ADOPTION

Adoption in South Africa is governed by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 and cannot be started directly with a court or Home Affairs — applications are processed through an accredited adoption social worker or a designated child protection organisation, after which approved prospective parents are matched with an adoptable child through the Register on Adoptable Children and Prospective Adoptive Parents and the matter is finalised by a Children’s Court order in the district where the child lives. Eligibility is based on being found “fit and proper” after a formal screening process rather than on income or marital status — single people, married couples, partners in a permanent domestic life-partnership, widowed or divorced persons, biological fathers of children born out of wedlock, and foster parents may all apply under the Act. The full domestic process commonly takes one to two years from first application to final order, with the screening and matching stage typically the longest part of the timeline.

The Legal Framework: The Children’s Act 38 of 2005

All adoptions in South Africa are governed by the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, which treats the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration at every stage of the process. The Act creates the Register on Adoptable Children and Prospective Adoptive Parents (RACAP) as the formal matching mechanism between approved prospective parents and children who are legally free to be adopted. It also recognises four categories of adoption:

• Related adoption — where the prospective parent is biologically related to the child (for example a stepparent, grandparent, or aunt).
• Foster parent adoption — where the prospective parent has been the child’s registered foster carer.
• National adoption — where an SA citizen or permanent resident adopts an SA child.
• Intercountry adoption — where the child is placed with adoptive parents in another country, governed additionally by the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions, to which South Africa is a party.

Who May Adopt a Child in South Africa

Eligibility to adopt rests on being assessed as “fit and proper” by an accredited adoption social worker, not on income or marital status. Under the Children’s Act, a child may be adopted jointly by a husband and wife, by partners in a permanent domestic life-partnership, or by other persons sharing a permanent family unit; by a widower, widow, divorced or unmarried person; by a married person whose spouse is the parent of the child (a stepparent adoption); by the biological father of a child born out of wedlock; or by the foster parent of the child. Race, religion, and marital status are not factors in eligibility.

The Act does not fix a single age floor — the general threshold used by most agencies is over 18, while individual designated organisations set their own minimums (for example, Impilo Child Protection & Adoption Services requires prospective parents to be over 25). A person’s financial status cannot, on its own, disqualify them from adopting; what matters is the assessed ability to provide for the child.

Who May Be Adopted

A child (any person under 18) may be adopted where they are an orphan and no legal guardian or caregiver is willing to adopt them; where their parents or legal guardians cannot be established; where they have been abandoned (no contact with parents or guardians for at least three months); where they have been abused or neglected by parents, guardians, or caregivers; or where they need a permanent home. The Children’s Court must be satisfied that the adoption is in the child’s best interests before granting any order — this is the overriding test at the hearing stage.

The Adoption Process, Step by Step

1. Approach an accredited adoption social worker or a designated child protection organisation such as Abba Specialist Adoption & Social Services or Impilo Child Protection & Adoption Services. Applications cannot be lodged directly with a court or Home Affairs.
2. Attend an orientation session and submit a formal application to the agency.
3. Complete the screening and assessment phase: orientation, social worker interviews, medicals, psychosocial and financial evaluations, home visits, police clearance, sexual offences clearance, and personal references.
4. Be entered on the Register on Adoptable Children and Prospective Adoptive Parents (RACAP) once the assessment is complete and the application is approved.
5. Be matched with an adoptable child based on the child’s needs and the prospective parents’ assessed capacity.
6. Placement with the family, followed by a supervision period of social worker visits during which the social worker assesses how the placement is going.
7. The social worker prepares and submits the formal report to the Children’s Court, accompanied by the recommendation letter from the provincial head of Social Development.
8. The Children’s Court hears the application, reviews all documentation and consent forms, and issues the adoption order.
9. The Registrar of Adoptions registers the order, and Home Affairs then records the adoption on the child’s birth record and processes any surname change.

Consent Requirements

Situation	Consent Position
Each biological parent of the child (married or not) and every legal guardian	Required — must be in writing, signed by the consenter, and verified by the Children’s Court.
Child aged 10 or older	Required — the child must consent in addition to the parents and legal guardians.
Child under 10 with sufficient maturity and understanding	Required if the court finds the child has sufficient maturity and understanding to consent.
Person who gave consent	May withdraw within 60 days of giving it — the Children’s Court may not finalise the adoption before that 60-day period has expired.

When Consent Is Not Required

The Children’s Act sets out a closed list of circumstances in which a parent or guardian’s consent is not required before an adoption can be finalised:

• The parent or guardian has a mental illness.
• The parent or guardian abandoned the child and cannot be tracked down.
• The parent or guardian abused or neglected the child, or allowed the child to be abused or neglected.
• The parent or guardian failed to fulfil their parental rights and responsibilities towards the child for 12 months.
• The parent or guardian failed to respond to the notice of the proposed adoption within 30 days of receiving it.
• The father of the child did not marry the child’s mother and did not acknowledge that he is the father.
• The child was conceived in an incestuous relationship between the child’s parents.
• The child was conceived as a result of the rape of the child’s mother (in which case the biological father is not required to consent).

What the Children’s Court Considers Before Granting the Order

Before granting an adoption order, the Children’s Court must weigh up the community, religious, and cultural background of the child, the child’s parents, and the prospective parent(s); confirm that the adoption is in the child’s best interests; and consider any other relevant information contained in the application. The application must be supported by the social worker’s report, the recommendation letter from the provincial head of Social Development, and the relevant consent forms. This is why the legal layer around the file — confirming that the paperwork is in the right form and that the notice and 30-day response window is properly documented — matters as much as the underlying social-work assessment.

What an Adoption Order Actually Changes

Once granted, an adoption order has significant legal consequences:

• It terminates the parental rights and responsibilities of the child’s biological parents or previous legal guardians — except in stepparent adoptions where the court orders that those rights continue (for example where the biological parent remains married to the stepparent).
• The adoptive parents gain the same legal rights and responsibilities as biological parents, and the adopted child is regarded as the biological child of the adoptive parents.
• The child takes the adoptive parents’ surname, unless the Children’s Court orders otherwise.
• The adoption does not affect any property rights the child acquired before the adoption.
• Adoption records are sealed once the order is finalised — identifying information about the adoption is confidential except in the specific circumstances set out in the Children’s Act.

After the order is granted, the adoptive parents take the order together with the child’s birth certificate to Home Affairs, where the adoption is recorded and any change of surname is processed.

Intercountry Adoption

South Africa is a party to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions, which adds an additional legal layer to any adoption involving a child moving to another country. After all reasonable efforts to find a family for the child in South Africa have been exhausted, a child may be considered for intercountry adoption. South Africa has limited bilateral intercountry adoption agreements — only Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Germany have official arrangements at present (handled through Abba Specialist Adoption & Social Services as the designated organisation). Prospective adoptive parents from other countries must approach the Central Authority in their own country rather than contacting SA agencies directly.

Costs and Practical Considerations

Adoption fees depend on the agency and the type of adoption — certain professional fees are payable during the process, including fees for medical reports and the child protection organisation that assisted with the adoption. Application forms are available at the applicant’s nearest Department of Social Development provincial office. The Department of Social Development itself notes that timelines differ from case to case, but in practice most domestic adoptions take in the region of one to two years from first application to final Children’s Court order, with the screening and matching stage typically the longest phase. Being open to a wider range of ages, backgrounds, or a child with additional needs generally shortens the matching wait for national adoptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you adopt a child in South Africa without going through an agency?

No. Adoption services may only be provided by an accredited adoption social worker or a DSD-designated child protection organisation. You cannot lodge an adoption application directly with a court or Home Affairs, and any arrangement offered outside this system should be treated as illegal.

Can a single person adopt a child in South Africa?

Yes. South African law does not restrict adoption on the basis of marital status. A widower, widow, divorced or unmarried person may adopt under the Children’s Act, and a single applicant’s support structures and ability to parent will be specifically assessed during screening, but being single is not a barrier on its own.

Does the child have a say in the adoption?

Yes, if the child is 10 years or older. The child’s own consent is required in addition to that of the parents and legal guardians, and the Children’s Court assesses whether the child understands what the adoption means. A child under 10 may also need to consent if the court finds they have sufficient maturity and understanding.

Are South African adoption records private?

Yes. Adoption records are sealed once finalised, and identifying information about the adoption may not be disclosed except in the specific circumstances set out in the Children’s Act. Birth certificates issued after the adoption do not show the child’s pre-adoption identity.

How long does the adoption process take in South Africa?

The Department of Social Development notes that timelines differ from case to case. In practice, most domestic adoptions take in the region of one to two years from first application to final Children’s Court order, with the screening and assessment phase typically the longest stage. Being open to a wider range of ages, backgrounds, or a child with additional needs generally shortens the matching wait.

What is the difference between national and intercountry adoption?

National adoption is where the adoptive parent(s) and the child are both South African citizens or permanent residents. Intercountry adoption is where the child will be placed with adoptive parents in another country and is governed additionally by the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoptions, to which South Africa is a party. South Africa currently has limited bilateral intercountry adoption agreements — only with Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Germany — and prospective adoptive parents from other countries must approach the Central Authority in their own country first.

Adoption falls within Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Family Law practice area, and the firm’s role sits alongside the accredited adoption social worker or child protection organisation that runs the screening and placement process. The firm can assist with the legal mechanics around a Children’s Court application — checking that the consent paperwork and notice documentation comply with the Children’s Act, attending to the post-adoption registration at Home Affairs once the order is granted, and advising on related family-law issues (guardianship, maintenance, and post-adoption agreements) that often sit alongside an adoption file. Adoption work is run from the head office in Linden, Randburg (49 First Avenue, 011 888 0246), with intake also available across the firm’s Gauteng branch network — Bedfordview (011 201 7190), Alberton (011 439 3990), Sandton (011 253 3080), Midrand (010 022 4082), Roodepoort (011 668 0030), Centurion (012 644 4990), and Pretoria/Menlyn (012 471 5700). The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”).