How do I adopt my stepson or stepdaughter in Wyoming?

You adopt your stepchild in Wyoming by filing an adoption petition in the District Court in your county, meeting the 60-day residency rule, getting the required consents, and receiving a final decree from the judge. Under Wyoming law, the adoption proceeding is commenced by a petition filed in district court (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-104(a)).

Who can file: A petition may be filed by either spouse if the other spouse is the child's parent (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-104(b)). The adopter must be an adult (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-103).

Residency: Wyoming requires 60 days of residence immediately before filing (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-103). Confirm your dates before you file.

Consent: Wyoming sets the child's consent age at 14 (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-109). If your stepchild is 14 or older, plan for that consent to be part of your case. Whether the other biological parent must consent, and what happens if that parent is absent or objects, depends on your family's facts. Please confirm that with the District Court clerk or an attorney.

If the other parent is not involved: Wyoming has no fixed number of months that counts as abandonment. The question turns on the parent's overall conduct (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-110). Because this depends on the details, a contested or unknown-parent situation is a good time to speak with an attorney.

Home study: For a stepparent adoption, the home study is waived (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-111(a)(ii)). This removes a step that can add time and cost in other kinds of adoptions.

Court and hearing: Wyoming has 23 counties, and your case is filed in the District Court of the county where you live. Adoption hearings are closed unless the court orders otherwise (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-105). Filing fees and local forms or procedures vary, so the District Court clerk in your county can confirm the current fee and any local requirements.

Timeline: A stepparent adoption in Wyoming typically takes about 3-6 months from filing to finalization. Your timing will depend on your county's calendar and on whether anything is contested.

After the decree: Once the adoption is final, you can contact Wyoming Vital Statistics Services about a new birth certificate for your child. Ask them what they need from you.

A quick checklist:

• Confirm you have lived in Wyoming for 60 days immediately before filing.
• Find out whether your stepchild is 14 or older.
• Work out where the other biological parent stands, and get advice if that is uncertain.
• Prepare your petition and supporting documents for your county's District Court.
• File, attend any hearing the court sets, and obtain the final decree.

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 county. You then file it yourself without an attorney. Our price is $349 for the first child and $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 191 Wyoming families and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.