Court Jurisdiction and Venue for Adoption Petitions

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Current Through March 2010

This brief introduction summarizes how States address this topic in statute. To access the statutes for a specific State or territory, visit the State Statutes Search.

Adoption is a legal process for making a child a permanent member of a family other than the child's birth family.¹ Jurisdiction refers to the type of court that hears adoption cases. Venue refers to the geographic location of the court.

Jurisdiction

In each State, different courts are designated by statute with the responsibility to hear certain types of cases. That designation is what is meant by the term "jurisdiction." For example, criminal cases are tried in State criminal courts. Adoption is a civil procedure, and at the State level, certain civil courts are given authority to hear adoption cases. A person who seeks to adopt a child must file his or her petition for adoption with the appropriate civil court.²

All 50 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands specify in their statutes one or more types of courts that have jurisdiction over adoption cases.

Examples of Jurisdiction

State courts are organized in a hierarchy that includes both of the following:

• Courts of original jurisdiction, where cases are first heard
• Appellate courts, which review cases that have been appealed from lower courts' decisions

The names assigned to these courts vary from State to State. All adoption cases start with a petition filed with the appropriate court of original jurisdiction.

The type of court designated as the court of original jurisdiction for adoption cases in each State reflects the organization of that State's court system. Names given to these courts include:

• Circuit court, used in nine States³
• District court, used in eight States and one territory⁴
• Superior court, used in seven States, two territories, and the District of Columbia⁵
• Probate court, used in nine States⁶
• Family court, used in five States⁷
• Juvenile court, used in four States⁸

Some other names used are equity (Maryland), chancery (Mississippi and Tennessee), court of common pleas (Pennsylvania), county (Nebraska and Wisconsin), trial (Northern Mariana Islands), and court of first instance (Puerto Rico).⁹

In some States, other courts may have jurisdiction over an adoption case under specific circumstances. For example, in six States (Arkansas, California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Utah), the juvenile court will have jurisdiction if the child to be adopted has previously been placed under that court's supervision or if that court handled the case of termination of the parents' rights. In Nevada and New Mexico, if the child to be adopted is an Indian child, a Tribal court may have jurisdiction over the case. The trial division of the high court has jurisdiction over contested adoptions in American Samoa.

In some States, more than one court may have jurisdiction over adoption cases. In those States, either court designated in statute may hear an adoption petition. For example, in Iowa, either the juvenile or county court may have jurisdiction. In New York, either the family court or surrogate's (probate) court has jurisdiction. Either the chancery or circuit court has jurisdiction in Tennessee, while in Texas, a district court, juvenile court, or other court having jurisdiction of a suit affecting the parent-child relationship may hear an adoption petition.

Venue

Venue refers to the geographic location of the court that will hear the case. Most States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands maintain courts of all types located in counties or districts throughout the State or territory.¹⁰ Petitions for adoption are filed in the type of court that has the appropriate jurisdiction at the location (or venue) that is convenient to the parties involved in the case. In many cases, there is a residency requirement. In many States, venue options include the county in which the person seeking to adopt (petitioner) resides or is in military service, where the child to be adopted resides, or where the child-placing agency is located. Other venue options include the county where parental rights were terminated (Louisiana, New York, California) or the county in which the placing birth parent(s) lived when the placement agreement was signed or the adoption petition was filed (California).

Note: Adoptions in which the child and the adopting parents live in different States can be more involved, and in those cases the court supervising the placement may be different from the one listed in this publication. Most cases are subject to the provisions of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). The ICPC is an agreement among all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The agreement provides for the movement and safe placement of children between States when the children are in the custody of a State or being placed for private/independent adoption.¹¹

To access the statutes for a specific State or territory, visit the State Statutes Search.

¹ The adopted person is not always a child. For more information, see Child Welfare Information Gateway's Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?. back
² In the case of adopting a child from foster care, the court having jurisdiction over the adoption petition may be the juvenile court that terminated the birth parents' parental rights, or a different court may have jurisdiction. back
³ Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, and West Virginia. back
⁴ Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and American Samoa. back
⁵ Alaska, Arizona, California, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. back
⁶ Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Vermont. back
⁷ Delaware, Hawaii, New York, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. back
⁸ Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, and Minnesota. back
⁹ In addition, in some States, the court of original jurisdiction for adoption proceedings may be a division of a court of more general jurisdiction. For example, in Michigan, the family division of the circuit court has jurisdiction over adoptions. In New Mexico, jurisdiction over adoption petitions lies with the children's court division of the district court, while in Missouri, the juvenile division of the circuit court has jurisdiction over adoption proceedings. back
¹⁰ Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, due to their small geographic areas, have one court that handles adoption petitions. For this reason, the statutes do not specify venue. back
¹¹For more information, see ICPC Frequently Asked Questions from the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. back

This publication is a product of the State Statutes Series prepared by Child Welfare Information Gateway in cooperation with the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy. While every attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, additional information on these topics may be in other sections of a State's code as well as agency regulations, case law, and informal practices and procedures.

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