Apply for an aptitude test for an intercountry adoption through a local adoption agency

    Would you like to adopt a child from abroad? Then you must first qualify as adoptive parents.

    Description

    International adoption is divided into 2 aptitude tests: The general suitability test at the local adoption agency and the country-specific suitability test at an independent international adoption agency or the central adoption agency of the state youth welfare office.

    The general suitability test examines the suitability of potential adoptive parents to take in a child from abroad. This involves, for example, the reasons for the adoption, the stability of the partnership or health aspects.

    Contact point

    Please contact your local adoption agency, your recognized foreign adoption agency in independent sponsorship or the joint Central Adoption Agency Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.

    Contact person

    Please enter a location or postcode in the City / Location input field to see the responsible contact person

    Prerequisites

    If you wish to adopt a child, you must have unlimited legal capacity under German law and be at least 25 years old. If you are married, at least one of the two spouses must be 25 years old, whereby the younger spouse must be at least 21 years old. There is no legal maximum age for adoptive parents. According to the Federal Working Group of State Youth Welfare Offices, the age difference to the adoptive child should correspond to a natural distance.

    Normally, a married couple - regardless of gender - can only adopt a child together. Whether international adoption by same-sex couples is possible depends largely on the legal situation in the adoptive child's country of origin. However, single people can also adopt a child.

    They must be suitable for adoption.

    Procedure

    Please contact your local adoption agency or an international adoption agency. This can either be the central adoption office of the state youth welfare office or a non-governmental placement agency that is licensed for international adoptions from various countries. The specialists will provide you with initial advice.

    All relevant topics relating to the adoption will be discussed in personal meetings.

    This process can take several months. An international adoption is only possible after a general suitability has been determined by the youth welfare office and a country-specific suitability has been determined by the international placement agency working for you.

    However, this is no guarantee that an adoption placement will actually take place.

    Costs

    Fee 1.300,00 EUR

    Area of validity

    Hesse

    Official approval

    Officially approved by Hessian Ministry for Social Affairs and Integration on 30.10.2023

    Version

    Technisch erstellt on 18.09.2023
    Technisch geändert on 16.02.2026

    Keywords

    International adoption, Adoptive parents, Check adoptive parents

    Language version

    Deutsch

    Sprache: de
    Technisch erstellt on 07.06.2017
    Technisch geändert on 14.05.2025

    Englisch

    Sprache: en
    Sprachbezeichnung nativ: English
    Technisch erstellt on 22.10.2025
    Technisch geändert on 26.11.2019