Who can adopt
No matter your background, relationship status, or living situation - if you can offer love, stability, and care, you could be the perfect match for a child in need of adoption.
We believe that every child deserves a safe, nurturing, and supportive home.
Adoption is open to a wide range of individuals and families. Whether you're single, married, in a civil partnership, or part of a loving couple - your ability to provide a stable, caring home is what matters most.
You don’t need to own your home, be wealthy, or have parenting experience. What you do need is commitment, compassion, and the willingness to make a lifelong difference.
This page will guide you through who can adopt and help you explore whether adoption could be the right path for you.
Our basic requirements
To adopt a child you need to:
- be over 21
- live in a settled accommodation which can provide a safe environment for a child, with a spare bedroom for exclusive use of the child
- be able to provide space and time to meet the child's needs
- have lived in the UK for at least one year, or one member of the couple must be a resident of the UK
- have a valid DBS certificate, no offences against a child, no sexual offences or other extreme offences which may cause us concern based on their severity
Check if you can adopt
The best way to find out if you can adopt and see if you are ready to start the adoption process, is by using our adoption readiness tool.
By answering a few simple questions you’ll get a personalised readiness plan to help you prepare to take the next step.
The tool is anonymous and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.
Using the tool will help you find out:
- if you can adopt
- what’s involved in adoption
- the training and support you’ll receive
- what steps you can take to get ready
Common questions
We welcome people who already have children and the parenting experience that you bring. We will help you with the differences around adoptive parenting.
For adopters who are already parents there will need to be an age gap of at least two years between the youngest child already in your family and your adopted child, at the time of application.
You do not need to own your own home - as long as the building is suitable for caring for a child, it does not matter if you own or rent it. You will need to show us that you have enough room to care for a child, in a safe and secure environment.
If you are single you need to be able to show that you have a close network of people around you who will support you practically and emotionally in your parenting. You will need to be able to show how you will be able to finance your living costs while you are looking after your child.
If you are in a relationship you will need to be able to show that your relationship is established and resilient enough to parent a child.
What's important is that your relationship is strong and supportive.
Your gender identity or sexual orientation is not a factor in your application, assessment or suitability to adopt. We welcome adopters of all gender identities and sexualities whether single or looking to adopt jointly with their partner.
You can adopt if you work full-time, part-time, are unemployed or on a low income. We consider people who can offer a child a loving home regardless of their working or financial status.
All children who are moving from one family to another will take time to feel safe and to trust their new family. Therefore you will need to be able to take adoption leave to be at home for a minimum of six months but ideally more to help your child learn to trust that you will be there for them no matter what before they have to manage child care or school.
If you live outside Buckinghamshire, we may still be able to offer you a service depending on your circumstances and how far away you live.
No. Adopters in the UK are not paid for adopting children. In exceptional circumstances however, we may be able to offer you some financial support. For example, if you are adopting a group of brothers and sisters, we may be able to support you to buy a larger car.
Further support
You can also find information about adoption on the national Adoption England website.
Adoption England offer examples of adopter's experiences from across the country as well as more information about specific areas such as Early Permanence and children who need adopting.
Have questions or ready to take the next step?
Our friendly team is here to help - reach out today and let’s talk about your adoption journey.