How to Adopt an Adult in South Dakota
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · South Dakota · Last updated November 13, 2026
South Dakota looks backward before it lets one adult adopt another: the person being adopted must once have lived in your home for at least six months before turning twenty-one. Adult adoption is a circuit court order that permanently makes one adult the legal parent of another adult, with the inheritance and next of kin effects of a parent and child relationship. SDCL 25-6-18 makes that household history a prerequisite and requires it to appear in the petition. The only exception is a biological child, for whom the household requirement is waived. So a mentor, an in-law or a friend who first met the adult after age twenty-one does not meet the statute. Beyond that gate the paperwork is short. You file a petition with the judge of the circuit court, a written agreement that the person will be treated in all respects as your natural child, and that person's written consent. The adult sections ask for nothing from either spouse and nothing from birth parents, set no age gap, and require no home study or investigation. The judge enters the order on a showing of good cause once the documents are in proper form, with no hearing scheduled by statute. The person adopted may take your family name, and a new birth certificate issues only if the petition asks for one. Filing costs $72 under the court's current schedule. The court publishes no adult adoption petition form, so the documents are drafted for your facts, and attorney review of them is available through DocDraft.
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Who can be adopted as an adult in South Dakota?
An adult who lived in the adoptive parent's home for at least six months while under twenty-one years of age, and that fact must appear in the petition (SDCL 25-6-18). The household requirement is waived when the person being adopted is the adoptive parent's biological child. No other category route exists.
Does a spouse have to consent to an adult adoption in South Dakota?
The adult statute lists only the petition, the written agreement and the adoptee's written consent (SDCL 25-6-18). It names no spouse. SDCL 25-6-3 requires a married person's spouse to consent to adopting a child, but it is not among the sections SDCL 25-6-20 applies to adult adoption.
Which court handles adult adoption in South Dakota?
The circuit court. The petition is filed with the judge of the circuit court (SDCL 25-6-18), in the county where the adopting parent lives or where the person being adopted was born or lives (SDCL 25-6-7, applied to adults by SDCL 25-6-20). Filing costs $72 in total.
South Dakota adult adoption at a glance
An adult adoption in South Dakota is a circuit court order under which one adult becomes the permanent legal parent of another adult, and the two then hold the legal relation of parent and child with all its rights and duties (SDCL 25-6-16). The distinctive rule is a look back at the household. The person being adopted must have lived in the adoptive parent's home for at least six months while under twenty-one, unless that person is the adoptive parent's biological child (SDCL 25-6-18). Majority itself arrives at eighteen (SDCL 26-1-1), so time spent in your home at nineteen or twenty still counts. Once that history is pleaded, the judge acts on good cause and documents in proper form, with no statutory hearing, home study or age gap.
A Brown County birth mother and the son she placed at birth
Thirty years after placing her newborn son for adoption, a woman in Aberdeen has rebuilt a close bond with him, and they want her recorded again as his legal parent. He never lived in her home, which would normally end the matter under SDCL 25-6-18. But he is her biological child, so the household prerequisite is waived. She files in Brown County circuit court, where she lives, with her written agreement and his written consent, and pays $72. He is married, yet nothing in the adult sections asks for his wife's signature. Because the order changes who counts as his parent for intestate succession under SDCL 29A-2-114(b), they review the wills on both sides of his family before filing. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.
Relevant Laws
SDCL 25-6-18 (petition for adoption of an adult)
Lets an adult adopt another adult by petition to the circuit court judge, with a written agreement and the adoptee's written consent. Requires six months in the adoptive parent's home while the adoptee was under twenty-one, stated in the petition, and waives that for a biological child.
SDCL 25-6-19 and 25-6-20 (the order and which sections apply)
Section 25-6-19 directs the judge to enter the order on good cause and documents in proper form. Section 25-6-20 applies only sections 25-6-6 to 25-6-8, 25-6-16 and 25-6-17 to adult adoption, and limits a new birth certificate to cases where the petition requests one.
SDCL 25-6-16 and 25-6-17 (name and legal relationship)
The adopted person may take the adopter's family name, and the two hold the legal relation of parent and child. The natural parents are relieved of all parental duties and have no rights over the person adopted from the time of adoption.
SDCL 16-2-29 and 16-2-39 (filing fee and surcharge)
Sets a $25 clerk's fee for adoption cases and a $40 court automation surcharge in each civil action or proceeding. The court's schedule effective July 1, 2026 adds a $7 law library fee, for $72 in total.
SDCL 29A-2-114 and 29A-2-705 (inheritance)
Treats an adopted individual as the child of the adopting parent and not of the birth parents for intestate succession, subject to stepparent and grandparent line exceptions, and includes adopted individuals in class gifts according to those rules.
Regional Variances
South Dakota adult adoption rules at a glance
Who may be adopted
An adult who lived in the adoptive parent's home for at least six months while under twenty-one years of age, or the adoptive parent's biological child, for whom that requirement is waived (SDCL 25-6-18). There is no disability route and no other category.
Age of majority
Eighteen. Minors are persons under eighteen years of age (SDCL 26-1-1). The household look back in SDCL 25-6-18 runs to twenty-one, so it reaches years after majority.
Consent of the person being adopted
Required in writing (SDCL 25-6-18). The adult sections contain no dispensation and no substitute consent.
Spouse of the person being adopted
Nothing required. No consent, joinder or notice appears in SDCL 25-6-18 to 25-6-20, and no section of chapter 25-6 addresses the adoptee's husband or wife.
Spouse of the adopting adult
Not listed in the adult sections, and no joinder rule. SDCL 25-6-3 requires spousal consent to adopt a child but is not among the sections SDCL 25-6-20 applies to adults.
Birth parents
No consent or notice in the adult sections. After the order they are relieved of all parental duties and hold no rights (SDCL 25-6-17, applied by SDCL 25-6-20).
Age difference
None for adults. The ten year rule in SDCL 25-6-2 governs a minor child.
Court and county
Circuit court (SDCL 25-6-6, 25-6-18), in the county where the adopting parent lives or where the person being adopted was born or lives (SDCL 25-6-7).
State residency
No minimum period of South Dakota residency appears in the adult sections. The residence requirement named in SDCL 25-6-18 is the six months in the adoptive parent's home.
Filing cost
$72: $25 filing fee (SDCL 16-2-29(3)(b)), $40 court automation surcharge (SDCL 16-2-39) and $7 law library fee, per the court's schedule effective July 1, 2026.
Home study and investigation
None. SDCL 25-6-9.1 and 25-6-10 are written for a child and a minor child, and SDCL 25-6-20 does not apply them to adults.
Hearing and timing
No statutory hearing or waiting period. The judge enters the order on good cause and documents in proper form (SDCL 25-6-19).
Name and birth certificate
The person adopted may take the adopter's family name (SDCL 25-6-16). A new birth certificate issues only if requested in the petition (SDCL 25-6-20).
Inheritance
Child of the adopting parent and not of the birth parents for intestate succession (SDCL 29A-2-114(b)); included in class gifts on the same basis (SDCL 29A-2-705).
Forms
No statewide adult adoption petition form. The court lists Form UJS-354, a reporting form it labels mandatory for all adoption cases, to accompany the case filing statement.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Document the six months in your home
Before drafting days after startingCollect proof that the person being adopted lived in your home for at least six months while under twenty-one (SDCL 25-6-18), unless the person is your biological child. The petition must state this fact, so pin down the address and dates now.
Draft the petition
Before filing days after startingAddress it to the judge of the circuit court, plead the household history or biological relationship, state any family name the adoptee will take, and request a new birth certificate if wanted (SDCL 25-6-18, 25-6-20). Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Draft the written agreement and the adoptee's consent
With the petition days after startingThe adopting adult agrees in writing to treat the person adopted in all respects as a natural child, and the person adopted signs a written consent (SDCL 25-6-18). Both are filed with the petition.
Settle the spousal signature question if you are married
Before filing days after startingSDCL 25-6-3 requires a married person's spouse to consent to adopting a child, and SDCL 25-6-20 does not apply it to adults. Decide whether to include a signed spousal consent anyway.
Complete the clerk's reporting form
With the case filing statement days after startingThe court publishes Form UJS-354, which it labels mandatory for all adoption cases and says must be provided with the case filing statement. Confirm with the clerk how to complete it for an adult.
File in circuit court and pay $72
When documents are signed days after startingFile in the county where you live or where the person being adopted was born or lives (SDCL 25-6-7), and pay $72 under the court's schedule effective July 1, 2026. A fee waiver may be sought by motion and affidavit (SDCL 16-2-29.2).
Review wills and beneficiary designations
After the order days after startingThe order makes the person adopted your child, and not the birth parents' child, for intestate succession (SDCL 29A-2-114(b)), and class gifts follow the same rule (SDCL 29A-2-705). Check every family will and trust that uses the words children or descendants.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document the six months in your home | Collect proof that the person being adopted lived in your home for at least six months while under twenty-one (SDCL 25-6-18), unless the person is your biological child. The petition must state this fact, so pin down the address and dates now. | - | Before drafting |
| Draft the petition | Address it to the judge of the circuit court, plead the household history or biological relationship, state any family name the adoptee will take, and request a new birth certificate if wanted (SDCL 25-6-18, 25-6-20). Attorney review is available through DocDraft. | - | Before filing |
| Draft the written agreement and the adoptee's consent | The adopting adult agrees in writing to treat the person adopted in all respects as a natural child, and the person adopted signs a written consent (SDCL 25-6-18). Both are filed with the petition. | - | With the petition |
| Settle the spousal signature question if you are married | SDCL 25-6-3 requires a married person's spouse to consent to adopting a child, and SDCL 25-6-20 does not apply it to adults. Decide whether to include a signed spousal consent anyway. | - | Before filing |
| Complete the clerk's reporting form | The court publishes Form UJS-354, which it labels mandatory for all adoption cases and says must be provided with the case filing statement. Confirm with the clerk how to complete it for an adult. | - | With the case filing statement |
| File in circuit court and pay $72 | File in the county where you live or where the person being adopted was born or lives (SDCL 25-6-7), and pay $72 under the court's schedule effective July 1, 2026. A fee waiver may be sought by motion and affidavit (SDCL 16-2-29.2). | - | When documents are signed |
| Review wills and beneficiary designations | The order makes the person adopted your child, and not the birth parents' child, for intestate succession (SDCL 29A-2-114(b)), and class gifts follow the same rule (SDCL 29A-2-705). Check every family will and trust that uses the words children or descendants. | - | After the order |
Frequently Asked Questions
Other South Dakota guides
Adult Guardianship in South Dakota
Adverse Possession in South Dakota: Twenty Years, or Ten If You Paid the Taxes
Asset Protection Planning in South Dakota (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in South Dakota (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in South Dakota: Year Three Opens the Door, a Filed Affidavit Closes It
Expunging a Criminal Record in South Dakota (2026)
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