Where can I find Ohio's adoption statutes?

Ohio's adoption statutes are in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3107, and the section most stepparents look up first is §3107.07, which covers abandonment. You can find the chapter by searching for its title in the Ohio Revised Code. Your county's Probate Court clerk can also point you to it. Ohio has 88 counties, and each has a Probate Court that handles adoption petitions.

Key provisions for stepparent adoption:

• Residency (ORC § 3107.04): Ohio has no minimum residency period, so a family that recently moved to Ohio is not held back by a waiting requirement.
• Child's consent (ORC § 3107.06): The consent age is 12.
• Abandonment (ORC § 3107.07): The abandonment period is 12 months.
• Home study (ORC § 3107.031): Ohio does not waive the home study for stepparent adoptions, so plan for one.

What the statutes mean for your timeline and costs: Stepparent adoptions in Ohio typically take 3-6 months. Court filing fees generally run $200-$500, depending on the county. Ohio also requires a brief court appearance to finalize a stepparent adoption.

Tips for reading the statutes:

• Start with the definitions at the beginning of the chapter, since adoption law uses specific terms.
• Read the sections on consent and abandonment together, because they interact.
• Keep in mind that the statute describes the rules in general. How they apply to your family depends on your facts.

Situations that depend on your facts: If the other parent may contest the adoption, if you cannot locate the other parent, or if you are unsure whether abandonment applies, the statute text alone may not settle your question. Ohio has procedures for cases where a biological parent cannot be found. For those issues, ask the Probate Court clerk in your county about local procedures, or talk to an attorney about your specific situation. The Ohio Department of Health Office of Vital Statistics is the agency to contact about birth records.

You do not have to read the statutes to complete an adoption, but it helps to know where they are and what they say.

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 Ohio county. You then file it yourself without an attorney. The price is $349 for the first child, plus $99 for each additional child. Court-ready documents are delivered within 24-48 hours after you finish the questions. We back them with a 100% court acceptance guarantee. We have helped 592 Ohio families, and more than 34,000 families nationally since 2001.