DOMESTIC ADOPTION

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS:

For Filipino citizens:

a. Must be of legal age,
b. Must be in a position to support and care for his/her children in keeping with the means
of the family;
c. Must be of good moral character;
d. Must be in possession of full civil capacity or legal right;
e. Must be at least 16 years older than the adoptee, EXCEPT when:
i. Adopter is the biological parent of the adoptee
ii. Adopter is the spouse of the adoptee’s parent
f. Has not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude and;
g. Must be emotionally and psychologically capable of caring for children.

For foreigners, the qualifications are:

1) Must have all qualifications of a Filipino as enumerated above;
2) Must be a citizen of a country that has diplomatic relations with the Philippines (UK is
included);
3) Must have been living in the Philippines for at least three (3) continuous years prior to
the application for adoption and maintains such residence until the adoption decree is
entered, EXCEPT when:
i. The adopter is a former Filipino citizen who seek to adopt a relative within the 4 th
degree of consanguinity or affinity
ii. One who seeks to adopt the legitimate or illegitimate child of his/her Filipino
spouse
iii. One who is married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with his/her
spouse a relative within the 4 th degree of consanguinity or affinity of the Filipino
spouse
4) Must be certified to have legal capacity to adopt by his/her diplomatic or consular office
and;
5) Must be certified by said office that his government allows the adoptee to enter his/her
country as his/her adopted child;

In addition to the residency requirement exemption under number three (3) of above, the certification
requirements may be waived by the following:

a) A former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative within the 4 th degree of consanguinity
or affinity; or
b) One who seeks to adopt the legitimate child of his Filipino spouse; or
c) One who is married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with his spouse a relative
within the 4th degree of consanguinity or affinity of the Filipino spouse.

Spouses are also required to jointly adopt which means that both you and your spouse shall be
petitioners in the same adoption case. But there are also exceptions, such as when–
a) One spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate child of the other; or
b) One spouse seeks to adopt his own illegitimate child and the other spouse signified written
consent thereto.

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ADOPTION PROCESS:

1. Pre-Adoption Counseling/ Seminar

Adoptive Parents are required to attend a seminar or fora at the DSWD to help then assess their
motivation.

2. Filing an Application
Adoptive Parents files an application for adoption at the DSWD after completing the seminar or fora.

3. Homestudy
Adoptive parents make arrangements for Homestudy to be conducted by DSWD or child-placing
agency. If the adoptive parents residing abroad, the Homestudy shall only be conducted by an
agency duly accredited by the Inter-country adoption board.

6. Issuance of pre-adoption placement authority

DSWD issues a pre-adoption placement authority attesting that the child is ready for supervised trial
custody.

7. Supervised Trial Custody

The child is placed under the custody of the adoptive parents for a period of six(6) months.

8. Consent to Adoption
DSWD issues its written consent to adoption after the supervised trial custody.

9. Filing of Petition for Adoption at the Regional Trial Court

Adoptive parents file a Petition for Adoption at the Regional within 30 days after the receipt of the
consent to Adopt.

10. Publication and Hearing of the Petition

Before hearing, RTC Orders the publication of the Hearing of the Petition in the newspaper of general
circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks. Adoptive parents and adoptee are required to
attend the hearings.

11. Issuance of the Decree of Adoption

Upon approval of the adoption, the court issues an adoption decree and enters a judgment. Time
frame is 6 months from the date of submission of the Petition for Resolution.

12. Authorization to Travel Abroad

Once the adoption is already final, the DSWD shall issue a written authorization for the child to travel
abroad. The birth certificate of the child is also amended to reflect the names of the adoptive parents.
The Decree of Adoption becomes final after 15 days from date of the receipt of the parties. Provided
that the Department of Justice did not file and Appeal.

DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS:
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1. Birth (authenticated), baptismal or foundling certificate, as the case may be, and school
records showing the name, age and residence of the adoptee

2. Affidavit of consent of the following:

a. The adoptee, if ten (10) years of age or over
b. The biological parents of the child, if known, or the legal guardian, or the child-
placement agency, child-caring agency, or the proper government instrumentality which
has legal custody of the child (MAY BE DISPENSED WITH IF THE BIOLOGICAL
PARENT ABANDONS THE CHILD)
c. The legitimate and adopted children of the adopter and of the adoptee, if any, who are
ten (10) years of age or over
d. The illegitimate children of the adopter living with him who are ten (10) years of age or
over; and
e. The spouse, if any, of the adopter or adoptee.

3. Child study report on the adoptee and his biological parents;

4. If the petitioner is an alien, certification by his diplomatic or consular office or any appropriate
government agency that he has the legal capacity to adopt in his country and that his
government allows the adoptee to enter his country as his own adopted child unless exempted
under the law.

5. Home study report on the adopters.

6. Decree of annulment, nullity or legal separation of the adopter as well as that of the biological
parents of the adoptee, if any.

 Other Documents that may be required:

o Physical and medical evaluation by a duly licensed physician; and when appropriate,
psychological evaluation;
o NBI/Police Clearance;
o Latest income tax return or any other documents showing financial capability, e.g.
Certificate of Employment, Bank Certificate or Statement of Assets and Liabilities;
o Three (3) character references, e.g. the local Church/Minister, the employer, and a non-
relative member of the immediate community who have known the applicant(s) for at
least three (3) years;
o Pictures of the applicant(s) and his/her immediate family taken within the last three (3)
months;
o Certificate of attendance to pre-adoption fora or seminars
o Medical evaluation of the child and his/her parent(s), if available;
o Psychological evaluation, when appropriate;
o Pictures of the child

INTER-COUNTRY ADOPTION
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QUALIFICATIONS OF WHO MAY ADOPT (SECTION 27):

The adopter must have the following qualifications—

a. At least twenty-seven (27) years of age and is at least sixteen (16) years older than the child to
be adopted at the time of the filing of the application, unless the applicant is the parent by
nature of the child to be adopted or is the spouse of such parent by nature;
b. Has the capacity to act and assume all the rights and responsibilities;
c. Incidental to parental authority under his/her national law;
d. Has undergone appropriate counseling from an accredited counselor in his/her country;
e. Has not been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude;
f. Is eligible to adopt under his/her national law;
g. Can provide the proper care and support and give the necessary moral values and example to
the child and, in the proper case, to all his/her other children;
h. Comes from a country
(i). With whom the Philippines has diplomatic relations;
(ii). Whose government maintains a foreign adoption agency; and (iii). Whose laws
allow adoption; and
i. Files jointly with his/her spouse, if any, who shall have the same qualifications and none of the
disqualifications to adopt as prescribed above.

PROCEDURE (Inter-Country Adoption for Relative Adoption Cases):

Pre-Application Phase:

 Child Study to determine eligibility for Inter-Country Adoption.

o There is a need to first determine if the child being sought for adoption by the
Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) is eligible for inter-country adoption.  The process
of establishing the eligibility of the child is undertaken by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD).  

o The agency will conduct the child study as well as facilitate the submission of the
required supporting documents.  To better enable the ICAB to refer the child’s case to
the DSWD, the prospective adoptive parents are required to accomplish and submit the
Questionnaire for Relative Adoption Applicants (QRAA) including its required
attachments to the Central Authority (CA) or ICAB accredited Foreign Adoption Agency
(FAA) in their country of residence.  

o The CA/FAA shall endorse to ICAB the completed QRAA with the agency’s assessment
and recommendation on the prospective adoptive parents.

o The PAPs should indicate the complete name, current address and any contact
numbers (telephone/e-mail address) of the child and the guardian/s or custodian/s in the
Philippines.  This form can be downloaded from the ICAB’s website: www.icab.gov.ph 
NOTE: The eligibility assessment period of the child may take 3-6 months from the time
the ICAB referred the case of the child to the DSWD.

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 o Should the DSWD determine the child’s proposed adoption by relatives abroad redound
to his/her best welfare and interests, the DSWD will prepare and endorse officially the
Child Study Report and supporting documents to the ICAB.

Application Phase:

 Simultaneously with the eligibility assessment being done on the prospective adoptive child by
the DSWD, the PAPs must contact any of ICAB’s accredited Foreign Adoption Agency (FAA)
or Central Authority (CA) in the Country/State/Province/Territory where the PAPs reside.

 The list of CAs/FAA/Government Adoption Agency (GAA) is available in the ICAB’s website.
The CA/FAA/GAA will not only assess the PAPs capability, eligibility, and suitability via the
undertaking of the Home Study Report but also facilitate the official endorsement of the
adoption application, required supporting documents and application fee to the ICAB.

 Once the child’s and PAPs dossier are received by the ICAB, the social worker in-charge or
assigned to the case will undertake the needed complete staff work.

 Review/assess and evaluate both the child’s and PAPs dossier based on the requirements of
the ICA Law as well as the existing guidelines of the Board.  If there are some lacking pieces
of information and/or supporting documents on either or both parties (child/PAPs), a request
will be made to the concerned DSWD Field Office or CA/FAA respectively.

 If the information and documents are complete and substantive, the ICAB social worker will
evaluate the case and come up with recommendation/s for the Board’s disposition.

 The ICAB social worker will inform the DSWD Field Office and the CA/FAA on the action taken
by the Board on the proposed adoptive placement (i.e. approval, disapproval or deferment). In
cases of disapproval, the PAPs are given the chance to appeal for the Board’s consideration of
their decision.  They should provide the Board with sufficient grounds for their appeal.

Pre-Placement Phase:

 In cases of approved adoptive placements, the PAPs through their CA/FAA are required to pay
the processing fee and pre-travel fees quoted in the notice of approval so that the ICAB
Secretariat could start processing the child’s/ren’s travel documents (i.e.  Birth Certificate in
security Paper(SECPA) of the National Statistics Office (NSO), passport, visa medical (if
applicable), visa picture, visa fee, Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO), Department of
Tourism (DOT), etc.).

 The processing time varies from one country to another.  There are countries that do not
require visa medical examinations and visa interviews.

Placement Phase:

 Upon completion of the child’s travel documents, the ICAB sends the Notice of Travel to the
PAPs through the CA/FAA for the PAPs scheduling of their travel/trip to the Philippines to fetch
the child.

 The ICAB must be informed of the PAPs travel itinerary/travel dates to the Philippines.
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  Upon arrival in the Philippines, the PAPs must contact the ICAB for the schedule of the Pre-
Departure Visit (PDV) at the ICAB’s office. During the PDV of the child and the PAPs at the
ICAB office, all travel documents of the child are officially turned over/endorsed to the PAPs.  
The PAPs may share their initial experiences in caring for the child or have clarificatory queries
with the concerned ICAB  social worker.

Post Placement Phase:

 The Philippine Inter-country Adoption Law requires a six (6) months post placement period or
trial custody period where three (3) Post Placement Supervisory Reports along with pictures of
the child and the PAPs (or extended family) must be submitted to the ICAB.

 The third (3rd) or final Post Placement Report (PPR) contains the recommendation of the
CA/FAA that a satisfactory parent-child relationship has been established and that the
adoption can now be finalized.

 Upon receipt of the (PPR) indicating a mutually, satisfying parent-child relationship, the ICAB
issues the Affidavit of Consent to Adoption (ACA) executed by the DSWD.  The ACA is the
document issued within 30 days after receipt of the 3rd PPR.

 In cases of disruption, please refer to Section 47 of the Amended Implementing Rules and
Regulations of RA 8043.

Adoption Phase:
 Once the adoption has been finalized at the foreign court/tribunal/administrative office in the
country of residence of the PAPs, the CA/FAA is required to submit to the ICAB a Certified
True Copy of the Adoption Decree/Order and if applicable, the Certificate of Citizenship.

DOCUMENTARY REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS (SECTION 28):

a) Application Form. An application form prescribed by the Board which includes the following shall
be accomplished by the husband and wife:

1. Undertaking under oath signed by the applicants

2. Information and Personal Data of the Applicants

b) Home Study Report to be prepared by the Central Authority or an ICAB accredited Foreign
Adoption Agency.

c) Supporting Documents. The supporting documents to be attached to the Application shall consist
of the following:

1) Birth Certificates of the Applicants and, in cases of relative adoption, such relevant
documents that establish the relationship between the applicant claiming relationship to the
child to be adopted;

2) Marriage Contract of the applicants, and in the proper case, Decree of Divorce of all the
previous marriages of both spouses;
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 3) Written consent to the adoption in the form of a sworn statement by the biological and/or
adopted children of the applicants who are ten (10) years of age or over;

4) Physical and medical evaluation by a duly licensed physician;

5) Psychological evaluation by a psychologist;

6) Latest income tax return or other documents showing the financial capability of the
applicant;

7) Clearances issued by the Police Department or other proper government agency of the
place where the applicants reside;

8) Character reference from the local church/minister, the applicant’s employer and a
member of the immediate community who have known the applicant(s) for at least five (5)
years; and

9) A Certification from the appropriate government agency that the applicant is qualified
to adopt under his/her national law and that the child to be adopted is allowed to enter the
country for trial custody and reside permanently in the said place once adopted;

10) Recent postcard size pictures of the applicant, their immediate family members and their
home; and

11) Self-Report Questionnaire (required when the Psychological Evaluation is inadequate).

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FOR THE CHILD (SECTION 33):

The following documents pertaining to the child shall be attached to the endorsement:

a. Child Study and Updated Report (if CSR had been prepared more than six (6) months ago)
prepared by the social worker of the DSWD or NGO Child Caring/Child Placing Agency at the
time of matching shall include information about the child’s identity, upbringing, and ethnic,
religious and cultural backgrounds, social environment, family history, medical history and
special needs;

b. Security Paper (SECPA) of the Birth or Foundling Certificate;

c. Certified True Copy of the Decree of Abandonment together with the Certificate of Finality
for such judgment or the Notarized Deed of Voluntary Commitment executed after the birth of
the child;

d. Certified True Copy of the Death Certificate of the child’s birthparent/s, if applicable;

e. Updated medical evaluation and history of the biological family, if available,

f. Psychological evaluation for children above five (5) years old or as may be deemed
necessary by the ICPC;

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g. Child’s own written consent to adoption, if he/she is ten (10) years or older, witnessed by a
social worker of the Child Caring/Placing Agency and after proper counseling; and

h. Most recent whole body size picture of the child (taken within six (6) months upon
submission of documents). If applicable, any physical impairment of the child should be visible
in the picture.

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