National adoption may seem like a path defined mostly by forms, interviews, and waiting times. In reality, its central focus is another: the choice must serve the concrete best interests of the minor, not merely the adults' willingness to welcome them. This is why it is useful to distinguish from the very outset the requirements for submitting the declaration, the suitability investigations, and the potential matching phase.
I will discuss what is required to understand whether you can start the process, what happens after the application is filed, and how the framework changes in adoption in special cases. We will also examine why a national adoption does not coincide with the request for a specific child and why only apparently similar family situations may require different legal instruments.
National adoption primarily protects a minor declared adoptable
A couple's availability alone is not enough to create an adoption. National adoption presupposes that a minor has been declared adoptable by the Juvenile Court because they are in a situation of abandonment and cannot grow up properly within their original family. The law places adoption within the minor's right to live and grow up in a family, following interventions that can prevent abandonment. The general framework is contained in Law No. 184 of 1983 on the right of the minor to a family.
The declaration of availability is not a reservation. Through it, the spouses inform the Juvenile Court of their availability for national adoption and consent to the required checks. It does not confer a right to be matched, nor does it allow choosing a minor based on abstract preferences. When an adoptable minor exists, the court identifies the couple that appears most capable of meeting their personal, relational, and developmental needs.
Adoption does not coincide with family foster care. Foster care is normally a temporary measure aimed at the minor's return to their original family when possible. National adoption, on the other hand, intervenes after the declaration of adoptability and leads, if the pre-adoptive process concludes positively, to the establishment of a stable filial relationship with the adoptive parents.
Requirements for the couple
Ordinary national adoption is provided for spouses. Article 6 of Law No. 184 of 1983 requires a marriage of at least three years, with no personal separation, not even de facto, ongoing or occurred in the past three years. The stability requirement may also be recognized if the marriage has lasted for less than three years when the couple cohabited stably and continuously before marriage for a period that, together with the marriage, reaches the three-year mark. Cohabitation is not presumed: the Juvenile Court must verify its continuity and stability.
Meeting a formal criterion is not sufficient. Spouses must be suitable from an affective standpoint and capable of educating, instructing, and maintaining the minor. This does not require a perfect family model nor does it turn investigations into a moral judgment on the couple. However, it means that availability must be accompanied by relational resources, awareness of parental responsibilities, and the ability to address the minor's personal history.
Age difference with the minor also matters. Generally speaking, each adopter must be at least eighteen years older and no more than forty-five years older than the adoptee. The regulations provide for corrective measures and exemptions aimed at protecting the minor: for example, the exceeding of the maximum limit by only one of the spouses within ten years does not prevent the adoption. Further exemptions are not automatic and depend on the conditions provided by law and the minor's best interests. The Ministry of Justice summarizes requirements, age limits, and the validity of the declaration of availability.
Having children already does not exclude adoption. The presence of children in the family requires a careful assessment of concrete relationships and balances, but it is not a prohibition. If the couple's children are twelve years old or older, the law requires them to be heard in the proceedings. Here too, the objective is not to compare affections or economic resources, but to understand whether the insertion of the minor can take place in an environment capable of welcoming them.
From the declaration of availability to psychosocial investigations
The application opens a phase of getting to know each other, not a selection based on documents. The declaration of availability is submitted to the Juvenile Court with the required documentation. It is valid for three years and, upon expiry, can be renewed by demonstrating that the requirements still exist. The law allows submitting declarations to multiple courts as well, but requires disclosing applications already filed with other interested offices.
Investigations serve to understand the capacity for welcome. The court acquires the necessary information and involves local socio-healthcare services. Interviews, visits, and the report do not verify whether a couple deserves a child: they help reconstruct how the spouses approach the adoption project, what expectations they have, how they experience any vulnerabilities, and what openness they have toward specific characteristics or needs of the minor. The services transmit the report to the court within the deadline provided by law, which may be extended only once.
The declared availability must be concrete and consistent. Declaring openness to welcoming siblings, older minors, or children with disabilities is not a merely strategic element to increase matching chances. It is a commitment that requires real reflection on family resources, the support network, and the ability to address potentially complex needs. A purely formal consent risks making the journey more difficult for everyone, especially for the minor.
Practical procedures may vary among courts. Forms, documents to be attached, and operational instructions must be checked at the competent office before filing. It is useful to approach the meetings with the services after having clarified together the reasons for the adoption project, essential information on the couple's history, and the availabilities they intend to express, without trying to give crafted answers to appear more suitable.
Matching, pre-adoptive foster care, and the judgment
Matching is built around the minor's needs. Following the investigations, the Juvenile Court does not form a ranking list of couples. When it must place a minor declared adoptable, it assesses which household is most capable of responding to their situation: age, sibling relationships, health conditions, previous experiences, continuity needs, and the family's capacity to support their growth. For this reason, a complete application and a favorable assessment do not allow predicting if or when a match will occur.
Before the judgment comes pre-adoptive foster care. The court orders it by ordinance, and the minor enters the chosen family while monitoring and support continue. Pre-adoptive foster care is not a simple private trial of cohabitation: it is a legal phase in which it is verified whether the placement truly protects the minor. It can be revoked when serious difficulties arise that make the continuation of the path incompatible.
The minor's voice holds precise relevance. A minor who has turned twelve is heard; they may be heard even if younger, in relation to their capacity for discernment. For the final declaration of adoption, a minor who has turned fourteen must express their consent regarding the chosen couple. The judgment is issued, as a rule, after one year of pre-adoptive foster care; this term may be extended for an additional year in the minor's interest, as provided by Article 25 of Law No. 184 of 1983.
The judgment changes the minor's family status. Adoption attributes to the minor the status of child of the adopters and determines their entry into the new family. In full adoption, legal relations with the original family cease, save for marriage prohibitions. This consequence distinguishes ordinary national adoption from other forms of protection that may maintain original legal ties.
When adoption in special cases applies
Adoption in special cases is not a shortcut compared to national adoption. It is a distinct institution, governed by Article 44 of Law No. 184 of 1983, applicable only in the hypotheses identified by law. It may concern, among other things, an orphaned minor adopted by a relative up to the sixth degree or by a person with whom there is a stable and lasting relationship, the child of the other spouse, a minor with disabilities orphaned of both parents, and situations where the impossibility of pre-adoptive foster care is ascertained.
In the case of the spouse's child, the pre-existing relationship is decisive. If a person marries a minor's parent, adoption in special cases can allow legal recognition of a parental relationship developing within the blended family. It does not derive automatically from cohabitation or marriage: proceedings before the Juvenile Court and legal conditions are required, including the required consents and verification of the minor's best interests.
The adopter's personal conditions change according to the invoked hypothesis. In the cases provided for under letters a), c), and d) of Article 44, adoption may also be requested by an unmarried person; in the case of the spouse's child, however, the marital bond is part of the prerequisite itself. A minor over fourteen years of age must consent to the adoption; if they have turned twelve, they must be heard, and even a younger minor must be heard when their capacity for discernment allows it. Operational indications and prerequisites are illustrated on the Juvenile Court page on adoptions in special cases.
The effects are not identical to those of full adoption. Adoption in special cases does not sever the minor's bond with their original family. At the same time, the Constitutional Court eliminated the rule that prevented the birth of kinship relations between a minor adopted in special cases and the adopter's relatives. The distinction remains important: it is not enough to invoke Article 44 for an affective situation to automatically become an adoption, nor is it correct to describe this form as a bond devoid of family effects. This point must be read in light of judgment No. 79 of 2022 of the Constitutional Court.
Which choice to consider before starting
The first question is what relationship one intends to build or protect. If a married couple wishes to make themselves available to welcome a minor declared adoptable, the path is the declaration of availability for national adoption. If instead an individual minor and a concrete family relationship already exist, as in the case of a spouse's child or a stable bond with a minor in one of the situations provided for by Article 44, it is necessary to figure out whether adoption in special cases applies.
It is best not to confuse the timing of the procedure with the decision on parenthood. The three-year validity of the declaration is not a forecast of the time needed for matching. The year of pre-adoptive foster care does not start from the filing of the application, but from the measure by which the minor is placed with the couple. Separating these steps helps avoid unrealistic expectations and understand why the procedure cannot be reduced to an automatic sequence.
Incomplete information deserves attention before filing. A previous application with another court, a separation even de facto, a significant change in family life, or availability formulated without adequate awareness can affect the process. In the presence of a concrete doubt, it is preferable to clarify it before submitting inconsistent declarations. If you need to properly place your situation between national adoption and adoption in special cases, you can contact me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file the application if we have been married for less than three years?
Yes, but not automatically. The requirement can also be satisfied through stable and continuous cohabitation prior to marriage, provided the court ascertains that, together with the wedding, it reaches the required period. Demonstrating an affective relationship is not enough: what matters is the concrete stability of common life and the absence of personal separation, even de facto, in the relevant three years.
Does the declaration of availability guarantee me a match with a minor?
No. The declaration allows initiating investigations and expressing availability for adoption, but it does not confer a priority or a right to a match. The Juvenile Court chooses the couple that appears most adequate to the needs of the individual minor declared adoptable; therefore, it is not possible to predict timing or outcome solely from the submission of the application.
How long does the declaration of availability for national adoption last?
Validity is three years. Upon expiry, the declaration can be renewed by resubmitting the useful documentation to demonstrate that the required requirements still exist. This term concerns the couple's availability, not the duration of pre-adoptive foster care nor a guaranteed time to receive a matching proposal.
Is pre-adoptive foster care already a definitive adoption?
No, it is the phase preceding the judgment. The minor lives in the family identified by the court, and the path is followed through monitoring and support activities. As a rule, after one year the court decides on adoption; in the minor's interest, it may extend the period for another year. Serious difficulties can lead to the revocation of pre-adoptive foster care.
Can an unmarried person adopt a minor?
In ordinary national adoption, no, because the law requires spouses. Adoption in special cases, however, may also be requested by an unmarried person in the hypotheses provided for under Article 44, letters a), c), and d). Being single does not constitute an autonomous title to adopt, however: one of the taxative situations provided by law must apply.