{"id":7075871,"date":"2026-10-04T17:09:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T17:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7075871"},"modified":"2026-10-04T17:09:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T17:09:22","slug":"adopting-a-child-in-india-here-are-the-rules-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7075871","title":{"rendered":"Adopting a Child in India? Here are the Rules You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Image Source:\u00a0Pixabay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adoption in India, for a long time, fell within the ambit of personal laws, and there was no uniform legal framework that governed the adoption of children. Thus, adoptions were a purely religious matter, and members of certain religions\u200a\u2014\u200aspecifically, Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism\u200a\u2014\u200awere essentially prohibited from adopting children, as their personal laws did not permit it. Instead, they had to resort to assuming guardianship of children, under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890. The only religious communities that could adopt children were Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jews, whose personal law, codified in the form of the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956, allowed for adoption of children.<\/p>\n

In 2015, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) was enacted, which (among other things) introduced a uniform legal framework for adoption for India, allowing for non-religious adoption. The JJ Act has homogenized the Indian law on adoption, which was scattered and ridden with religious requirements before\u00a02015.<\/p>\n

The JJ Act assesses any prospective adoptive parent on certain parameters, such as health, financial stability, etc. In this article, we will discuss the eligibility requirements for adopting a child under this\u00a0law.<\/p>\n

To be considered as a prospective adoptive parent, you must meet certain eligibility criteria, which will be assessed by the Specialized Adoption Agency<\/a>, on the following parameters:<\/p>\n

Health<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The law assesses prospective adoptive parents on both mental and physical health. Thus, you must be physically fit, and have no life threatening medical condition. Further, you must be mentally and emotionally stable.<\/p>\n

Financial Status<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You must be financially capable to be considered for adoption of a child. Although the law has not specified minimum income levels as an eligibility criterion, the social worker (who is assigned to conduct the home study) will evaluate the capability and motivation of the prospective adoptive family to provide reasonable living standards to the\u00a0child.<\/p>\n

Marital Status<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You do not have to be married in order to be considered for the adoption of a child. However, there are different eligibility criteria, depending on whether you are married or single. The criteria\u00a0are:<\/p>\n