How old do you have to be to adopt in New Jersey?

In New Jersey, you generally need to be at least 18 to adopt a child, and you must be 10 years older than the child, though the court may waive either requirement for good cause. Those rules are in N.J.S.A. 9:3-43(b).

Minimum age for adopting a child. The minimum age is 18. For a stepparent adoption, that means you should be an adult. If you are younger than 18, the court has the power to waive the minimum for good cause. Whether a waiver is realistic in your situation is a question for the Superior Court clerk in your county or an attorney.

The age gap. New Jersey also looks at the difference in age between the adopting parent and the person being adopted:

• The gap is 10 years, for both child and adult adoptions.
• For a child, the court can waive the gap for good cause (N.J.S.A. 9:3-43(b)).
• For an adult, the court can waive the gap if it finds the adoption serves the adoptee's best interests (N.J.S.A. 2A:22-2).

If the gap could be an issue in your family, such as a stepparent close in age to a stepchild, ask the clerk or an attorney how the Superior Court handles it.

Adopting an adult. Adult adoption in New Jersey falls under N.J.S.A. 2A:22-1, not the child-adoption act. An unmarried adopter must be "of full age," and the statute gives no number. The Superior Court clerk can confirm the exact age. The same 10-year gap applies, and the court may waive it on a best-interests finding. The adoptee must also request the adoption in writing, which the court may waive (N.J.S.A. 2A:22-2).

Is there a maximum age? The New Jersey law we rely on does not address an upper age limit for adopting, so confirm that point with the Superior Court clerk or an attorney.

Other requirements that are not about age. Age is only one piece of a stepparent adoption in New Jersey:

• There is no minimum residency period (N.J.S.A. § 9:3-42).
• The court filing fee typically runs $200-$350.
• A stepparent adoption usually takes 3-6 months, while an adult adoption typically takes 4-8 weeks.
• A home study is waived in stepparent adoptions (N.J.S.A. § 9:3-48).

If the other birth parent's whereabouts are unknown, or the case may be contested, those situations depend on the facts. Talk to the court clerk or an attorney about that specific issue.

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 New Jersey county. You then file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child (or for one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and they come with our 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 1204 New Jersey families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.