The adoption process
Adopting a child in the UK takes around six to nine months for approval, plus a variable period to be matched with a child. The process runs through six stages: getting in touch, Stage 1 (checks and training), Stage 2 (the assessment), the adoption panel, matching, and placement leading to the adoption order. Domestic adoption is free for adopters in the UK. You apply either through your local authority or a voluntary adoption agency like Jigsaw.
Getting in touch
- Get in touch
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Panel
- Matching
- Placement
The first step is filling in our interest form. A member of the team reads every form and gets back to you personally, usually within a couple of working days.
If we think we can help, we'll be in touch to set up an initial conversation. This is normally a video call with one of our experienced team and is a chance for both sides to get to know each other and ask questions. There's no group presentation. It's just a conversation.
Most people who start the process with us go on to be approved to adopt. The biggest reason people don't proceed is realising adoption isn't right for their circumstances at this point in their lives — not being declined by Jigsaw.
We ask adopters how their first conversation with us went. The overwhelming majority rate it the highest score available.
Rated the initial meeting 5 out of 5Jigsaw adopter feedback forms. View methodology
Stage 1: the checks
- Get in touch
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Panel
- Matching
- Placement
Stage 1 is the first of two statutory stages in the UK adoption approval process and takes up to two months. It's largely administrative — we complete the checks every adoption agency in the UK is required to carry out before progressing to assessment.
None of this is designed to catch you out. The checks are standard across every UK adoption agency and we walk you through each one. If something flags — a medical condition, an old conviction, a reference that needs a conversation — we discuss it with you directly. Nothing happens behind your back.
DBS (police) checks
Local authority checks
A medical assessment with your own GP
Personal references
Three per adopter, so six if you are applying as a couple.
A four-day preparation course
Classroom-based, covering what adoption involves.
Independent online learning
To complete in your own time alongside the course.
See the paperwork page for what each document covers and when it's needed.
Stage 2: the assessment
- Get in touch
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Panel
- Matching
- Placement
Stage 2 is the in-depth assessment and takes around four months. You'll be allocated an assessing social worker — many have been with us for years — and they'll write the Prospective Adopter Report (PAR) that is then presented to our adoption panel.
Stage 2 is designed as a collaboration, not an interrogation. You read the PAR in draft, comment on it, push back where something doesn't capture you properly. Many adopters tell us afterwards it was the most useful part of the process — the first time they'd really thought through their own story and how it shapes the kind of parent they want to be.
Your early life experiences and what shaped you
We're looking for self-awareness, not perfect childhoods.
Your motivation to adopt
For many adopters this sits alongside a fertility story — you don't need to be past it, you need to have accepted it and thought about it.
Your support network — family, friends, community
The people who'll cover a Tuesday afternoon, not just show up at the christening.
Your interests and home life
There’s no minimum house size or income threshold.
How you'd respond to the realities of parenting a child who has been in care
What we are looking for is a good understanding of how adopted children might react differently from birth children in some situation and how you think you would react in difficult situations. The training in stage 1 will prepare you for this.
See preparing for adoption for practical guidance on making the most of assessment.
"The assessment is the bit that sounds scariest and turns out to be the most useful part. Many adopters tell us afterwards they ended up with a clearer picture of themselves than they’d had in years."Khalida Lovell · co-founderAdoption panel
- Get in touch
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Panel
- Matching
- Placement
The adoption panel meets once your PAR is complete, usually within a month of the PAR being finalised.
Our panels include people with direct personal experience of adoption — adopters and adopted adults. Some panel members are independent from Jigsaw and some are members of our team. They've read your PAR in advance and the panel itself is a conversation, not an interrogation.
The purpose of the panel is for members to get to know you a little and to consider the report. It is not designed to trip you up or catch you out. We've deliberately built our process so that any potential concerns surface and get worked through long before panel — not on the day. As a result, negative panel recommendations are extremely rare.
The panel makes a recommendation. The final approval decision is taken by our Agency Decision Maker shortly afterwards and it is based on your PAR and on the minutes from the adoption panel. Once approved, we move on into matching.
Matching
- Get in touch
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Panel
- Matching
- Placement
Matching can take anywhere from a few weeks to many months, depending on how flexible you are about age, sibling groups, and additional needs.
Matching is the part of the process where Jigsaw is genuinely different from most other agencies — and where we think we add the most value.
National reach across England and Wales
As a fully independent voluntary adoption agency, we can work with all local authorities, not just the ones close to us — we research nationally for every approved family.
Experience with over 100 local authorities
Around 50 of them have placed children with Jigsaw families over the years.
Most families find a potential match within months
Typically within a couple of months of approval, though in some cases it takes longer.
Formalised through a matching panel
The matching panel is organised by the local authority where the children live and it will be held there or, in some cases, online. The questions will be similar to our adoption panel and we will be there to support you.
See how long adoption takes for realistic timings across the whole process.
Placement and adoption order
- Get in touch
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Panel
- Matching
- Placement
Introductions
Once the matching panel has approved the match, planning begins for introductions — the period where you gradually spend time with the children before they move in. This is the point at which you and the children properly begin to get to know each other.
Introductions typically last two to three weeks. The exact pace is set by the placing local authority, and it varies between authorities. Some prefer a shorter, more intensive period; others spread things over a longer window. Jigsaw will support you during introductions.
Moving in
At the end of introductions, the children move in with you.
At this point, you and the local authority share parental responsibility for the children. This is the case until the adoption order is granted.
Jigsaw will visit you regularly during the placement to support the family. The placing local authority also makes statutory visits at least every six weeks.
Applying for the adoption order
After the children have lived with you for at least 10 weeks, you can apply to the family court for an adoption order. You do not have to apply as soon as the 10 weeks have passed — you can wait longer if you prefer.
You complete an application form. The local authority also submits its own paperwork to the court in support of the application. The time it takes to get a court date depends on how quickly the local authority submits its paperwork and on the family court's workload in your area. For most families the adoption orders are issues within 3 - 6 months of applying but it can also take longer if there are problems with the local authority paperwork for example.
The adoption order
When the family court grants the adoption order, the children are legally yours. They have the same status as if they had been born to you. The birth parents have no legal rights over the children unless specific rights, such as contact arrangements, are written into the order.
New birth certificates are issued naming you as the parents.
Every Jigsaw family who has applied for an adoption order has been granted one. Careful matching and support through placement mean the court stage rarely brings surprises.
Of Jigsaw families who applied for an adoption order were granted oneJigsaw analysis. View methodology
"From the first contact and initial meeting, we felt great understanding and support. During Stage 1 and Stage 2, we learned a lot about ourselves and about children. It was excellent preparation."Tom and ZaraJigsaw adopter feedback forms. View methodologyPractical details
Read more about the specifics:
Related reading
The history of adoption in Britain — how British adoption got from the workhouse to the modern legal framework.
Thinking about adopting?
Fill in our interest form and a member of our team will be in touch.
I'm interested