How old do you have to be to adopt in Louisiana?

In Louisiana, you must be at least 18 to adopt a child privately. The rule is that you are "a single person, eighteen years or older, or a married couple jointly" (La. Ch.C. art. 1221). As a stepparent, you adopt together with your spouse, who is the child's parent, so the practical starting point is that you are an adult of 18 or older.

What the age rule covers

• Minimum age: 18 or older for a single person, or a married couple adopting jointly, under La. Ch.C. art. 1221.
• Age difference: Louisiana's adoption provisions we reviewed don't state a required age gap between the adopter and the child. If you wonder whether an age difference matters in your situation, the District Court clerk in your parish can confirm.
• Maximum age: No upper age limit appears in the Louisiana information we work from. Ask the clerk or an attorney if this is a concern for you.

If you want to adopt an adult

Louisiana permits adult adoption. A stepparent, meaning the spouse or surviving spouse of the adult's parent, can adopt without court authorization. This is done by an authentic (notarial) act, and no hearing is held (La. Civ. Code art. 212, La. Civ. Code art. 213, La. Civ. Code art. 214). No specific age is stated for adult adoption in those articles, so confirm any age question with the clerk of court. Both the adopter and the adult consent in the act, and the spouses must sign it "for the purpose of concurrence." Without that concurrence the act is absolutely null. The act takes effect when it is filed for registry, or as of the last signature if it is filed within 5 days (La. R.S. 9:462).

Other things that often come up alongside age

• Residency: Louisiana has no minimum residency period (La. Ch.C. Art. 1180).
• Child's consent: The child's consent is not required. The court asks for and considers the wishes of a child 12 or older (La. Ch.C. Art. 1253(C)).
• Abandonment: If the other parent's rights depend on abandonment, the period is 6 months (La. Ch.C. Art. 1245). Contested situations or an unknown or missing parent depend on the facts, so talk to the clerk or an attorney about your specific case.
• Home study: It is waived for stepparent adoptions (La. Ch.C. Art. 1252(A)).
• Court and cost: Cases are filed in District Court in your parish. Court filing fees typically run $200-$400, and the total is typically under $1,000, compared with $3,000-$5,000+ for an attorney.
• Timeline: A stepparent adoption of a child typically takes 3-6 months, and an adult adoption 4-8 weeks.

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 parish. You then file it yourself without an attorney. The cost is $349 for the first child (or one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. You receive court-ready documents within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, backed by a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 881 Louisiana families and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.