Asked by a reader in Bengaluru

What is the legal process to adopt a child in India?

Answered by Advocate Sharan Jain··Family & Divorce Law

Short answer

Two routes. The Juvenile Justice Act read with the CARA regulations is the main, secular route, done through registration on the CARINGS portal, home study, referral and a court order. Hindus can alternatively adopt under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.

Adoption in India runs on two parallel tracks, and choosing the right one at the outset saves a great deal of trouble.

Route 1: the Juvenile Justice Act and CARA

This is the secular route, open to everyone, and it is the one used for adopting a child who is legally free for adoption. It is governed by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Adoption Regulations framed by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). The steps:

  1. Register as prospective adoptive parents on the CARINGS portal and upload the required documents.
  2. Home study report prepared by a Specialised Adoption Agency.
  3. Referral of a child, which you may reserve and accept after seeing the child study and medical report.
  4. Matching and pre-adoption foster care.
  5. Court order. The adoption is finalised by the District Magistrate under the 2015 Act as amended, rather than by the civil court as before.
  6. Follow-up reports for a period after placement.

Eligibility covers single people as well as couples, with rules on the composite age of the parents relative to the age of the child, on marital stability, and on the number of children already in the family.

Route 2: the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956

Available to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. It is a personal law adoption, effected by a valid giving and taking, and commonly recorded in a registered adoption deed. It has its own conditions, including that a person cannot adopt a son if they already have a Hindu son, and equivalent for a daughter, and a minimum 21 year age gap where the child is of the opposite sex to the adoptive parent.

Do not use a private arrangement
Taking a child directly from a relative, hospital or intermediary without going through the statutory process is not adoption, and depending on how it is done can amount to a serious offence. It also leaves the child with no secure legal status for succession, school records or a passport. Use the statutory route.

Effect of a valid adoption

The child becomes the child of the adoptive parents for all purposes, including inheritance, from the date of adoption.

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Go deeper on this

This answer is the short version. These guides cover the same ground in full, with the procedure, the timelines and the leading cases.

SJ

Answered by

Advocate Sharan Jain

Advocate based in Bangalore, practising before the Karnataka High Court and District, Sessions, Consumer and Family courts. Answers public legal questions to make Indian law more accessible.

This answer is general information on Indian law as at July 28, 2026, published for public education. It is not legal advice, it does not take account of your facts, and reading it does not create an advocate-client relationship. Law changes and every case turns on its own circumstances. Please consult a qualified advocate about your own matter.

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