§ 19-8-3.Who may adopt a child; when petition must be filed in names of both spouses

Chapter 8. Adoption · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2021 · Last verified October 9, 2026

In one sentenceO.C.G.A. § 19-8-3 sets the basic requirements for anyone who wants to adopt a child in Georgia — age, a ten-year age gap, residence and fitness — and says when married people must petition together and when a stepparent files alone.

Full Text of § 19-8-3

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) Any individual may petition to adopt a child if he or she:

(1) Is at least 21 years of age or is married and living with his or her spouse;

(2) Is at least ten years older than the child, except such ten-year requirement shall not apply when the petitioner is a stepparent or relative and the petition is filed pursuant to Code Section 19-8-6 or 19-8-7;

(3)

(A) Is a bona fide resident of this state at the filing of the petition for adoption; or

(B) Is a bona fide resident of the receiving state when the adoptee was either born in this state or is a resident of this state at the time of his or her placement for adoption, and was placed in compliance with Chapter 4 of Title 39, relating to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. For purposes of this paragraph, a nonresident of Georgia is deemed to have complied with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children if the compact does not apply as defined in Article VIII of the Compact or if the individual is a resident of another country; and

(4) Is financially, physically, and mentally able to have permanent custody of the child.

(b) If an individual seeking to adopt a child is married, the petition for adoption shall be filed in the name of both spouses; provided, however, that, when the child is or was the stepchild of the party seeking to adopt, such petition shall be filed by the stepparent alone.

End

Contingent version (not yet in force)

The Code also prints a second version of this section that takes effect only when the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children has been enacted into law by a thirty-fifth state. Until then, the text above is the law. The contingent text reads:

(a) Any individual may petition to adopt a child if he or she:

(1) Is at least 21 years of age or is married and living with his or her spouse;

(3)

(A) Is a bona fide resident of this state at the filing of the petition for adoption; or

(B) Is a bona fide resident of the receiving state when the adoptee was either born in this state or is a resident of this state at the time of his or her placement for adoption, and was placed in compliance with Chapter 4A of Title 39, relating to the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children. For purposes of this paragraph, a nonresident of Georgia is deemed to have complied with the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children if the compact does not apply as defined in Article VIII of the Compact or if the individual is a resident of another country; and

(4) Is financially, physically, and mentally able to have permanent custody of the child.

Laws 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Laws 2018, Act 285, § 1-1, eff. Sept. 1, 2018; Laws 2021, Act 140, § 2, eff. July 1, 2021; Laws 2024, Act 425, §§ 4, 5, eff. April 22, 2024.

Plain-English Summary

This section answers the first question in any adoption: who may ask the court for one. Any individual may petition to adopt a child if he or she meets four tests, and none of them requires marriage. First, age: the petitioner must be at least 21 years of age, or married and living with his or her spouse. Second, the petitioner must be at least ten years older than the child. That gap doesn’t apply when a stepparent or relative files under § 19-8-6 or § 19-8-7.

Third, residence. A petitioner must be a bona fide resident of Georgia when the petition is filed. Nonresidents have one route: a bona fide resident of the receiving state may adopt in Georgia when the child was born in Georgia or lived here when placed for adoption, and the placement complied with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children in Chapter 4 of Title 39. A nonresident is deemed to have complied if the compact doesn’t apply under its Article VIII, or if he or she lives in another country. Fourth, the petitioner must be financially, physically and mentally able to have permanent custody of the child. At the final hearing, § 19-8-18 separately requires the court to be satisfied that each petitioner can take on the child’s care, supervision, training and education.

Subsection (b) decides whose names go on the petition. If the person seeking to adopt is married, the petition must be filed in the names of both spouses. The exception is a stepchild: when the child is or was the stepchild of the person adopting, the stepparent files alone. That fits § 19-8-18, under which a stepparent adoption leaves the rights of the petitioner’s spouse in place. The section was last amended in 2021. A contingent version appears on this page; it would take effect only if a 35th state enacts the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children. The version shown first is in force. The only change in the contingent text is the nonresident route, which would point to Chapter 4A of Title 39 and the new compact by name.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old do you have to be to adopt a child in Georgia?

At least 21, unless you are married and living with your spouse. The section lets a petitioner qualify either by being at least 21 years of age or by being married and living with his or her spouse. Separately, you must be at least ten years older than the child, unless you are a stepparent or relative adopting under § 19-8-6 or § 19-8-7. You also have to meet the residence rule and be financially, physically and mentally able to have permanent custody.

Can a single person adopt in Georgia?

Yes. The section says any individual may petition to adopt a child if he or she meets its requirements, and none of them requires marriage. A single petitioner must be at least 21 years of age, at least ten years older than the child (unless a stepparent or relative exception applies), a bona fide Georgia resident at filing or a qualifying nonresident, and financially, physically and mentally able to have permanent custody. The court still decides whether the adoption is in the child’s best interests under § 19-8-18.

Does my spouse have to join my adoption petition in Georgia?

Yes, unless the child is or was your stepchild. If you are married, subsection (b) requires the petition to be filed in the names of both spouses. When the child is or was the stepchild of the person adopting, the stepparent files alone. In that case the parent married to the stepparent signs a consent under § 19-8-6 rather than joining as a petitioner.

Does the ten-year age difference rule apply when an older sibling adopts?

No, if the sibling adopts under § 19-8-7. The ten-year requirement doesn’t apply when the petitioner is a stepparent or relative and the petition is filed under § 19-8-6 or § 19-8-7. Section 19-8-7 covers grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great uncles and siblings, related by blood or marriage. The other requirements still apply, including the age rule: at least 21 years of age, or married and living with a spouse.

Can someone who lives outside Georgia adopt a child here?

Sometimes. A nonresident may petition in Georgia only as a bona fide resident of the receiving state, when the child was born in Georgia or lived here when placed for adoption, and the placement complied with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. A nonresident is treated as complying if the compact doesn’t apply under its Article VIII or if he or she lives in another country. Section 19-8-2 then says which Georgia county to file in.

Amendment History

Laws 1990, p. 1572, § 5; Laws 2018, Act 285, § 1-1, eff. Sept. 1, 2018; Laws 2021, Act 140, § 2, eff. July 1, 2021.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, enacted by the Georgia General Assembly, and checked word for word against the Georgia Code Revision Commission’s public-domain edition and the acts that later amended it. Section headings are the Code’s official catchlines. Last verified October 9, 2026. · Official source

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