By requiring 4 or 5 years of patience before obtaining a judgment, the adoption procedure is not only long but can be, for the future parents, very laborious. At issue: the multiplicity of procedures and documents to provide. What parts are needed at what time to adopt a child? The point step by step.

Whether the procedure envisaged is simple or full, in France or abroad, approval is always essential for the adoption of a child when he is not the child of the spouse (ward of the State, child entrusted to an Authorized Adoption Organization, OAA, etc.). Its obtaining is regulated by the law and more specifically articles R225-1 and following of the Code of social action and families.

The law thus specifies that the application for approval is made up of several stages, each accompanied by documents to be provided to the French administration.

• The first request to send to the Social Assistance to Children (ASE) of the department of residence. must be done via a simple letter indicating the adoption plan and specifying the family situation of the future parents. At this point, only the said letter is needed.
• Confirmation of the request and constitution of the file

 Following this sending, the ASE sends the adopters, within 2 months, an adoption notice. It is then the moment to confirm the initial request and to put together the approval file.

Here, the documents to be provided are more numerous. It is therefore necessary to provide:

• a full copy of the adopters’ birth certificate of less than 3 months, to be requested from the town hall of the place of birth,
• a full copy of the adopters’ family record book (if there is one),
• the bulletin n ° 3 of the criminal record (or extract from the criminal record), which can be requested online from the departments dedicated to the Ministry of Justice (see below),
• a medical certificate of less than 3 months, drawn up by an approved doctor, indicating that there is no contraindication to the reception of adopted children with the adopter or in his home. The list of approved professionals can be obtained from the Departmental Council or the Regional Health Agency of the place of residence,
• documents attesting to household resources (payslips, income tax return),
• the ESA questionnaire detailing the adoption plan, duly completed.

Note: obtaining approval is accompanied by a notice also issued by the Departmental Council, to be kept in a safe place. This will be necessary during the constitution of the file with the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI).

The procedures with the TGI once again require the preparation of a file which is sometimes complex to constitute as the contribution of various documents is necessary. This is why the advice of a lawyer is always advisable, even in cases where it is not compulsory (children under 15).

Whether plenary or simple, the procedure requires at this stage that many documents of different kinds be provided.Provision must therefore be made to bring to the file:

• the request for adoption provided by the prosecutor’s office of the district court, duly completed and specifying, in the case of simple adoption, any wishes on the surname of the adopted person (and his descendants),
• a copy of the approval (if necessary) and the accompanying notice.

To these first key documents are added the civil status documents …

And more precisely :

• a full copy of the birth certificates of the adopter and their spouse, dated less than 3 months,
• a copy of the adopter’s marriage certificate dated less than 3 months,
• a copy of the birth certificate of the adoptee, his spouse, his descendants (in the event of adoption of an adult), dated less than 3 months,
• a copy of the family record book (marriage and children pages, even empty).

Consent forms are also required and vary according to the age of the adopted children.

If the child is a minor, the following are necessary:

• the consent of the biological parents if the parentage link is established. This act must be carried out before a notary or consular / diplomatic staff for foreigners residing in France.

  In addition to this document:

  – a notarial deed of non-withdrawal of consent to adoption,

  – the parent’s death certificate if this is the case,

  – the copy of the court decision notifying the loss of parental authority by the biological parent (s), if this is the case,

  – any document that can attest to the impossibility of the biological parent to express his will, if this is the case.

• the consent of the family council or the family council of the State pupils if there is no parentage link with the parents (children born under x, etc.) or if they have lost authority parental,
• the consent of the adoptee if he is over 13 years old, again before a notary or consular staff,
• the consent of the adopting spouse if he undertakes the adoption process alone.

If the adoptee is of age, the following must appear in the file:

• his consent to the adoption by notarial deed,
• the opinion of his spouse if the adoptee has one, on plain paper.

The sworn statements then complete the file with:

• a document confirming that the adopters are neither separated, nor divorced, nor in the process of divorce,
• a document certifying that the adopters have no other child (ren). If this is the case, their birth certificates must be attached to the file and the adoptive parents must guarantee in writing that their project will not have a negative impact on family life,
• confirmation that the child over 13 agrees with the name chosen in the application (in the case of simple adoption).

If the adopters already have children, additional documents are requested.

It is thus necessary:

• attach a letter from all children 13 years of age and over, indicating their agreement with the adoption plan,
• bring to the file the opinion of children under 13, drawn up by the parent exercising parental authority.

It is not easy to compile a list of generic parts for international adoption as the legislation of the countries of origin can vary. For the preliminary procedures, it is therefore better to contact the French Adoption Agency (AFA) or the OAAs to find out the specificities of each country.

However, when they return to France, the adoptive parents are all required to provide, as part of the adoption judgment of the TGI, a certain number of common documents. Thus, adopters who have taken steps to take in a child abroad are asked to:

• adoption approval and its notice,
• the original of the adopted child’s birth certificate drawn up in his country of origin at the time of the adoption,
• the original of the child’s birth certificate before its adoption,
• all the (original) documents allowing the adoption of the child and his departure from the territory of origin: foreign adoption decision, document showing the abandonment of the child, delegation of parental authority, etc.
• a letter explaining the conditions of the adoption of the child: the accompanying organization, the conditions of arrival in France of the adopted child, etc.
• a copy of the child’s passport and visa,
• a letter from the adoption agency specifying the date on which the adopted child was handed over to his parents, by whom and from what social follow-up he received,
• the child’s follow-up report since his arrival in France.

 Note: all official documents must be accompanied by a translation made by a professional sworn to a court of appeal (see below)