(7) assigns adoptions to that division. Philadelphia County is the single statutory exception: 20 Pa.C.S. 713 places adoption jurisdiction there in the Family Court Division instead.

Does an adult adoption in Pennsylvania require a home study?

The statutory home study, report of intention to adopt and agency investigation are keyed to adopting a child under 18, so they do not reach an adult (23 Pa.C.S. 2530, 2531, 2535). No provision waives them expressly. Orphans' Court Rule 15.13(d) still allows investigation under local rules.

Pennsylvania adult adoption at a glance

An adult adoption in Pennsylvania is a court decree that makes one adult the permanent legal parent of another, directing that the person adopted has all the rights of a child and heir of the adopting parent (23 Pa.C.S. 2902). Eligibility is wide open. Any individual may be adopted regardless of age or residence, and any individual may adopt (23 Pa.C.S. 2311, 2312). No category list, no age gap, no residency period. The petition goes to the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas, or the Family Court Division in Philadelphia County (20 Pa.C.S. 711, 713). The adult consents; a married petitioner's spouse consents or joins; birth parents and the adoptee's spouse do nothing. One trap: an adoptee over 18 taking your surname must show compliance with the change of name law.

Adopting an adult nephew who has a court appointed guardian

Take an Erie County aunt whose 34 year old nephew has an intellectual disability and a guardian of the person appointed by the same court. Nothing in the Adoption Act gates her out: any individual may be adopted regardless of age (23 Pa.C.S. 2311). She needs his own consent, which no judge can dispense with (2711(a)(1), 2713), plus the consent of his guardian, the one consent paragraph with no age limiter (2711(a)(4)). Her husband signs a consent rather than joining, so she alone becomes the parent. His mother signs nothing, because birth parent consent stops at 18. He keeps his birth surname, which avoids the change of name evidence Rule 15.13(f) would require. She files in the Orphans' Court Division in Erie. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

23 Pa.C.S. 2311 and 2312 (who may be adopted, who may adopt)

Section 2311 provides that any individual may be adopted, regardless of his age or residence. Section 2312 provides that any individual may become an adopting parent. Together they are the whole eligibility rule: no categories, no age differential, no residency condition.

23 Pa.C.S. 2711 and 2713 (consents necessary, and when others are not)

Section 2711(a) lists the consents required, including the adoptee, the spouse of the adopting parent unless they join in the petition, the parents of an adoptee under 18, and the guardian of an incapacitated adoptee. Section 2713 lets the court dispense with consents other than the adoptee's own once the adoptee is over 18.

20 Pa.C.S. 711 and 713 (which division of the Court of Common Pleas)

Section 711(7) requires the court of common pleas to exercise jurisdiction over adoptions through its orphans' court division. Section 713 removes Philadelphia County from that rule and vests adoption jurisdiction there in the family court division of the court of common pleas.

Pennsylvania Orphans' Court Rules, Chapter XV (adoptions)

Rule 15.13 sets the averments and exhibits for an adoption petition, subjects the petition to investigation as prescribed by local rules, and in subsection (f) requires an adoptee over 18 who wants the adopting parents' surname to introduce evidence of compliance with the change of name law.

23 Pa.C.S. 2902 and 20 Pa.C.S. 2108 (effect of the decree, inheritance)

Section 2902 directs the court to decree that the person adopted has all the rights of a child and heir of the adopting parents and is subject to a child's duties. Section 2108 makes an adopted person the issue of the adopting parents for inheritance by, from and through them.

Regional Variances

Pennsylvania adult adoption rules at a glance

Who may be adopted

Any individual may be adopted, regardless of his age or residence (23 Pa.C.S. 2311). No enumerated categories, no disability predicate, no former stepchild or foster predicate, and no requirement of a prior relationship. Any individual may become an adopting parent (2312).

Age relationship

None. Pennsylvania sets no minimum number of years between the parties and does not require the adoptee to be younger. The Adoption Act's age thresholds are consent floors at 12, 18 and 21, not gaps between the adopting parent and the adoptee.

Consent of the adoptee

Required for any adoptee over 12 (23 Pa.C.S. 2711(a)(1)), and it is the one consent the court may not dispense with when the adoptee is over 18 (2713). The adoptee must also appear at the hearing unless the court finds the appearance unnecessary (2723).

Consent of the adopting person's spouse

Consent or joinder, at your election. The spouse of the adopting parent must consent unless they join in the adoption petition (23 Pa.C.S. 2711(a)(2)). A joining spouse becomes a petitioner and a second adoptive parent under 2902; a consenting spouse does not.

Consent of the adoptee's spouse

Not required. The Adoption Act mentions a spouse twice, at 2711(a)(2) for the adopting parent's spouse and at 2903 for a parent whose child is adopted by that parent's spouse. Neither reaches the adoptee's own husband or wife, and no notice provision does either.

Guardian of an incapacitated adoptee

Consent required (23 Pa.C.S. 2711(a)(4)). This is the only consent paragraph with no age limiter, so it attaches precisely because the adoptee is an adult who has been adjudicated incapacitated. It sits alongside the adoptee's own consent and does not replace it.

Birth parents

No consent. The requirement reaches only the parents of an adoptee who has not reached 18 (23 Pa.C.S. 2711(a)(3)), and 2713(1) supplies a second route to the same result. Notice under 2721 runs to persons whose consent is required, plus anyone the court directs.

Court and division

The Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas, because 20 Pa.C.S. 711(7) assigns adoptions to that division. Philadelphia County is the one statutory exception, where 20 Pa.C.S. 713 vests adoption jurisdiction in the Family Court Division instead.

Residency and venue

No durational residency for either party; 23 Pa.C.S. 2311 removes residence as a bar outright. Venue lies in the county where a parent or the adoptee resides, or with leave of court where the adoptee formerly resided (2302). Which county applies when the parties live apart is worth confirming locally.

Filing fee

TODO(source). Pennsylvania sets no statewide adoption filing fee. The general fee setting subsections of 42 Pa.C.S. 1725 are repealed and the surviving schedules are written by county class, so the amount comes from the clerk in your county.

Investigation and home study

The home study (23 Pa.C.S. 2530), report of intention to adopt (2531) and intermediary report (2533) are keyed to a child under 18, and the agency investigation in 2535 is triggered only once a 2531 report is filed. No provision waives them for adults expressly. Orphans' Court Rule 15.13(d) still permits investigation under local rules.

Name change

The decree may give the adoptee the adopting parents' name (23 Pa.C.S. 2904), and the new name must be stated in the petition (2701(6)). For an adoptee over 18, Orphans' Court Rule 15.13(f) also requires evidence of compliance with the change of name law, and 54 Pa.C.S. 702 exempts only minor children in adoption proceedings from its fingerprint procedure.

Inheritance

The decree directs that the adoptee has all the rights of a child and heir of the adopting parents (23 Pa.C.S. 2902), and 20 Pa.C.S. 2108 treats an adopted person as the issue of the adopting parents for inheritance by, from and through them. Birth kin ties are cut, with a narrow exception for a natural kin other than a parent who kept a family relationship.

Petition and forms

Orphans' Court Rule 15.13 governs the averments and exhibits, Rule 15.3 requires a separate petition for each adult adoptee, and Rule 15.1 expressly allows county local rules. For an adoptee over 18 the petition itself must carry the vital statistics an intermediary report would otherwise supply (23 Pa.C.S. 2701(5)).

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Confirm which consents your facts actually trigger

Before you draft anything days after starting

Work through 23 Pa.C.S. 2711(a) line by line. The adoptee consents. A guardian consents if the adoptee is incapacitated. Birth parents do not, because the requirement stops at 18. The adoptee's spouse is not mentioned anywhere in the Adoption Act.

Decide the spousal consent or joinder question

Before you draft anything days after starting

If you are married, settle whether your husband or wife will sign a consent under 23 Pa.C.S. 2711(a)(2) or join the petition instead. Joining makes that spouse a second adoptive parent under 2902, which changes the inheritance outcome for everyone involved.

Draft the petition for adoption

First document to prepare days after starting

Follow 23 Pa.C.S. 2701 and Orphans' Court Rule 15.13(a). Because the adoptee is over 18, section 2701(5) requires the petition to carry the vital statistics and other information section 2533 would otherwise supply. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.

Prepare the written consents as exhibits

With the petition days after starting

Orphans' Court Rule 15.13(b)(2) requires the consents under 23 Pa.C.S. 2711 to be attached to the petition. Section 2711(d)(2) and (d)(3) call for two witnesses to a consent, or acknowledgment before a notary public instead.

Resolve the surname before the hearing

Before the hearing days after starting

If the adoptee wants your surname, Orphans' Court Rule 15.13(f) requires evidence of compliance with the change of name law before a decree is made. Read 54 Pa.C.S. 701 and 702, noting that the fingerprint carve out covers minor children in adoption proceedings only.

Confirm the division, county and clerk fee

Before filing days after starting

Identify the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas for your county, or the Family Court Division if you are in Philadelphia County (20 Pa.C.S. 711, 713). Pennsylvania sets no statewide filing fee, so ask that clerk for the current amount and any local rules.

File the petition and exhibits

When the consents are signed days after starting

File a separate petition for each adult adoptee as Orphans' Court Rule 15.3 requires, with the consents and any averments explaining a missing exhibit under Rule 15.13(a)(13). Venue follows 23 Pa.C.S. 2302. The court then fixes a hearing date under 2721.

Attend the hearing and obtain the certificate

On your hearing date days after starting

You and the adoptee both appear and testify unless the court finds your presence unnecessary (23 Pa.C.S. 2723). Be ready to disclose expenses connected with the adoption (2724, Rule 15.13(e)(2)). After the decree, the clerk issues a certificate of adoption under 2907.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Pennsylvania guides

Adverse Possession in Pennsylvania: 21 Years, and 10 for a Defined Half Acre

Asset Protection Planning in Pennsylvania (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Pennsylvania (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Pennsylvania (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Pennsylvania

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Pennsylvania (2026)

Ready to Draft Your Document?

Get AI-powered legal documents with attorney review included. Plans start at $39.99/mo.

Get Started