Adoption Cost & Process Guide UK 2026 — Domestic, Overseas & Step-Parent Adoption
Adoption permanently transfers parental responsibility to the adoptive parents and extinguishes the birth parents’ legal relationship with the child. The costs and process vary enormously depending on whether you adopt through a local authority (which is free), a voluntary adoption agency, or through an inter-country route. This guide covers every route and what to expect.
Domestic adoption via local authority: free to adopters. Step-parent adoption court fee: £183. Inter-country adoption: significant costs apply. Adoption leave: up to 52 weeks (same as maternity leave). Statutory Adoption Pay: up to 39 weeks at £194.32/week (2026/27). Adoption Order application can be made after 10 weeks of placement.
The Domestic Adoption Process
- Registration of interest — contact your local authority adoption team or a voluntary adoption agency (VAA). Initial enquiries are free and do not commit you.
- Information and preparation — attend preparation groups, receive information about adoption, and be supported to consider whether it is right for you.
- Assessment (home study) — a social worker carries out a detailed assessment of your life, relationships, health, and capacity to parent. Takes 6–8 months typically. Results in a report to the Adoption Panel.
- Adoption Panel recommendation — an independent panel considers the assessment and makes a recommendation to the agency decision-maker.
- Agency decision — the agency (LA or VAA) makes the formal decision that you are approved to adopt.
- Matching — children are matched with approved adopters. You may wait months or years for a match. National Adoption Register helps match children without local matches.
- Introductions — a structured meeting and transition period before the child moves in.
- Placement — child moves in. A placement order is in force. Adoption cannot be applied for for at least 10 weeks.
- Adoption Order — application to family court after 10 weeks of placement. Hearing usually straightforward. Court fee: £183. The Order finalises the adoption legally.
Adoption Leave and Pay
Adopters have the same leave and pay entitlements as birth mothers on maternity leave:
- Adoption leave: up to 52 weeks (26 weeks ordinary + 26 weeks additional)
- Statutory Adoption Pay (SAP): up to 39 weeks. First 6 weeks at 90% of average weekly earnings; remaining 33 weeks at the flat rate of £194.32/week (2026/27)
- Eligibility: must have 26 weeks continuous service with the employer by the time of matching notification, and earn at least £129/week (2026/27)
- Partner leave: the partner can take up to 2 weeks’ paternity leave and pay
- Shared Parental Leave: available for adoption in the same way as for birth
The Difference Between Domestic and Intercountry Adoption Costs
Domestic adoption through a UK local authority or voluntary adoption agency involves no fees payable by the adopter for the adoption process itself — the process is publicly funded, and prospective adopters aren't charged for assessment, matching, or the legal process, though there are still personal costs to budget for, such as time off work during the assessment period, DBS checks, and the practical costs of preparing your home for a child. Intercountry adoption is a different picture entirely: costs typically run into many thousands of pounds, covering the UK assessment process (via a local authority or approved agency), fees charged by the country of origin, translation and legalisation of documents, and often significant travel and accommodation costs for one or more trips abroad as part of the process. Intercountry adoption is also generally a considerably longer and more legally complex process, often taking several years from initial application to a child being placed.
Adoption Support Fund — Help With Therapeutic Costs
Many adopted children have experienced early trauma, neglect, or attachment difficulties before adoption, and the Adoption Support Fund exists specifically to help meet the cost of therapeutic support for adoptive families in England, covering things like specialist therapy, parenting programmes tailored to adopted children, and other assessed support needs. Applications go through your local authority or the agency that supported your adoption, following an assessment of the family's needs — the fund doesn't pay money directly to families, but instead funds approved services once a need has been identified and agreed. This support isn't automatic or unlimited, and demand on the fund can mean waiting times for an assessment or for funded support to begin, but it's a valuable resource that many adoptive families aren't fully aware of until they specifically ask their local authority about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. An adoption order is final and irreversible. Birth parents cannot revoke their consent after the order is made. The only route to challenge an adoption order is an appeal, which must be made promptly and on grounds that the order was wrongly made. Once an adoption order is in place, the child is legally the child of the adoptive parents in every respect.
Letterbox contact (also called indirect contact or post-adoption contact) allows birth family members to exchange letters or cards with the child via the adoption agency, without direct contact. It is common for once or twice a year and allows the child to have some connection to their birth family history. Direct contact (meetings) is much less common and only appropriate in specific circumstances where it is in the child’s best interests.
Yes — single people, married couples, civil partners, and unmarried couples (including same-sex couples) can all apply to adopt in the UK. There's no requirement to be in a relationship at all, and adoption agencies assess suitability based on your capacity to meet a child's needs, stability, and support network, not on your relationship status. Being single doesn't disadvantage an application, though agencies will want to understand your wider support network, since raising an adopted child — often with additional needs stemming from their early experiences — benefits from a strong circle of support around the primary carer.
For domestic adoption, the process from approved application to a child being placed typically takes around 6 to 12 months once you're approved as an adopter, though the assessment and approval stage itself (Stage One and Stage Two) usually takes around 6 months on its own, so the realistic total timeline from first enquiry to a child being placed is often closer to a year or more. Timescales vary significantly depending on individual circumstances, the needs of children waiting to be matched, and the capacity of the local authority or agency handling your case.