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When a little girl introduces her stepfather as “my dad,” he feels the weight of those two words. He has helped raise her, cared for her through illnesses and become someone she trusts. Now he and her mother want to understand what is needed to adopt a child in Texas so their legal relationship can reflect the family bond they share. In this fictional example, their first step is to review existing orders and determine whose parental rights remain.
Your family’s story may look different, but the questions can feel just as personal. Can we move forward? Whose consent is needed? What happens if someone objects? Texas Family Code Chapter 162 provides different adoption pathways, and §162.016 requires the court to find that the legal requirements are met and adoption serves the child’s best interest. Understanding your route can make the process feel more manageable.
At the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, we believe clear answers help families reclaim peace of mind during life’s hardest transitions. Founded by Bryan Joseph Fagan, a South Texas College of Law graduate licensed in Texas since 2012, our firm combines compassionate counsel with practical guidance to help protect what matters most.
This guide explains which route may fit, who must take part and the family considerations to discuss before you begin. Wherever you are in the process, you can take the next step with a clearer understanding of your options and your child’s needs. Our adoption-petition filing checklist covers the documents, and our guide to what the adoption court needs covers the hearing.
Quick Answer
Quick Answer
Start by identifying your route. Confirm whether each living parent’s rights have ended or a parent is married to you, which custody orders already exist, who must join or consent, and whether an adoption evaluation, a residence period or a criminal-history check applies. An attorney can confirm the route before anything is filed.
Key Takeaways
- The route comes first. Whether each living parent’s rights have ended decides most of what comes next.
- Existing orders matter. Custody, conservatorship and termination orders show who still has rights and who must consent.
- An adult with standing files. If the petitioner is married, both spouses join the petition.
- Consent depends on who is involved. A managing conservator’s written consent is needed unless the conservator is the petitioner, and a child 12 or older must consent unless the court waives it in the child’s best interest.
- Some steps depend on the route. The court may waive an adoption evaluation only in an uncontested stepparent adoption.
What Is Needed to Adopt a Child in Texas Before You Begin?
Understanding what is needed to adopt a child in Texas starts with your family’s situation: whose parental rights remain, which court orders already exist and how the child came into your care. Texas Family Code §162.001 provides several adoption pathways, so the same steps do not apply to every family. Use the table below to identify a possible route, then confirm with an attorney which requirements apply to you.
If DFPS is involved, bring any agency paperwork alongside your court orders so counsel can assess your circumstances. If you are also navigating divorce, our guide to cooperating with DFPS without compromising your divorce proceedings addresses that separate concern.
Which Adoption Route May Apply?
| If this describes your family | Route that may apply | Confirm with counsel |
|---|---|---|
| Each living parent’s rights have already ended, or you plan to ask the court to end them | Termination completed or joined with the adoption (§162.001(b)(1)) | Whether a termination order exists for each living parent, or what a termination request would require |
| You are married to the child’s parent | Stepparent adoption (§162.001(b)(2)) | Whether the other parent’s rights have ended or must be terminated |
| The child is at least two, one parent’s rights have ended, and you have been caring for the child | The care-period routes (§162.001(b)(3)–(4)) | Whether your care period and the remaining parent’s consent meet the statute |
| A parent signed a relinquishment naming DFPS or a licensed agency | Agency or DFPS route (§162.001(c)) | Whether the affidavit consents to placement and appoints the agency managing conservator |
| The child is in foster care | DFPS adoption | Your caseworker’s process and any DFPS program standards |
Existing Parental Rights and Conservatorship Orders
Understanding what is needed to adopt a child in Texas starts with reviewing the orders already in place. Gather divorce decrees, custody or conservatorship orders and any termination orders. They help establish whose parental rights remain and who holds decision-making authority for the child. A custody order does not, by itself, terminate parental rights.
If termination is requested together with adoption, Texas Family Code §162.016(a) requires the court to terminate the parent-child relationship when rendering the adoption order and make separate best-interest findings for termination and adoption. Discuss with counsel which findings and requests your route requires. If DFPS is involved, bring relevant agency records as well; our related discussion of custody in the context of DFPS evaluations provides additional context.
Who May File
Being an adult is only the starting point. Under §162.001(a), an adult may petition to adopt a child who may be adopted, subject to Chapter 102’s standing rules. “Standing” means the legal right to bring the case, and §102.005 identifies adoption-specific categories, including stepparents. If the petitioner is married, §162.002(a) requires both spouses to join the petition.
Standing can narrow after every living parent’s rights have been terminated. Under §102.006, former parents, the child’s father and specified relatives generally cannot file an original suit unless an exception applies. Examples include a continuing court-ordered right to possession or access, or consent to bring the suit from the child’s managing conservator, guardian or legal custodian. Confirm both your standing and any separate adoption-consent requirements before filing; satisfying one does not automatically satisfy the other.
Who May Need to Join, Consent or Participate
Part of understanding what is needed to adopt a child in Texas is identifying who must join the petition, give consent or attend the hearing. These are separate requirements, so agreement within the family does not replace checking each person’s legal role.
Under Texas Family Code §162.010, a child’s parent who is married to the petitioner must join the petition, and no further consent from that parent is required. Unless the managing conservator is the petitioner, the conservator’s written consent must be filed; the court may waive it if consent is refused or revoked without good cause.
A child age 12 or older must consent in writing or in court unless the court waives consent because doing so would serve the child’s best interest. Separately, §162.014(b) requires a child age 12 or older to attend the hearing unless the court waives attendance in the child’s best interest. Waiving one requirement does not automatically waive the other.
Before proceeding, identify anyone whose participation is uncertain and discuss that concern with counsel. For broader context, our A–Z explanation of adoption in Texas for parents can help you prepare questions about your family’s next steps.
Requirements That May Depend on the Route
May Apply to Your Case
- An adoption evaluation under Texas Family Code Chapter 107, Subchapter E, unless the court waives it in an uncontested stepparent adoption after reviewing DFPS investigative records and Department of Public Safety criminal history (§107.153).
- Six months of the child living with you before the adoption is granted, unless the court waives it on your request as in the child’s best interest (§162.009).
- Criminal history record information for each person seeking to adopt, which the court orders (§162.0085).
- A health, social, educational and genetic history report, except in grandparent, aunt or uncle, and stepparent adoptions (§§162.005, 162.008).
- The court’s finding that the requirements are met and the adoption is in the child’s best interest (§162.016(b)).
Court Rule, Program Standard or Agency Policy?
| Kind of rule | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide court rule | A requirement in the Texas Family Code that applies in the adoption case | Standing, consents, the six-month residence rule, the adoption evaluation, criminal history for each person seeking to adopt and the court’s findings |
| DFPS program standard | A requirement DFPS sets for families in its foster/adopt program | DFPS asks foster/adopt families to be at least 21, financially stable and responsible, to provide references and attend training, and to allow criminal-history and abuse/neglect checks on all adults in the household |
| Private-agency policy | A licensed child-placing agency’s own acceptance or placement criteria | An agency may add its own requirements; ask the agency what it requires before you apply |
Requirements That May Depend on the Route
Understanding what is needed to adopt a child in Texas means separating court requirements from the standards of the program or agency you use. The DFPS requirements for foster/adopt families apply to its foster/adopt program; they are not universal eligibility rules for every Chapter 162 adoption. Ask which source supports each requirement on your checklist.
Texas Family Code Chapter 162 allows an adult with standing to petition and does not impose a separate age-21 minimum, fixed income threshold or general marriage requirement. If you are married, however, §162.002 requires both spouses to join the petition. DFPS and private agencies may apply additional program or placement standards.
If your situation involves DFPS, non-parent custody or kinship care, the firm may route your inquiry to Megan Nordyke, whose practice includes adoption, DFPS/CPS and non-parent custody matters. Once your route is clear, our guide to what the adoption court needs in Texas addresses the court-focused questions to discuss next.
What Could Block, Delay or Change the Adoption Route?
Texas law does not publish a single disqualification list. Instead, several separate legal gates can stop, delay or change an adoption route. Check each one with your attorney:
Two protections also apply. In an adoption suit, the court and any person performing an adoption evaluation or home screening may not treat a petitioner’s membership in the U.S. armed forces, the Texas National Guard or another state’s National Guard, or a reserve component as a negative factor in deciding best interest or suitability (§162.0025). And DFPS, a single source continuum contractor or a licensed child-placing agency that places a child for adoption may not set a maximum age for any prospective adoptive parent or a maximum age difference between the child and the parent, although it may consider each prospective adoptive parent’s health and expected lifespan in deciding the child’s best interest (§162.604).
Two more questions belong early in any adoption plan. Will the child move between states for the placement? The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children can apply, particularly to private adoption placements, and the adoption petition must include a verified statement about compliance or the reasons for noncompliance (§162.002(b)); DFPS explains the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. Is the child an unmarried person under 18 who is a member of an Indian tribe, or eligible for membership and the biological child of a member? If so, the federal Indian Child Welfare Act may apply, because its definition of a child custody proceeding includes an adoptive placement (25 U.S.C. §1903(1), (4)).
Supporting case note — one case, three separate gates: In Celestine v. Department of Family & Protective Services, 321 S.W.3d 222 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2010, no pet.), the court of appeals treated standing, the six-month residence rule and the managing conservator’s consent as separate questions. It could not determine from the record whether Celestine had standing under §102.006 and did not conclusively decide that issue; it affirmed the dismissal because some evidence supported the implicit finding that waiving the six-month residence requirement was not in the children’s best interest, reviewing that ruling for abuse of discretion; and it did not reach the consent question. The result turned on that record. Source: an unofficial reproduction of the opinion; the reporter citation was confirmed through independent sources; treatment was checked by search only, not a citator.
| Issue | What the law says | What to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Standing | Section 102.005 identifies who may file an adoption suit; after every living parent’s rights end, §102.006 limits who may file unless an exception applies | Whether you have standing on your route |
| Parental rights that remain | A child may be adopted only through a route in §162.001(b)–(c), such as termination for each living parent or a stepparent adoption | Whether termination must be requested in the same case |
| Managing-conservator consent | The conservator’s written consent is required unless the conservator is the petitioner; the court may waive it if refused or revoked without good cause (§162.010(a)). A consent required by §162.010 may be revoked by filing a signed revocation before the adoption order is rendered (§162.011) | Who the managing conservator is and whether the consent is firm |
| Six-month residence | The child must have lived with you at least six months, unless the court waives it on your request as in the child’s best interest (§162.009) | Whether you meet the period or should request a waiver |
| Adoption evaluation | Required unless waived in an uncontested stepparent adoption after DFPS and DPS record review (§107.153); a court may impose requirements or adopt local rules for the evaluation that do not conflict with Chapter 107, Subchapter E (§107.158(b)) | Any local evaluation procedures in your court |
| Criminal history | The court orders each person seeking to adopt to obtain that person’s own criminal history record information (§162.0085); the statute does not itself say how any particular record affects the outcome | How your history may be weighed, with counsel, before you file |
| A child 12 or older | The child must consent (§162.010(c)) and must attend the hearing (§162.014(b)); the court may waive each requirement separately in the child’s best interest | The child’s wishes and whether either waiver may be requested |
| Who arranged the placement | Section 162.025 generally makes it an offense for a person outside the statute’s listed categories to act as an intermediary identifying a prospective adoptive parent and a child’s parent to each other, or to place a child for adoption. Its professional-services exception applies only when the parent or prospective adopter identified the other party and the placement occurred without the professional’s assistance. | Who identified the parties, who made the placement and whether that person or organization falls within a listed category or exception. |
Questions to Answer Before You Begin
Questions to Answer
- Whose parental rights remain, and does a termination order already exist for either parent?
- Who is the child’s managing conservator today?
- Is anyone who must join or consent unwilling or unavailable?
- Has the child lived with us for six months?
- Is the child 12 or older, and what does the child want?
What to Discuss With an Adoption Attorney
Bring These to Your Consultation
- Which adoption route applies to our family and why
- Whether termination must be requested in the same case
- Which consents are needed and whether any waiver may apply
- Whether the court will order an adoption evaluation or, in an uncontested stepparent adoption, may waive it
- What the court will need at the hearing and which documents to gather first
Questions About Adopting a Child?
A Texas family-law attorney at the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC can help identify your adoption route, the people who must join or consent and what to confirm before filing, without promising a particular outcome.
Our Texas family-law team helps families with adoptions in courts across the state.
Legal Resources
- Texas Family Code Chapter 162 (Adoption) — Official Texas law: who may adopt and be adopted, joinder, military service, consents and revocation, residence, criminal history, history reports, the child’s attendance, findings, unauthorized placement and maximum-age policies (sections 162.001–162.016, 162.0025, 162.025 and 162.604).
- Texas Family Code Chapter 102 (Filing Suit) — Official Texas law on standing to file a suit requesting an adoption and its limits (sections 102.005–102.006).
- Texas Family Code Chapter 107, Subchapter E (Adoption Evaluation) — Official Texas law on when the court orders an adoption evaluation, the stepparent waiver and nonconflicting local requirements (sections 107.153 and 107.158).
- 25 U.S.C. §1903 (Indian Child Welfare Act definitions) — Official federal law defining a child custody proceeding, including an adoptive placement, and an Indian child (section 1903).
- Celestine v. Department of Family & Protective Services, 321 S.W.3d 222 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2010, no pet.) — Court of appeals opinion treating standing, residence and managing-conservator consent as separate questions; linked to an unofficial reproduction; supporting note only.
Practical Resources (Nonbinding Program Guidance)
- Texas DFPS — Requirements for Foster/Adopt Families — DFPS program requirements for its foster/adopt families; not Chapter 162 eligibility rules.
- Texas DFPS — Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children — DFPS overview of when the compact applies and whom to contact; administrative guidance, not legal authority.
Research note: this article relies on official Texas statutes read from official sources. Authorities last checked October 27, 2026.
Lisa Kreider works with families in adoption and related family transitions and can help you confirm which adoption route fits your family.
Lisa Kreider works with families in adoption and related family transitions and can help you confirm which adoption route fits your family.
Meet Lisa Kreider
Meet the Attorney
Lisa Kreider
Family Law Attorney | Rockwall Office
Lisa Kreider helps individuals and families navigate divorce, child custody, parentage, adoption, modifications, termination and other major family transitions. She works toward practical resolution when appropriate and prepares cases for hearings or trial when significant issues remain disputed.
Credentials: Texas attorney since 2017 · J.D., Texas Tech University School of Law, 2016
Conclusion
Knowing what is needed to adopt a child in Texas starts with understanding your family’s legal position. Existing orders, remaining parental rights and the people who must participate shape what comes next. Clarifying those issues early helps you prepare while keeping your child’s needs at the center.
In an agreed stepparent adoption, the focus may be confirming requirements and preparing the case for court. If parental rights are disputed, a parent cannot be located or the placement crosses state lines, ask about counsel with experience addressing those issues. Families seeking local guidance can learn more about our adoption attorneys in Fort Worth, Texas.
At The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, we help families understand their options and identify legal support suited to their circumstances. When you schedule a consultation, bring existing custody or termination orders and explain your goals and concerns. That conversation can help you move forward with clearer expectations and greater peace of mind.
Hiring an attorney involves fees, and no attorney can promise a faster result or a particular outcome.
About the Author
Bryan Joseph Fagan
Founder, Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC
Texas Divorce & Family Law Attorney · Licensed in Texas Since 2012
Bryan Joseph Fagan founded the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC in 2012. His work includes Texas family-law strategy, firmwide leadership, team-based case planning, and client education designed to help families understand their legal options and make informed decisions.
Juris Doctor, South Texas College of Law, 2011 · Licensed by the State Bar of Texas May 4, 2012 · Bar No. 24080889
Read Bryan Joseph Fagan’s profile · Verify on the State Bar of Texas
About the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC
The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC helps Texas families understand and navigate family-law issues involving divorce, child custody, possession and access, and related matters. Founded by Bryan Fagan in 2012, the firm combines legal representation with education designed to give families clearer information about their options and the decisions ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chapter 162 says an adult may petition to adopt a child who may be adopted, subject to the standing rules in Chapter 102, and it does not add a separate minimum age. DFPS asks its foster/adopt families to be at least 21, and private agencies may set their own criteria.
Chapter 162 does not set an income threshold. DFPS asks its foster/adopt families to be financially stable, and private agencies may apply their own criteria, so the answer depends on whether you adopt through DFPS, an agency, or a private or stepparent case.
No. Chapter 162 allows an adult to petition. If the petitioner is married, both spouses must join the petition. In a stepparent adoption, the parent married to the petitioner joins the petition, and no further consent from that parent is required.
The court may not grant the adoption until the child has resided with the petitioner for at least six months. On the petitioner’s request, the court may waive that requirement, but only if the waiver is in the child’s best interest.
No. Texas law calls it an adoption evaluation. The court must order one unless it is waived, and the waiver is available only in an uncontested stepparent adoption after the court reviews DFPS investigative records and Department of Public Safety criminal history about the stepparent.
Attorney advertising. This page provides general information about preparing for a child adoption in Texas. It is not legal advice, does not provide forms, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Results depend on the facts, the court and the governing law; no outcome is guaranteed.
