What are Wyoming's adoption laws?

Wyoming's adoption laws are found in Wyoming Statutes Title 1, Chapter 22, and for a stepparent adoption they mean you file a petition in District Court, meet a 60-day residency requirement, and usually finish in about 3-6 months. Here is how the main pieces work.

Court: Adoption proceedings begin with a petition filed in District Court (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-104(a)). Wyoming has 23 counties, and you file in the District Court for your county. Hearings in adoption cases are closed unless the court orders otherwise (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-105). The clerk in your county can confirm the filing fee and local filing steps.

Who can petition: Any adult person may adopt (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-103). A petition may be filed by a single adult, jointly by a husband and wife who maintain their home together, or by either spouse if the other is the child's parent (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-104(b)). That last option is the one stepparents use.

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

Child's consent: The law sets the child's consent age at 14 (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-109).

Abandonment: If the other birth parent has been absent, Wyoming sets no fixed number of months. Abandonment depends on that parent's overall conduct (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-110). Because this turns on the facts, a contested case or an unknown or missing parent is a good moment to ask the District Court clerk or an attorney about your specific situation.

Home study: For stepparent adoptions, the home study is waived (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-111(a)(ii)).

Timeline: A stepparent adoption of a minor typically takes about 3-6 months. An adult adoption typically takes about 4-8 weeks.

Adult adoption: Wyoming permits it, but with limits. The adopter must have been a stepparent, grandparent or other blood relative, foster parent or legal guardian who took part in raising the adult when the adult was a child, and the adult must file a consent with the court (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-102(b)). The adult is served with the petition and a summons. If the adult objects, the petition is dismissed. If the adult consents, the petition is granted and a final decree is entered (Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-113). The adult being adopted may live inside or outside Wyoming, but the adopter must meet the 60-day residency requirement.

Records: After the adoption, birth record questions go through Wyoming Vital Statistics Services. The court clerk can tell you what paperwork to bring.

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. Court-ready documents arrive within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions, and we back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. The price is $349 for the first child (or one adult adoptee) and $99 for each additional child. We have helped 191 Wyoming families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.