ADOPT-203 - Stepparent Adoption Request

Summary

Stepparent Adoption Request

Text

Form ID: ADOPT-203
Title: Stepparent Adoption Request
Effective Date: 2025-07-01
Mandatory Form: yes
Languages: 汉语, 한국어, español, Tiếng Việt
Info Page: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/ADOPT-203
Primary Download URL: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/adopt203.pdf
Alternate Download URLs: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/adopt203c.pdf, https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/adopt203k.pdf, https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/adopt203s.pdf, https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/adopt203v.pdf
Form Detail Page:
Stepparent Adoption Request
(ADOPT-203)
Start a stepparent adoption case. This tells the court who is being adopted and other information about the adoption.
Get form ADOPT-203
汉语
Get form ADOPT-203 in Chinese Simplified
(Chinese Simplified)
한국어
Get form ADOPT-203 in Korean
(Korean)
español
Get form ADOPT-203 in Spanish
(Spanish)
Tiếng Việt
Get form ADOPT-203 in Vietnamese
(Vietnamese)
Effective: July 1, 2025
Go to
How-to instructions for Adoption
Go to
Adoption Form Packets
PDF Text:
Judicial Council of California, courts.ca.gov
New July 1, 2025, Mandatory Form   
Family Code, § 9000, et seq. 
Stepparent Adoption Request ADOPT-203, Page 1 of 4
ADOPT-203 Stepparent Adoption Request
Clerk stamps date here when form is filed.
Fill in court name and street address:
Superior Court of California, County of
Court fills in case number when form is filed.
Case Number:
Instructions
Use this form for a stepparent adoption or a stepparent adoption to confirm 
parentage. If you are adopting more than one child, fill out an adoption 
request for each child.
For more information on stepparent adoption and how to fill out this form, 
see form ADOPT-050-INFO and selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/stepparent-adoption.
If there are any other persons who are or may be the child's parent, you will 
be required to obtain additional forms, submit specified paperwork, and 
possibly participate in additional court proceedings. You will be required to 
provide all documentation to the court or the investigator during the adoption 
process.
For more information, see stepparent adoption in California
.
1 Adopting parent
a. Name:
b. Street address:
City: State: Zip:
Telephone number:
c. Lawyer (if any) (Name, State Bar number, address, telephone numbers, email):
Check this box if there are more stepparents requesting adoption. They should file a separate Stepparent 
Adoption Request (form ADOPT-203). 
2 Hearing is set for:
(To be completed by the clerk of the superior court if a hearing date is available.)
Date: Time: a.m. p.m. Dept.: Room:
Name and address of court if different from above:
3 The adopting parent
a. Will treat the child as their own;
b. Will support and care for the child;
c. Has a suitable home for the child; and
d. Agrees to adopt the child.
4 County of filing
This Stepparent Adoption Request is filed in this court because (check all that apply):
a. The adopting parent lives in this county; 
b. The child was born in or the child now lives in this county;
c. An office of the department or public adoption agency that is investigating the request is located in this 
county; 
d. A placing birth parent lived in this county when the consent was signed;

New July 1, 2025 Stepparent Adoption Request
Name of adopting parent:
Case Number:
4
f. The child was freed for adoption in this county. 
e. A birth parent who will be retaining custody lived in this county when the request was filed; 
5 Type of stepparent adoption (check all that apply):
a. The adopting parent is married to or in a registered domestic partnership with the legal parent of a child the
adopting parent is seeking to adopt. (Attach proof of the marriage or domestic partnership.)
The adopting parent married or entered into a registered domestic partnership with the legal parent on
(date):
(For court use only. There is no waiting period.)
b. The adopting parent is seeking a stepparent adoption to confirm parentage. At the time the child was born, 
the adopting parent was married to or in a state-registered domestic partnership with the parent who gave 
birth or whose parentage was established through a gestational surrogacy process, and we remain in that 
union. See attached:
(1) Form ADOPT-205, Declaration Confirming Parentage in Stepparent Adoption 
(2) Form ADOPT-206, Declaration Confirming Parentage in Stepparent Adoption: Gestational Surrogacy 
(3) Declaration describing the circumstances of the child’s conception.
c. The child will have more than two parents. The following persons with existing parental rights agree to this 
adoption and will maintain their existing parental rights:
(1) Name: Relationship to child:
Name: Relationship to child:
(2) An agreement waiving termination of parental rights, signed by both the existing parents and the adopting 
parent or parents, was filed with the court.
Note: If a person who may have parental rights has not signed a consent or relinquishment, the adopting parent 
or parents must obtain other signed documents or file for termination of parental rights or other action. 
6 Information about the child
a. Name before adoption:
b. Gender: Female Male Nonbinary
c. Date of birth:
d. Address (if different from address of adopting parent)
Street: City: State: Zip:
e. Place of birth (if known): City: State: Country:
f. If the child is 12 or older, does the child agree to the adoption? Yes No
g. The child was conceived by assisted reproduction in compliance with Family Code section 7613.
7 Legal guardian
Does the child have a court-ordered guardian appointed? Yes No
(If yes, attach Letters of Guardianship or fill out below.)
a. Date guardianship ordered: b. County: c. Case number:
8 Inquiry and notice under the Indian Child Welfare Act
a. The inquiry required under law to determine whether the child may be an Indian child has been made, and a 
completed Indian Child Inquiry Attachment (form ICWA-010(A)) is attached.
ADOPT-203, Page 2 of 4

New July 1, 2025 Stepparent Adoption Request
Name of adopting parent:
Case Number:
8 b. A completed version of Parental Notification of Indian Status (form ICWA-020) is attached, OR a good 
faith attempt has been made to provide the form to the parents, Indian custodian, or guardian of the child and 
inform them that they are required to complete and submit the form to the court.
c. There is reason to know that this child is an Indian child. Notice of the adoption request will be provided to 
the child’s tribe or tribes, parents, Indian custodian, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, using Notice of Child 
Custody Proceeding for Indian Child (form ICWA-030).  
9 Adoption of an Indian child
a. This is an adoption of an Indian child. The adopting parent has filled out and attached Adoption of Indian 
Child (form ADOPT-220) and will bring Parent of Indian Child Agrees to End Parental Rights (form 
ADOPT-225) to the hearing.
b. This is a tribal customary adoption under Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.24. Parental rights have 
been modified under and in accordance with the attached tribal customary adoption order, and the child has 
been ordered placed for adoption.
10 Contact after adoption (check any that apply):
Contact After Adoption Agreement (form )
a. is attached   
b. will be filed before the final adoption hearing.
(For more information, see form ADOPT-050-INFO; Family Code section 8616.5)
11 Investigation or written report (check one):
The investigation or written report will be completed as follows:
a. I will choose someone to do an investigation or written report and will pay them directly. I understand that 
this person must be a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed marriage and family therapist, or work for a 
licensed private adoption agency.   
b. I would like the court to choose someone to do an investigation. I understand that the court can charge me 
money for this investigation. 
c. This is an adoption to confirm parentage. No investigation is required unless court-ordered for good cause.
Additional Information Needed
If there are any other persons who are or may be the child's parent, you will be required to obtain additional forms, 
submit specified paperwork, and possibly participate in additional court proceedings. You must provide additional 
documents to the court or the investigator during the adoption process. These documents can include:
Consent or relinquishment for adoption–properly signed and accepted by court.
Death certificates, prior court orders, or pending court orders.
Waiver or denial of parentage–properly signed and accepted by court.
Additional court proceedings can include:
Filing a petition and order freeing the child from parental custody and control. This is a separate action.
Filing a petition and order terminating parental rights of an alleged father. This action can be filed within the 
adoption process. 
For more information, see: selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/stepparent-adoption.
ADOPT-203, Page 3 of 4

For your protection and privacy, please press the Clear 
This Form button after you have printed the form.
Rev. July 1, 2025 Stepparent Adoption Request ADOPT-203, Page 4 of 4
Name of adopting parent:
Case Number:
12 Requests to court
a. I ask the court to approve the adoption and to declare that the adopting parent and the child have the legal  
relationship of parent and child, with all the rights and duties of this relationship, including the right of  
inheritance.
b. I ask the court to date its order approving the adoption as of an earlier date (date):
for the following reason (Family Code, § 8601.5):
(Enter a date no earlier than the date parental rights were ended.) 
13 If a lawyer is representing you in this case, the lawyer must sign here:
Date:
Type or print lawyer’s name
 Signature of lawyer for adopting parent
14 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the information in this form and all  
its attachments is true and correct to my knowledge. This means that if I lie on this form, I am guilty of a crime.
Date:
Type or print your name
 Signature of adopting parent
NOTICE—ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH INSURANCE: Do you or someone in your household need affordable health 
insurance? If so, you should apply for Covered California. Covered California can help reduce the cost you pay toward high-quality 
affordable health care. For more information, visit www.coveredca.com, or call Covered California at 1-800-300-1506 (English) or 
1-800-300-0213 (Spanish).

Retrieval chunks

• #1

  Form ID: ADOPT-203 Title: Stepparent Adoption Request Effective Date: 2025-07-01 Mandatory Form: yes Languages: 汉语, 한국어, español, Tiếng Việt Info Page: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/ADOPT-203 Primary Download URL: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/adopt203.pdf Alternate Download URLs: https://www.co…

• #2

  (To be completed by the clerk of the superior court if a hearing date is available.) Date: Time: a.m. p.m. Dept.: Room: Name and address of court if different from above: 3 The adopting parent a. Will treat the child as their own; b. Will support and care for the child; c. Has a suitable home for the child; and …

• #3

  Note: If a person who may have parental rights has not signed a consent or relinquishment, the adopting parent or parents must obtain other signed documents or file for termination of parental rights or other action. 6 Information about the child a. Name before adoption: b. Gender: Female Male Nonbinary c. Date o…

• #4

  (For more information, see form ADOPT-050-INFO; Family Code section 8616.5) 11 Investigation or written report (check one): The investigation or written report will be completed as follows: a. I will choose someone to do an investigation or written report and will pay them directly. I understand that this person m…

• #5

  Signature of lawyer for adopting parent 14 I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the information in this form and all its attachments is true and correct to my knowledge. This means that if I lie on this form, I am guilty of a crime. Date: Type or print your name Signat…