What sort of people can adopt a child?
You need to be over 21 to adopt, otherwise there are no specific age restrictions. In practice, we would expect applicants to have the potential to care for a child through to adulthood and beyond. Currently, if couples wish to adopt jointly, they must be married. Couples who are not married have to nominate one person to be the adoptive parent. Their partner can hold joint parental responsibility through a Residence Order.
