The Basics: Agreed Stepparent Adoption (Washington state)

(Originally published January 19, 2017. Updated June 12, 2025.)

Blended Families and Stepparent Adoptions

It is very common in today’s world for people to be living in a blended family. Stepparents tend to get a bad rap in movies or TV shows (just look at any version of Cinderella), but there are lots of wonderful stepparents or “bonus parents” (the more recent, positive term) out in the world caring for and loving their stepkids – in some instances parenting much more than the biological parent that isn’t in the home. In those cases, usually after a period of time, the question of looking into an adoption surfaces. A stepparent adoption is the most common type of adoption I come across in my practice, and involves a stepparent wanting to legally step up into the parent role. The process is fairly straightforward so long as everyone agrees, although the process isn’t as transparent as other family law matters.

Who Can File and Where to Start

A helpful thing to note is that the stepparent is the main petitioner in the stepparent adoption, but the biological parent they are married to will be the co-petitioner. To be very clear, the stepparent and one of the biological parents must be married in order to move forward with a stepparent adoption.

For almost all family law matters in Washington state a person is required to use the state’s mandatory forms to pursue an action – but not for adoptions (there aren’t mandatory forms). So where do you start? The best place to start is purchasing the adoption packet from King County, Washington. You will either have to purchase the packet in-person or mail-in a request with payment. 

Required Documents for an Agreed Stepparent Adoption

For an agreed stepparent adoption (in which you have a stepparent who wants to adopt their stepchild and both biological parents are in agreement), you will need the following documents to begin the case:

1. Petition for Adoption by Stepparent
2. Petition for Relinquishment of Parent-Child Relationship of Father/Alleged Father/Mother
3. Father’s/Alleged Father/Mother Consent to Adoption and Termination of Parent-Child Relationship
4. Consent of Child (if the child to be adopted is 14 years or older)
5. UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act) Affidavit
6. Confidential Information Form (and an Addendum to Confidential Information Form if needed)

You will need to fill out all of the forms, and have the biological parent giving up their rights complete, sign, and return the Father’s/Alleged Father/Mother Consent to Adoption and Termination of Parent-Child Relationship. If the child being adopted is over the age of 14, they will be required to sign the Consent of Child (if the child to be adopted is 14 years or older). Once all of these forms are completed and signed by the appropriate parties, you are ready to file at the courthouse. There will be a filing fee, so call your courthouse to double check on the amount because the fee is updated periodically.

Termination of Parental Rights in Clark County, WA

1. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (Termination of Parent-Child Relationship)
2. Order Terminating Parent-Child Relationship

What Is a Post Placement Report and Why It Matters

Once the Motion, Declaration and Order Directing Filing of a Post Placement Report is signed and entered by the judge, you can move forward with the Post Placement Report process. You will need to provide a copy of the birth certificate and marriage certificate to the Post Placement Reporter. Going through the Post Placement Report interview, background checks, reference checks, and home visit (if any) may take a few weeks, and then it generally takes the Post Placement Reporter another few weeks to complete the report. I usually estimate between 4 and 8 weeks for the whole Post Placement Report process. Once you obtain, review, and approve the Post Placement Report, you need to file it in your case.

Setting the Final Stepparent Adoption Hearing

Once the Post Placement Report is complete and filed, you can then file a Notice of Hearing to set the adoption hearing date. In Clark County, Washington, adoption hearings take place on Friday afternoons at 2:30 pm. You will need to bring the following orders with you to the hearing filled out and ready for the Judge to review:

1. Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (Stepparent Adoption)
2. Decree of Adoption (Stepparent)

The adoption hearing is closed to the public, so it will only be you, people you invite, the judge, and the clerk in the courtroom with you for your hearing. Both petitioners (stepparent and biological parent) need to attend, but the child is not required to attend (unless the child is over the age of 14, then the child needs to sign a consent and attend the hearing). The Judge will ask you questions to ensure you understand the process and consequences, before (ideally) signing the final orders. Hearings usually take no longer than 20 minutes. You will need to then obtain certified copies of the Decree of Adoption from the Superior Court Clerk’s Office – you may have to go back to the courthouse on the next business day to do this. I usually recommend that people obtain at least four certified copies of the Decree of Adoption so they have one to provide to the Department of Health and to keep extra copies for themselves. Adoptions in general are sealed cases, so you as the parties only have access to the documents filed in the case up to 30 days after entry of the Decree of Adoption without having to also obtain a court order signed by the Judge granting you access.

Final Steps: Adoption Certificate and Registration Forms

The last three documents you have to fill out are:

1. The Adoption Registration Form
2. Birth Certificate Mail Order Form
3. Adoption Data Card

There are instructions on the Adoption Registration Form and Birth Certificate Mail Order Form for where they have to be turned in. Please note that at the end of the Adoption Data Card there is a small section that needs to be filled out by a courthouse employee. In Clark County, Washington, the courthouse employee filling out and taking the Adoption Data Card from you is the Court Facilitator. If you aren’t sure who you should take the Adoption Data Card to, ask the Superior Court Clerk’s Office and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

That should get you started. Keep in mind, this is for agreed adoptions where the stepparent is adopting the stepchild. If the facts surrounding the adoption fall under other circumstances, there will be different procedures and documents required. Since the procedures are so important and the forms aren’t as easy to fill out as others you might encounter, I highly recommend you speak with an attorney before moving forward with an agreed adoption. I have handled a number of adoptions in my career, and I’d be happy to speak with you about yours.