Ministero della giustizia

Adozione nazionale

aggiornamento: 11 febbraio 2022

Last updated on 27 March 2020 by the Italian Ministry of Justice

NATIONAL ADOPTION

The following are required for an adoption to proceed:

declaration of the state of abandonment of a minor
the suitability of the married couple to adopt.

Both of the above may be issued by the juvenile court of the district in which the abandoned child is located.
Actual adoption follows a period of pre-adoptive fostering and, once adoption has taken place, all parental ties between the minor and his/her natural family are severed, and the child acquires the status of legitimate child of the adopters.

Requirements for submitting the application
Article 6 of Law No 184/83 establishes that adoption may be granted to spouses who have been married for at least three years, or for fewer years if the spouses have lived together in a stable and continuous manner before marriage for a period of three years, and this has been verified by the juvenile court.
The spouses must not, at the time of the adoption or during the previous three years, be separated; this includes de facto separation.
The adopters must be aged at least 18 and not over 45, with the possibility of an exception in the event that there is great danger for the child.
Adoption is not ruled out if one of the adopters exceeds the maximum age limit by no more than ten years.

Application stating availability for adoption
A married couple who meets the requirements laid down by law may submit an application to the juvenile court, specifying whether they are prepared to adopt multiple siblings or minors meeting the conditions stated in Article 3(1) of Law No 104 of 5 February 1992 concerning the care, social integration and rights of disabled persons.
Article 3 of Law No 104/1992 defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical, mental or sensory impairment, stabilised or progressive, which is the cause of learning, relationship or work integration difficulties and is such as to give rise to social disadvantage or marginalisation.
Multiple applications, including successive applications, may be submitted to several juvenile courts, provided that all courts to which previous applications were made are notified.

How to file the application stating availability for adoption
An application stating availability for adoption, on unstamped paper, accompanied by the documents proving that the requirements are met, is valid for three years and, upon expiry of the time limit, may be renewed by resubmitting documents to prove that the requirements are still met.
It is suggested that the following documents be submitted along with the application, although this list should be checked with the juvenile court:

birth certificate of the applicants
family status
declaration of consent to the adoption by the parents of the applicants, in the form of a self-certification, or, in the event of death, the certificate of death of the applicants’ parents
certificate issued by the regular GP
financial certificates: form 101 or form 740 or pay slip
Criminal Records certificate for the applicants
notarised declaration or self-certification attesting that the married couple wishing to adopt is not separated; this includes de facto separation.

Verifying the capacity of the couple
The juvenile court orders that checks be carried out to verify that the applicants are capable of bringing up the child and to ascertain the personal and financial situation, health and family environment of the applicants, and the reasons for the application. These checks may be made through local authority social/health services and competent professionals of hospitals and local health authorities.
The legal system grants the individual courts ample organisational freedom; therefore, meetings may be held with the appointed or honorary juvenile court judge or with a team of specialists, or various formalities may be required in the submission of applications.
These checks must be commenced and concluded within 120 days, extendable no more than once.
Information on the progress of the procedure must be provided at any time upon request.

Pre-adoption fostering
On the basis of the checks carried out, the juvenile court chooses the couple most suitable for the child from those who have submitted applications.
A pre-adoptive fostering order is handed down, after consulting the public prosecutor, the parents of the applicants where applicable, and the child if aged 12 or over and in some cases even if under 12.
During fostering, the court will not only carry out checks but will also provide support.
The period of pre-adoptive fostering may be terminated in the event of serious problems.

Declaration of adoption
After a year of fostering, with the possibility of an extension of one year, if all the conditions are met, the court approves the adoption.
Upon adoption, the adoptee’s relationship with the original family is terminated.
The adoptee acquires the status of legitimate child of the adopters and takes their surname.

For further information:

Rome Juvenile Court

Venice Juvenile Court – Adoption services

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