How to Adopt a Child From India: Process, Costs, and Timeline

To adopt a child from India, you register with the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) through its CARINGS portal, meet the eligibility rules set by the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and the Adoption Regulations, 2022, complete a home study, accept a match from CARA’s system, and obtain a final adoption order from the District Magistrate. Families living outside India go through the intercountry track, which layers on Hague Convention requirements and, for U.S. citizens, USCIS forms. The core legal path is the same whether you live in Delhi or Denver; what changes is the paperwork stack and the wait.

One boundary worth naming up front: Hindu, Jain, Sikh, and Buddhist families inside India can adopt privately under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956 without touching CARA. For anyone else, and for any adoption where the child leaves India, the CARA process is the only legal route.¹

Who Can Adopt

Eligibility turns on the age of the child you want. CARA measures the parents’ age against the child’s age band, using each spouse’s individual age for singles and a “composite age” (both spouses added together) for couples, calculated as of your CARINGS registration date.²

Child up to 2 years: composite age up to 85 for couples; single parent 40 or younger.
Child 2 to 4 years: composite age up to 90; single parent up to 45.
Child 4 to 8 years: composite age up to 100; single parent up to 50.
Child 8 to 18 years: composite age up to 110; single parent up to 55.

Couples must have at least two years of stable marriage, with exceptions for relative and step-parent adoption. Single women can adopt a child of any gender. Single men cannot adopt a girl child.²

You must be physically, mentally, and emotionally capable of raising a child. Anyone with a life-threatening medical condition is excluded, as is anyone convicted of a criminal offense or accused of violating child rights. Financial stability is shown through prior-year income proof: a salary slip, a government-issued income certificate, or an income tax return. Intercountry applicants also submit police clearance certificates for both spouses.³

Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Citizen of India cardholders sit in the same priority queue as resident Indians. Foreign nationals without NRI or OCI status are matched only after Indian, NRI, and OCI families have had first opportunity on a given child.⁴

Which Children Are Legally Available

A child enters the adoption pool only after the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) classifies them as orphaned, abandoned, or surrendered, then declares them “legally free for adoption.”⁵ For surrendered children, biological parents have a two-month reconsideration window starting from the date the surrender deed is signed; only after it expires can the child be uploaded to CARA’s matching database.⁶

Children with special needs, older children, and sibling groups are tracked separately. Wait times for these children are significantly shorter, and families open to them often move through the system much faster than those seeking a healthy infant.

Documents You’ll Need

Everyone registers through CARA’s Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS) portal.⁷ Under Schedule VI of the Adoption Regulations, 2022, resident Indian applicants upload:

Identity proof (Aadhaar, passport, voter ID, or driving license), plus PAN card if applicable.
Proof of date of birth for each applicant.
Proof of residence.
Prior-year income proof.
A medical certificate confirming applicants have no chronic, contagious, or fatal disease and are fit to adopt.
Marriage certificate, divorce decree, or a spouse’s death certificate, whichever applies.
Written consent from any older children already in the family.
An undertaking from a relative if you’re applying as a single parent.
A current family photograph.³

Foreign applicants, NRIs, and OCI cardholders submit the same basic package plus passports for both spouses, a completed Home Study Report, and police clearance certificates for both applicants. All foreign-language documents need certified English translations.³

The Home Study Report

A professional social worker evaluates your finances, employment, health, lifestyle, home environment, parenting style, motivation for adopting, and overall readiness.⁸ For domestic applicants, the home study must be completed within 60 days of document submission, and the Specialized Adoption Agency uploads it to CARINGS within three days of completion.⁹ The report stays valid for three years; after that you’ll need to revalidate.³

The Process Step by Step

Registration and Matching

Once your documents are verified and your home study is uploaded, you enter CARA’s matching queue. The system runs on seniority: the longer you’ve been registered, the sooner you receive referrals. You can specify preferences for the child’s age, gender, and health status, but narrower preferences mean longer waits.

When your turn comes, the system generates up to three referrals, spaced one month apart. Each includes photographs, a Child Study Report, and a Medical Examination Report. You have 48 hours to reserve a profile once it appears on your dashboard; miss that window and the profile moves to the next family in line.⁹

Meeting the Child and Pre-Adoption Foster Care

After you reserve a profile, the full matching process (visiting the child at the Specialized Adoption Agency and completing a medical examination in your presence) must wrap up within 30 days. You then take the child into pre-adoption foster care within 10 days of matching, after signing an undertaking. The child lives with you while the formal adoption order is pending.⁹

The Adoption Order

For domestic adoptions, the SAA files the adoption application with the District Magistrate within 10 days of matching.⁹ For intercountry adoptions, the paperwork routes through the District Child Protection Unit before reaching the District Magistrate.³ The District Magistrate holds the proceedings in camera and must dispose of the case within two months of filing.¹⁰ The order permanently terminates the biological parents’ rights and establishes the adoptive parents as the child’s legal family.

New Birth Certificate

After the order is issued, the SAA applies for the child’s new birth certificate within five days, and the issuing authority produces the certificate within five days of receiving that application. The new certificate lists the adoptive parents as the child’s legal parents.⁹

Extra Steps If You Live Abroad

CARA’s No Objection Certificate

Before an adopted child can leave India, CARA must issue a No Objection Certificate. CARA issues the NOC within 10 days of receiving both the parents’ formal acceptance of the child and the receiving country’s letter of approval under Articles 5 and 17 of the Hague Adoption Convention. Without the NOC, the child cannot obtain a passport or exit visa.⁴

USCIS Forms for U.S. Citizens

U.S. citizens file Form I-800A (Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country) before being matched with a child. The form requires proof of U.S. citizenship, proof of marriage if applicable, a home study meeting both state and Hague standards, and evidence of compliance with pre-adoption requirements in the state where the child will live. Each adult household member also completes Supplement 1.¹¹

After matching, you file Form I-800 so USCIS can confirm the child qualifies for immigration. If the adoption is finalized in India before the child enters the United States, the child receives an IH-3 immigrant visa and automatically acquires U.S. citizenship on entry under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. If the adoption will be completed after arrival, the child enters on an IH-4 visa as a lawful permanent resident and does not become a citizen until the adoption is finalized domestically.

What It Costs

SAA fee (India side): India’s regulations cap the fee an authorized foreign agency pays the Specialized Adoption Agency at $5,000 per intercountry adoption, with an additional $1,000 for sibling adoptions. This covers documentation, court filing, passport application, and administrative costs.¹²
USCIS filing fees: Form I-800A costs $920. The first Form I-800 filed during the I-800A approval period has no separate fee; additional I-800 filings for non-sibling children cost $920 each.¹³
U.S. agency program fees: Hague-accredited agencies typically charge between $38,000 and $50,000 for their India programs, covering casework, translation, travel coordination, and post-placement services.
Home study: A Hague-compliant home study in the U.S. generally runs $1,000 to $3,000.
Travel: At least one trip to India is required, and many families make two, with stays of one to three weeks.

Federal Adoption Tax Credit

U.S. families can offset qualified adoption expenses through the federal adoption tax credit. For the 2025 tax year, the credit is worth up to $17,280 per child. It phases out for families with modified adjusted gross income above $259,190 and disappears entirely above $299,190.¹⁴ The credit is nonrefundable, so it can reduce your tax bill to zero but won’t generate a refund on its own; unused credit carries forward for up to five years.

Post-Adoption Follow-Up

The adoption order does not end CARA’s involvement. Domestic adoptions require four follow-up visits over two years, with the first report due within three months of the child entering pre-adoption foster care and subsequent reports on a semi-annual basis. Intercountry adoptions require six reports over two years: quarterly during the first year, then every six months in the second. The authorized foreign adoption agency, the receiving country’s central authority, or the Indian diplomatic mission uploads these reports to CARA’s portal along with photographs.³ Missing reports can create problems for future adoptions and may trigger inquiries from CARA.

How Long It Takes

The regulations set tight deadlines at every stage: 60 days for the home study, 48 hours to respond to a referral, 30 days to complete matching, 10 days to move into pre-adoption foster care, and two months for the court to issue the adoption order. On paper, the procedural steps can be completed in roughly five to six months from registration.⁹

In practice, the biggest variable is the wait between completing your home study and receiving your first referral. That gap depends on how many children matching your preferences are available and how many families sit ahead of you in the queue. Families open only to a healthy infant can wait two or three years. Families willing to adopt an older child, a sibling group, or a child with medical needs often move much faster. The procedural clock only starts once a referral appears on your dashboard.

1
Lawgist.in. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act – Section 56
2
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Eligibility Criteria for Prospective Adoptive Parents
3
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Adoption Regulations, 2022
4
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Adoption Procedure for Non-Resident Indian, Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder and Foreign Prospective Adoptive Parents Residing Abroad
5
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Child Legally Free for Adoption By CWC (Orphan and Abandoned)
6
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Child Legally Free for Adoption By CWC (Surrendered Child)
7
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Central Adoption Resource Authority
8
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Schedule VII – Home Study Report
9
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Central Adoption Resource Authority – Guidelines for Adoption
10
Central Adoption Resource Authority. Schedule XIV
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country
12
U.S. Department of State. India Intercountry Adoption Information
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. G-1055 Fee Schedule
14
Internal Revenue Service. Adoption Credit