Adoption in India: Eligibility, the CARA Process and the Court Order

Adoption in India is a legal process, not an arrangement between families. For most adoptions it runs through the Central Adoption Resource Authority and the system set up under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, while a Hindu may also adopt under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. This guide explains who may adopt, which children may be adopted, the order of steps on the central system, the documents involved and what the final order does and does not do. It describes the process and avoids promising any particular time, because each case depends on the child, the court and the agency involved. If you want advice on your own eligibility, you can consult a lawyer online through a LawPucho plan.

What adoption law applies in India?

There are two main routes. The first is the adoption process under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, run through the Central Adoption Resource Authority, which is the body that regulates and monitors adoption in the country. This route covers in-country and inter-country adoption and works through the central online system for registration, home study, matching and referrals. The second is adoption by a Hindu under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956, which allows a valid adoption between persons governed by Hindu law by following the conditions in that Act. These routes are not interchangeable: the 2015 Act route is the general, regulated route, while the 1956 Act route applies to those governed by Hindu law and does not run through the central system. A lawyer can tell you which route fits your facts.

Who is eligible to adopt a child in India?

Under the 2015 Act and the adoption regulations, a prospective adoptive parent must be an adult of sound mind and physically and mentally capable of caring for a child. A married couple normally adopts jointly and with each other's consent; a single person may adopt, though the regulations place restrictions on a single man adopting a girl child. The age conditions between the adoptive parent and the child, and the number of children a person may adopt, are set out in the regulations rather than in the Act, and they are applied by the Authority and the court. Because the exact conditions sit in the regulations, check them against your own situation before you register. If you are unsure whether you qualify, an online advocate consultation can help you read the rules for your facts.

Which children can be adopted?

Not every child can be placed for adoption. The 2015 Act route covers children who are orphaned, abandoned or surrendered and who have been declared legally free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committee, and children in need of care and protection who come into the system. A child is placed only after the Committee has completed its enquiry and declared the child free for adoption, and the Authority's system then links the child to eligible parents. Relatives may adopt within the family, and step-parent adoptions follow their own procedure, but even these are regulated so that the child's interest is protected. In this route you cannot simply choose a child or privately arrange a placement; the matching is done through the system.

How does the CARA process work, step by step?

The regulated route runs through the central online system in a fixed order, and each stage has to clear before the next begins. The steps below describe the sequence in broad form; the agency and the court guide you through the detail along the way.

1. Register as a prospective adoptive parent on the central system and complete the profile it asks for.
2. Undergo a home study by the authorised social worker, who assesses your home, family and capacity to care for a child.
3. Receive the outcome of the home study and, if it is favourable, become eligible for matching.
4. Wait for a referral of a child who fits the preferences the system allows, and accept or decline it within the period the system provides.
5. Complete pre-adoption foster care with the child, where the situation permits, under the agency's supervision.
6. File the adoption petition through the agency before the court, and appear for the hearing when the court lists it.
7. Receive the adoption order from the court and complete the follow-up reporting the agency requires.

Documents you must arrange

The central system and the agency will tell you exactly what to upload, but the file usually includes the items below. Keep clear originals and scans, because a missing or unreadable document is the most common reason a stage stalls.

• Proof of identity and address of each prospective adoptive parent.
• Proof of age, which fixes the age conditions in the regulations.
• Marriage certificate, where the applicants are a married couple, and the spouse's consent.
• Income and employment details, and proof of the home and its ownership or tenancy.
• Medical fitness certificates and, where asked, police verification or a background check.
• Recent photographs and the declaration forms the system generates.

The adoption order and what it gives you

The adoption order of the court is the document that makes the child your child in law. Once it is passed, the child is treated as the natural child of the adoptive parents, with the same rights of inheritance and maintenance, and the legal tie with the biological family is severed except in the manner the law provides. The order also supports the child's birth certificate and identity documents in the adoptive family's name. What the order does not do is erase the child's background for the agency's records or remove the follow-up reporting the regulations require after placement. Keep certified copies of the order; you will need them for school admission, passports and every later legal step.

Adoption under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956

A person governed by Hindu law may adopt under the 1956 Act instead of the central system. This route has its own conditions about who may give a child in adoption, who may take a child in adoption and the ceremony by which the adoption is made, and it applies only to those to whom Hindu law applies by its own terms. A valid adoption under this Act rests on the capacity of the parties, the required consents and the giving and taking of the child, and it must not conflict with the conditions the Act lays down about the age of the adoptive parent in relation to the child. The order of steps, in broad form, is as follows.

1. Confirm you are governed by Hindu law and that your situation meets the capacity and consent conditions of the 1956 Act.
2. Identify the child and the person or persons competent to give the child in adoption, and obtain their lawful consent.
3. Check the age conditions between the adoptive parent and the child, and that no other condition in the Act is breached.
4. Perform the giving and taking of the child in the manner the Act requires, with witnesses where needed.
5. Document the adoption in a registered deed and, where the situation calls for it, apply to a court to give it effect and certainty.
6. Update the child's records, including the birth certificate and school documents, in the adoptive family's name.

What to do if a step fails

Adoption procedures can stall, and the practical response depends on which stage has failed. If registration on the central system is rejected, read the reason given and correct the profile rather than starting a fresh account, and if the reason is unclear, ask the agency in writing. If the home study is not favourable, seek the specific findings and discuss with the agency whether a reassessment is possible once you address them. If a referral lapses because you did not respond in time, contact the agency at once, because the system has its own rules on reinstatement and on a fresh referral. If the court raises a defect in the petition or the documents, file the corrected papers through the agency, which handles the filing. Where an agency or authority is unhelpful, the escalation route is a written representation to the State Adoption Resource Agency and, if needed, to the Central Adoption Resource Authority; on advice, a writ petition in the High Court is the remedy of last resort. A lawyer can also help you use the free routes, and our guide to free legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 explains who qualifies.

What you hold at the end, and what it does not do

At the end of the regulated route you hold the court's adoption order and the child's updated records, which together establish the parent-child relationship in law. At the end of the 1956 Act route you hold a valid adoption evidenced by the deed and the ceremony, and any order that confirms it. Neither an adoption order nor a deed decides immigration status or a foreign country's recognition of the adoption, which depends on the law of that country; for inter-country matters the Authority's process and the receiving country's rules both apply. What you hold is a legal relationship, not a guarantee about how any later official step will turn out. For related family matters, see our notes on mubarat divorce and on applying for an income certificate, and browse the family law section for more guides.

Conclusion

Adoption in India is a regulated process. Most adoptions run through the Central Adoption Resource Authority and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and a Hindu may also adopt under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956. Confirm your eligibility, register on the central system, complete the home study, accept a referral through the system, and obtain the court's order before you treat the child as adopted in law. Because the eligibility conditions sit in the regulations and because no one can promise how a particular court or agency will move, take advice on your own facts. If you want help understanding the route that fits you, you can book a lawyer consultation online through a LawPucho plan, and the free question route at ask a free legal question is open if you prefer to start there. You can also read more on the LawPucho blog.

Disclaimer: This article is general information about Indian law and procedure, not legal advice for your particular facts. For advice on your matter, consult a lawyer. Nothing here creates an advocate-client relationship until you engage an advocate directly.