Non-agency adoption
Please read this page and attached document carefully as there is a lot of very important legal information. You should ensure you understand the content prior to submitting your notice of intent, given this is a significant legal process.
There are two forms you must complete to submit your intention to adopt. The first is the ‘Notification of Intention to Adopt Form’ below, which gives basic details of you and your family. Both you and your partner should also complete the ‘Consent to Confidential Information to Adopt Form’.
You will receive acknowledgement of receipt of these completed forms and should you wish to do so, you can make your adoption application to the court three months following this acknowledgement. We endeavour to allocate a social worker as soon as we are able following receipt of your notice of intent in order that we may work alongside you prior to your application being submitted to court. Indeed courts find it assists to receive the application alongside the report prepared by a social worker, therefore we do request that if the assessment takes longer than three months, that you wait until this work is completed before apply to the court.
It is important to understand the effect of a ‘notice of intention to adopt’ is that restrictions are made on the child’s removal from their home. The child may not be removed for four months beginning with the giving of the notice, except by leave of the court or by a local authority or an authorised person. These restrictions also apply after the application for an adoption order is made to a court. The notice of intention to adopt expires after two years, if no application for an adoption order is made.
You will see in the information below that it is necessary, regardless of the circumstances, to consult with the non-resident parent. Courts regard the making of Adoption Orders amongst the most serious decisions they can make. Therefore, please do not submit a notice of intent to adopt without details of the non-resident parent. If you do not provide such details you must explain the reasons why and provide evidence of the steps that have been taken to trace the non-resident parent. For example through family and friends, social media and internet searching. If you have not taken steps to trace yet please do so before submitting your notice of intent. Where it remains not possible to provide this information the court is likely to order other means of contacting the non-resident parent.
Where you are thinking about adopting the child of your partner; naturally you are now in a relationship and you cannot envisage that relationship discontinuing on the future. However, we know that sometimes relationships do not always last until children are adults. Therefore you should know that where you do adopt your partner’s child and you later find that you are no longer in a relationship, you will remain legally and financially responsible for that child.
We also need to make you aware that where the child you hope to adopt is not a British passport holder or not eligible for one, the court will likely wish to inform the Home Office as they may wish for the Secretary of State to become party to the proceedings.
In order for us to process your application please ensure you complete both questionnaires.
Notification of Intent to Adopt
Consent for Statutory & Police Checks for Non-Agency Adopters