Are there any special requirements for adoption in South Dakota?

The South Dakota requirements at a glance

Here is what is and isn't required in South Dakota under South Dakota Codified Laws Chapter 25-6:

Everything else is paperwork: the petition, consents, and the other parent's notice. Those are the parts we prepare for your county.

Consent: who signs and what happens when the other parent doesn't

Your spouse signs. Under SDCL 25-6-3, a married person adopting needs the spouse's consent, unless they are lawfully separated or the spouse cannot consent. In a stepparent adoption, that's your husband or wife, the child's parent. It's usually the easiest signature in the whole case.

Your stepchild signs if 12 or older. SDCL § 25-6-5 sets the age at 12. A child who is 12 or older gives written consent. Younger children don't sign.

The other parent usually doesn't sign. This is what surprises families most. In most stepparent adoptions, the other parent, usually the father, never signs a consent, and the judge approves the adoption anyway. The reasons are almost always the same: he stopped calling or visiting, stopped paying support, can't be located, or has passed away. Courts see this every day. In our experience, about 80% of the stepparent adoptions we have completed went forward without the other biological parent's consent.

South Dakota's abandonment period is 6 months (SDCL § 25-6-4(2)). A parent who has had no contact or support is exactly the situation that provision speaks to. Because South Dakota has no separate termination case, you don't file a second lawsuit first. The other parent's rights are handled within your adoption petition.

Notice and publication are routine steps. If the other parent has an address, they're formally notified. If nobody knows where they are, the court has a standard process for notice by publication. We prepare those documents as part of your package.

If the other parent does show up and actively fights the adoption in court, some families choose to add an attorney for that hearing. That's the one situation where it comes up.

If the other parent is willing to sign, that makes things even simpler. A signed consent is welcome, but it isn't what most of our families rely on.

Courts like a child to have the security of two active legal parents. That's the idea behind a stepparent adoption: you've been doing the parent's job, and the adoption makes it legal.

Court, home study, age gap, and cost

Court. You file in the Circuit Court. South Dakota has 66 counties, and each clerk's office has its own habits on formatting and local forms. Your documents should be prepared for your county, whether that's Minnehaha County for Sioux Falls, Pennington County for Rapid City, or a smaller county like Brown (Aberdeen), Brookings, or Codington (Watertown).

Residency. There is no minimum residency period. You don't have to have lived in South Dakota for a set number of months before filing.

Home study. SDCL § 25-6-10 waives the home study in stepparent adoptions. No social worker visits your house, and you don't wait for a report.

Age gap. Under SDCL 25-6-2, any minor child may be adopted by any adult person. The adopter must be at least 10 years older than the child, unless the court finds that adoption by that adult is in the child's best interest. For most stepparents this never comes up.

Timeline. Stepparent adoptions in South Dakota generally take 3-6 months from filing to decree.

Court fees. The county clerk sets the filing fee, and it can vary by county. Call your clerk's office to confirm the amount before you file.

Child support. Your stepchild's other parent stops owing support going forward once the adoption is final. Whether past-due support can still be collected depends on state law, so we don't tell families it disappears.

Birth certificate. After the decree, a new birth certificate can be requested through South Dakota Vital Records. We tell you how at the end of the case.

Adult adoption in South Dakota

If you want to adopt an adult stepchild, South Dakota allows it. SDCL 25-6-18 says an adult may adopt another adult. The rules are different from those for a minor child:

• Living together. The adoptee must have lived in your home for at least 6 months while under age 21, and this must appear in the petition. That requirement is waived if the adoptee is your biological child.
• Written agreement. The petition must include a written agreement that you will treat the adoptee in all respects as your natural child.
• Consent. The adoptee gives written consent. A biological parent's consent isn't listed in SDCL 25-6-18.
• Age gap. SDCL 25-6-18 states no age gap for adult adoptions. The 10-year gap applies to minors.
• Residency. No residency requirement for the adopter is stated in SDCL 25-6-18.
• Hearing. A hearing isn't expressly required. Under SDCL 25-6-19, the judge enters an order upon showing of good cause if the documents are in proper form and show the proper facts.
• Home study. The statute doesn't address one for adults. The home study requirement in SDCL 25-6-9.1 applies to placing a child in a home for adoption.
• Spouse's consent. SDCL 25-6-3 requires a married person to have the spouse's consent to adopt a child. The statute doesn't say whether that applies to adult adoptions. If you're married, call us at (855) 924-0450 and we'll tell you how we handle it in your petition.

Adult adoptions are faster: 4-8 weeks in South Dakota.

Questions families ask next

Do I need a lawyer to adopt my stepchild in South Dakota? No. Families file their own petition in the Circuit Court. We prepare the documents and support you until the decree.

What if I don't know where the other parent is? That's common. Notice by publication is a routine step, and we prepare those documents for you.

What if my stepchild is 12 or older? Your stepchild gives written consent under SDCL § 25-6-5. We include the consent form in your package.

Do I have to live in South Dakota for a certain time first? No. South Dakota has no minimum residency period.

Will a judge make me go through a home study? Not in a stepparent adoption. SDCL § 25-6-10 waives it.

How we help

StepParent Adoption 360 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. You answer questions online, and we prepare the complete court document package for your South Dakota county. You file it yourself, and we support you until the decree. The price is $349 for the first child (or for one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. You get court-ready documents within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, backed by our 100% court acceptance guarantee. We've helped 187 South Dakota families and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001. Questions? Call (855) 924-0450.