Rule 9-103.1.Petition adoption of adult

Adopting an adult is not the same transaction as adopting a child, and since July 1, 2026 Maryland has given it its own rule. There is no agency, no placement, and no question of the child's welfare. What there is, instead, is an adult agreeing to a change in legal parentage.

So the adult joins the petition. The petitioner and the prospective adoptee must both be petitioners; a petitioner's spouse or registered domestic partner may join as well. The case is titled In re Adoption of the adoptee's first and last name — the full name, unlike a minor's adoption, because there is no child to shield.

The petition is signed and verified by each petitioner and states ten items: who each petitioner is, the adoptee's name, sex and birth, each living parent of the adoptee including any adjudicated de facto parent, any relationship between the parties, each petitioner's children including the adoptee's, any spouse or registered domestic partner, facts suggesting a disability that would prevent effective participation, facts that might entitle the adoptee to appointed counsel, the details of any requested name change, and any criminal conviction beyond a minor traffic offence.

The name-change provision deserves attention. A petitioner seeking a new name for the adoptee must certify that the request is not for an illegal or fraudulent purpose and must state whether the adoptee has ever registered or been required to register as a sexual offender, listing every name used and every state where the requirement arose. Four exhibits accompany the petition — the adoptee's birth certificate, any parentage or de facto parent order, health statements, and, where a name change is sought and the current name differs from the birth certificate, documentation establishing the current name. A proposed judgment and the Department of Health certificate are filed before judgment.