We provide advice and information about the process of a possible adoption as well as other support services and alternatives to adoption. If you decide to relinquish the child, we will support you throughout the entire adoption process.

Our task also includes looking with you at the possibilities of living together with your child.

We support you in your search for origins and accompany you in the "search for your roots" according to your wishes.

From the age of 16, adoptees have a right to know their biological origins and can contact the adoption agency independently with their concerns.

We can also help you if you gave your child up for adoption a long time ago and would like to receive information.

Please note that in the case of stepchild adoptions, all parties involved must undergo mandatory counseling by an official adoption agency prior to notarial consent (in accordance with § 9a AdVermiG).

The parties involved include both biological parents, the adopting parent and siblings.

"For a stepchild adoption, the couple must be married, in a registered civil partnership or living in a stable cohabitation. In the case of a stepchild adoption, the adopter must have reached the age of 21 (Section 1743 sentence 1 BGB)." (Recommendations for adoption mediation, 9th, newly revised version 2022, p.35)

A stepchild adoption is also necessary if the intended parent is also to become the legal parent following reproductive medical measures or private sperm donation.

After the initial consultation and notarized consent, a standardized review process begins. This forms the basis for the pedagogical opinion in the family court proceedings. The family court decides on the adoption.

The adoption agency examines the adoption applicant's application for the general suitability of the adoption applicant (suitability test) to adopt a child with habitual residence in Germany. (Section 7 of the Adoption Placement Act (AdVermiG)).

The suitability test includes in particular

1.the personal and family circumstances of the adoption applicant,

2.the state of health of the adoption applicant,

3.the social environment of the adoption applicant,

4.the motives of the adoption applicants for the adoption and

5.the characteristics of the children for whom the applicants are able and willing to care." (Recommendations for Adoption Placement, 9th, newly revised version 2022)

Part of the vetting process also involves attending an adoption preparation course as well as several interviews with the adoption agency team and at least one home visit.

In addition, various documents and information must be submitted to the specialist service.

You will receive the relevant information and forms from the responsible specialists after the initial consultation.

Applicants are responsible for the costs incurred during the assessment.

The following generally applies:

Anyone wishing to adopt a child must have unlimited legal capacity under German law and be at least 25 years old. If one of the couple is married, at least one of the spouses must be this age and the younger spouse must be at least 21 years old.

There is no maximum age for adoptive parents. However, according to the Federal Working Group of the State Youth Welfare Offices, the age difference to the adoptive child should correspond to a natural distance.

Third-party adoption in Germany

In the case of foreign adoptions, a distinction is made between an open adoption and an incognito adoption.

The trend in recent years has been towards open adoption, as knowledge of one's own origins is of great importance for adoptees throughout their lives.

It is important for the child's development that the adoptive parents inform them about their origins and that biographical work is part of everyday family life.

Intercountry adoption with foreign contact

If a child with dual or foreign citizenship is to be adopted or if an adopting parent has dual or foreign citizenship, this is referred to as an intercountry adoption.

If this is the case, the country-specific regulations of the country concerned must be taken into account, as different requirements apply there and may have legal consequences than in Germany.

In many countries, adoption is regulated by the 'Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in respect of Intercountry Adoption'.

Further information and specific features of the respective country can be obtained from the Joint Central Adoption Center (GZA) Hamburg (opens in a new tab).

The adoption agency clarifies in advance with the adoption applicants and the parents of origin whether there should be an exchange of information or contact between the receiving parents, the parents of origin and the child and what form this contact might take.

The focus is always on the child's welfare and needs.

The adoption agency will discuss this possible voluntary exchange of information at regular intervals.

In practical terms, this means that information or photos can be exchanged between the parties at agreed intervals via the adoption agency, for example, or that personal meetings can be planned and accompanied. Despite the exchange of information, the incognito could remain partially intact. The adoptive family's address is protected.

(1) The adoption placement agency (§ 2 paragraph 1, § 2a paragraph 4 number 1) shall accompany the adoption applicant, the parents and the child before and during the adoption placement as well as during the adoption care. (...)

Adoption support includes in particular

1. general counseling of the adoption applicants, the parents and the child on questions related to the adoption and support as needed,

2. providing information about the requirements and the course of the adoption procedure as well as the legal consequences of the adoption,

3. informing the relinquishing parents about support measures within the framework of child and youth welfare as an alternative to adoption, as well as supporting the relinquishing parents in coping with the social and psychological effects in connection with the impending or already completed consent to the adoption of the child,

4. information on the rights of the child, emphasizing the importance of knowing the child's origins for its development,

5. ensuring that the adoption applicant informs the child about its origins from the outset in accordance with its age and maturity,

6. providing information about the possibilities and organization of information exchange or contact between the adoption applicants and the child on the one hand and the parents on the other (in accordance with §§ 8a and 8b),

7. discussing the organization of an exchange of information or contact between the adoption applicants and the child on the one hand and the parents on the other in accordance with § 8a, and

8. information on the right to inspect files in accordance with Section 9c (2) and information on possibilities for tracing the origin of the child.

(2) After the adoption decision by the family court, the child, the adopters and the relinquishing parents are entitled to subsequent adoption support from the adoption agency (Section 2 (1), Section 2a (4) No. 1). (...)

The follow-up adoption support includes in particular

1. needs-based counseling and support for the child, the adopters and the relinquishing parents,
2. promoting and accompanying an exchange of information or contacts between the adopters and the child on the one hand and the relinquishing parents on the other in accordance with Sections 8a and 8b,
3. supporting the relinquishing parents in coping with the social and psychological effects of the decision to consent to the adoption of the child, in particular by pointing out to the relinquishing parents the help available from other specialist services,
4. supporting the adopters in informing the child about its origins in an age-appropriate manner and
5. accompanying the child in the search for its origins, including accompanying the child born in confidence when inspecting the certificate of origin in accordance with Section 31 (1) of the Pregnancy Conflict Act.

Before an adoption can be legally pronounced, an adoption care period must have taken place. This period begins when the child moves into the adoptive parents' household. The duration of this period depends on the individual circumstances. As a rule, it can be assumed to be at least one year.

A child can also move into the adoptive parents' household before the parents have given their notarized consent.

In terms of the child's welfare, it would be desirable to take the child into the adopting parents' household as early as possible. This may mean that the child moves in before notarized consent is given and therefore there is no certainty as to where the adopters will remain.

It is therefore important and necessary to advise the applicants in advance in order to address possible uncertainties regarding the whereabouts of the child. The applicants must develop their own attitude to this so that they can assess for themselves how resilient they are. The child's need for security and a fixed place to live must be balanced against the adoptive parents' need for security.

With the parents' consent to the adoption, they relinquish all rights and an official guardian must be appointed. From this point on, the child's maintenance claims must be covered by the potential adoptive parents. Once the child has moved in with the adoptive parents, they are entitled to parental allowance and parental leave as well as midwife benefits.

The child is usually covered by the future adoptive parents' health insurance.

Duration

"(...) The duration of the adoption care period depends on the individual case and will usually be shorter for infants and toddlers than for older children or children with special needs. As a rule, it should not be less than one year and should be calculated in such a way that statements can be made before the time of the judicial adoption decision,

• whether a parent-child relationship has developed or is at least to be expected during the adoption care period,
• whether the conditions for the child have visibly improved and the adoption is therefore in the best interests of the child and
• how the agreements made in advance on organizing or maintaining contact and / or exchanging information are implemented in the best interests of the child.

In the case of relative or stepchild adoptions, attention must also be paid to an appropriate adoption care period." (Recommendations for adoption placement, 9th, newly revised version 2022, p.82)

In the case of married women or women living in a civil partnership who have planned a pregnancy together, a shortening of the time until adoption may be considered. It must be taken into account that the presence of a child gives the couple's relationship a new dynamic.