Can a same-sex stepparent adopt in Alabama?

Yes. Alabama allows any legally married spouse to adopt their partner's child through the stepparent adoption process, so a same-sex stepparent who is married to the child's legal parent follows the same path as any other stepparent.

What the process looks like:

• Court: You file a petition for adoption in the Probate Court in your county. Alabama has 67 counties, and each Probate Court clerk can tell you about local filing details.
• Marriage: The stepparent must be legally married to the child's parent. Your spouse's consent to the adoption is part of the paperwork.
• Residency: Alabama sets no minimum residency period for a stepparent adoption (Ala. Code § 26-10E-5(e)(3)). The petitioner does need to be a bona fide Alabama resident and an adult, which Alabama defines as 19 or older.
• The child's consent: The consent age is 14 (Ala. Code § 26-10E-7(a)(1)).
• The other legal parent: You will need that parent's signed consent, or grounds for implied consent. One ground is abandonment, with a four-month period (Ala. Code § 26-10E-9(a)(1), (a)(4)). If the other parent's location is unknown, Alabama allows service by publication.
• Home study: Alabama does not waive the home study for stepparents (Ala. Code § 26-10E-26(2)), so plan for it.

Same-sex couples in particular: The same rules apply to a wife adopting her wife's child or a husband adopting his husband's child. The data we work from describes the stepparent route for married spouses. If you are not married, or you are unsure how your family's situation fits, ask the Probate Court clerk in your county or an adoption attorney before you file. Their guidance matters most if the other legal parent might contest the adoption, or if you are unsure who counts as a legal parent.