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

Short answer: In Washington, you must be 18 or older and legally competent to adopt. Washington's adoption statute says any person who is legally competent and 18 or older may be an adoptive parent (RCW 26.33.140(2)). That applies to stepparents as well.

What this means for you

• Minimum age: 18, as long as you are legally competent.
• Age difference with the child: The Washington information we rely on does not state a required age gap between you and the person being adopted. If you have a specific concern, the Superior Court clerk in your county can confirm it.
• Maximum age: No upper age limit appears in the Washington information we use. Ask the clerk or an attorney if this matters in your situation.

How the age of the person being adopted matters

Washington's statute says any person may be adopted, regardless of his or her age or residence (RCW 26.33.140). That includes adults, so a stepparent can pursue an adult adoption as well as a child adoption.

• Consent from the person being adopted: Consent is required from anyone 14 or older (RCW 26.33.160(1)).
• Parental consent in adult adoptions: It is required only if the person being adopted is under 18 (RCW 26.33.160(1)).
• If you are married: Your spouse must join the petition (RCW 26.33.150(4)).
• Home study: For an adult adoptee, the preplacement and post-placement reports are not required (RCW 26.33.220).

Other basics

• Court: Your case is filed in the Superior Court. Venue is the county where you live or where the person being adopted is domiciled (RCW 26.33.030).
• Residency: Washington sets no minimum residency period.
• Other parent's rights: Abandonment has no fixed number of months. It depends on the parent's overall conduct (RCW § 26.33.120). Whether it applies to your family depends on your facts, so ask an attorney or the court clerk about that specific issue.
• Timeline: A stepparent adoption typically takes 3-6 months. An adult adoption typically takes 4-8 weeks.
• Cost: Court filing fees typically run $200-$500, and the total is typically under $1,000. Attorney representation for the same case often costs $3,000-$5,000+.
• Vital records: After the adoption is final, the Washington State Department of Health Center for Health Statistics handles birth certificate matters.

Who this helps

If you are 18 or older and have been raising your stepchild as your own, age is rarely the hurdle. The bigger questions are usually consent and paperwork. Washington courts look at the whole picture, and the 1104 Washington families we have helped have worked through these same steps.

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. The price is $349 for the first child (or for 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 our 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 34,000+ families since 2001.