How to Adopt an Adult in Virginia
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Virginia · Last updated October 7, 2026
Adult adoption in Virginia 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, and Virginia is unusual in giving the subject its own article of the code that then narrows who qualifies. Va. Code 63.2-1243 lists four routes and nothing outside them. You may petition to adopt an adult stepchild to whom you have stood in loco parentis for at least three months. You may petition to adopt a close relative aged eighteen or older, using the kinship list in Va. Code 63.2-1242.1. You may petition to adopt your own birth child, or anyone who lived in your home for at least three months before turning eighteen, which is the route that reaches a former foster youth. Finally, for good cause shown, you may petition to adopt any adult who is at least fifteen years younger than you and whom you have known for at least one year. There is no disability route in that list, so a family seeking decision making authority for a relative with a disability is looking at guardianship, which is not adoption. Consent is short here. The adult being adopted must consent in every case, and no consent of either parent is required. If you are married, the petition is the joint petition of both spouses (Va. Code 63.2-1201). You must be a Virginia resident, with no waiting period, and you file where you live. The clerk's fee is $20. Attorney review of your petition is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Virginia
Who are you hoping to adopt?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Who can be adopted as an adult in Virginia?
Virginia allows it on four routes only (Va. Code 63.2-1243): an adult stepchild you parented for three months; a close relative eighteen or older; your birth child or a person who lived in your home three months before turning eighteen; or, for good cause, an adult fifteen years younger known to you one year.
Which court handles an adult adoption in Virginia?
The circuit court. Va. Code 63.2-1243 says the petition may be filed in circuit court by any natural person who is a resident of the Commonwealth, and Va. Code 63.2-1201 places venue in the county or city where the petitioner resides. Virginia has no probate or family court handling this.
Does Virginia require a home study for an adult adoption?
No. Va. Code 63.2-1244 provides that for adoptions under the adult adoption article an investigation and report shall not be made unless the circuit court in its discretion so requires. Where the judge does order one, the court forwards the petition to the local director under Va. Code 63.2-1208.
What does it cost to file an adult adoption in Virginia?
Va. Code 17.1-275 sets a fee of $20 for all services rendered in an adoption proceeding, paid by the petitioner. Chapter 12 separately carries a $50 Virginia Birth Father Registry charge worded for petitions filed under Va. Code 63.2-1201, so confirm the total with your circuit court clerk.
Virginia adult adoption at a glance
An adult adoption in Virginia is a circuit court order that makes one adult the permanent legal parent of another, after which the person adopted is entitled to all the rights and privileges, and subject to all the obligations, of a child born in lawful wedlock (Va. Code 63.2-1215). Virginia devotes a whole article of chapter 12 to the subject, and that article narrows rather than opens it. Va. Code 63.2-1243 permits four routes: an adult stepchild you parented for three months, a close relative, your birth child or a person who lived with you for three months before turning eighteen, or, for good cause shown, an adult at least fifteen years younger whom you have known a year. There is no disability route. The person adopted always consents, neither parent does, and no investigation is made unless the judge orders one.
Using Virginia's fourth route when no relationship route fits
Say you are fifty four, you live in Henrico County, and you want to adopt the thirty one year old you have mentored since she aged out of a group home. She is not your stepchild, not a close relative, and never lived in your home, so the first three routes in Va. Code 63.2-1243 are all closed to you. The fourth route is the one you plead. She is twenty three years younger than you, comfortably past the fifteen year minimum, and you have known each other far longer than one year. Your petition has to show good cause, and the judge decides that question. You file in the Henrico County circuit court, she signs her consent, no parent consents, and the clerk's fee is $20. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.
Relevant Laws
Va. Code 63.2-1243 (adoption of certain persons eighteen years of age or over)
The adult adoption section. Sets the four routes, puts the petition in circuit court, requires the petitioner to be a Virginia resident, requires no consent of either parent, requires the consent of the person to be adopted in all cases, and deems a name change in the order to satisfy Va. Code 8.01-217.
Va. Code 63.2-1244 (investigation and report at discretion of circuit court)
Provides that for adoptions under the adult adoption article an investigation and report shall not be made unless the circuit court in its discretion so requires, and that where one is required the court forwards the petition and exhibits to the local director under Va. Code 63.2-1208.
Va. Code 63.2-1242.1 (relative adoption, the close relative list)
Defines the kinship degrees the second route borrows: grandparent, great grandparent, adult nephew or niece, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, adult great uncle or great aunt, stepparent, adult stepbrother or stepsister, or other adult relatives by marriage or adoption.
Va. Code 63.2-1201 (filing of petition, venue, joint petition of spouses)
Places the petition in the circuit court for the county or city where the petitioner resides, limits filing to a natural person who resides in the Commonwealth, makes the petition the joint petition of husband and wife, and carries the $50 Virginia Birth Father Registry charge.
Va. Code 63.2-1215 (legal effects of adoption)
Divests the birth parents of all legal rights and obligations, other than a parent who is the husband or wife of a petitioner, and entitles the person adopted to all the rights and privileges, and subjects them to all the obligations, of a child born in lawful wedlock.
Regional Variances
Virginia adult adoption rules at a glance
Who may be adopted
Four routes under Va. Code 63.2-1243 and nothing outside them: an adult stepchild with three months of in loco parentis, a close relative eighteen or older, a birth child or a person who lived in your home three months before turning eighteen, or the good cause route. No disability route exists.
Age of majority
Eighteen. Va. Code 1-204 provides that a person shall be an adult and reach the age of majority when he becomes 18 years of age, and Va. Code 63.2-1243 independently keys the section to persons eighteen years of age or over.
Age relationship
Fifteen years, and only on the fourth route, which requires the person adopted to be at least fifteen years younger than the petitioner (Va. Code 63.2-1243). The other three routes set no gap and do not require the person adopted to be younger at all.
Prior acquaintance
One year, again only on the fourth route. The petitioner and the person to be adopted must have known each other for at least one year prior to the filing of the petition (Va. Code 63.2-1243). An unusual lever that most codes do not carry.
Consent of the person adopted
Required in all cases, with no exception for any of the four routes (Va. Code 63.2-1243). Because Virginia has no disability category, the consent rule is flat rather than split by route.
Consent of the petitioner's spouse
Joinder rather than consent. Va. Code 63.2-1201 makes the petition the joint petition of husband and wife, with the spouse who is already the adoptee's legal parent uniting to indicate consent to the prayer only. Attorney review of this reading is available.
Consent of the adoptee's spouse
Nothing in chapter 12 addresses the spouse of the person being adopted. Every spouse, husband and wife reference in the chapter concerns the petitioner's spouse or the spouse of a birth or adoptive parent. This is statutory silence, not a stated exemption.
Birth parents
No consent of either parent shall be required (Va. Code 63.2-1243). The chapter supplies no adult specific notice provision, and publication under Va. Code 63.2-1208 issues only if the court finds it necessary.
Court and venue
Circuit court (Va. Code 63.2-1243), in the county or city where the petitioner resides (Va. Code 63.2-1201). Virginia has no probate, family, surrogate's or chancery court with adoption jurisdiction.
Residency
The petitioner must be a resident of the Commonwealth (Va. Code 63.2-1243). No durational period is stated anywhere in the section. The person being adopted is under no residency requirement.
Filing fee
$20 for all services rendered in an adoption proceeding, paid by the petitioner (Va. Code 17.1-275). A separate $50 Virginia Birth Father Registry charge is worded for petitions filed under Va. Code 63.2-1201, so confirm the total with the clerk.
Investigation
Expressly not made unless the circuit court in its discretion so requires (Va. Code 63.2-1244). This is a stated waiver inside the adult adoption article, not a provision that merely fails to reach adults. The home study and background check in Va. Code 63.2-1231 belong to parental placements.
Offender bar
No petition for adoption shall be granted if the person seeking to adopt has been convicted of an offense requiring registration under Va. Code 9.1-902 (Va. Code 63.2-1205.1). The wording is not limited by the age of the person being adopted.
Name change
Available in the same order, and Va. Code 63.2-1243 deems a final order incorporating a change of name to meet the requirements of Va. Code 8.01-217, which spares the adoptee a separate sworn name change application.
Inheritance
The person adopted gains all the rights and privileges of a child born in lawful wedlock and the birth parents are divested (Va. Code 63.2-1215). For succession, Va. Code 64.2-102 makes an adopted person the child of the adopting parent and not of the biological parents.
Records
Kept by the circuit court clerk in a separate and exclusive order book, file and index not exposed to public view, and retained permanently (Va. Code 63.2-1245).
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Place your situation in one of the four Virginia routes
Before you draft anything days after startingRead Va. Code 63.2-1243 and decide which route you rely on, because the facts you have to plead differ for each. If you are using the close relative route, check the degrees listed in Va. Code 63.2-1242.1 rather than assuming the relationship qualifies.
Measure the fifteen year gap and the one year acquaintance
Only if you rely on the fourth route days after startingConfirm the person being adopted is at least fifteen years younger than you and that the two of you have known each other for at least one year before the petition is filed. Both conditions sit in Va. Code 63.2-1243 alongside the good cause requirement.
Confirm the Va. Code 63.2-1205.1 bar does not apply
Before filing days after startingNo petition for adoption shall be granted if the person seeking to adopt has been convicted of an offense requiring registration under Va. Code 9.1-902. Virginia orders no investigation by default, so this is on you to verify rather than something the process surfaces.
Draft the petition for adoption
First document to prepare days after startingName the route and plead the facts that satisfy it, request the change of name if one is wanted (Va. Code 63.2-1201), and have it signed by you and by counsel of record if any. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft.
Obtain the written consent of the adult being adopted
With the petition days after startingVa. Code 63.2-1243 requires the consent of the person to be adopted in all cases and no consent of either parent. This single consent is the one document the Virginia adult adoption section insists upon, so do not file without it.
Add your spouse as a joint petitioner if you are married
Before filing days after startingVa. Code 63.2-1201 makes the petition the joint petition of husband and wife. Where the adult being adopted is already your spouse's legal child, that spouse unites in the petition for the purpose of indicating consent to its prayer only.
File in your circuit court and pay the clerk
When the papers are signed days after startingFile in the circuit court for the county or city where you reside (Va. Code 63.2-1201) and pay the $20 fee for all services rendered in an adoption proceeding (Va. Code 17.1-275). Ask the clerk whether the $50 Birth Father Registry charge is collected on your petition.
Respond if the judge orders an investigation
Only if the court directs it days after startingNo investigation is made unless the circuit court so requires (Va. Code 63.2-1244). If it does, the court sends the petition and exhibits to the local director and Va. Code 63.2-1208 applies, which gives the agency sixty days to file its report.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Place your situation in one of the four Virginia routes | Read Va. Code 63.2-1243 and decide which route you rely on, because the facts you have to plead differ for each. If you are using the close relative route, check the degrees listed in Va. Code 63.2-1242.1 rather than assuming the relationship qualifies. | - | Before you draft anything |
| Measure the fifteen year gap and the one year acquaintance | Confirm the person being adopted is at least fifteen years younger than you and that the two of you have known each other for at least one year before the petition is filed. Both conditions sit in Va. Code 63.2-1243 alongside the good cause requirement. | - | Only if you rely on the fourth route |
| Confirm the Va. Code 63.2-1205.1 bar does not apply | No petition for adoption shall be granted if the person seeking to adopt has been convicted of an offense requiring registration under Va. Code 9.1-902. Virginia orders no investigation by default, so this is on you to verify rather than something the process surfaces. | - | Before filing |
| Draft the petition for adoption | Name the route and plead the facts that satisfy it, request the change of name if one is wanted (Va. Code 63.2-1201), and have it signed by you and by counsel of record if any. Attorney review of the petition is available through DocDraft. | - | First document to prepare |
| Obtain the written consent of the adult being adopted | Va. Code 63.2-1243 requires the consent of the person to be adopted in all cases and no consent of either parent. This single consent is the one document the Virginia adult adoption section insists upon, so do not file without it. | - | With the petition |
| Add your spouse as a joint petitioner if you are married | Va. Code 63.2-1201 makes the petition the joint petition of husband and wife. Where the adult being adopted is already your spouse's legal child, that spouse unites in the petition for the purpose of indicating consent to its prayer only. | - | Before filing |
| File in your circuit court and pay the clerk | File in the circuit court for the county or city where you reside (Va. Code 63.2-1201) and pay the $20 fee for all services rendered in an adoption proceeding (Va. Code 17.1-275). Ask the clerk whether the $50 Birth Father Registry charge is collected on your petition. | - | When the papers are signed |
| Respond if the judge orders an investigation | No investigation is made unless the circuit court so requires (Va. Code 63.2-1244). If it does, the court sends the petition and exhibits to the local director and Va. Code 63.2-1208 applies, which gives the agency sixty days to file its report. | - | Only if the court directs it |
Frequently Asked Questions
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