Apply for an adoption order
| Published date | 21 March 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Adoption forms |
Application for an adoption order (Form A58)
Notes on completing the form
Important
Do not use this form if the child you want to adopt is habitually resident outside the
United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, or if you intend to apply for
a Convention adoption order. Instead you should use Form A60 (Application for an
adoption order (excluding a Convention adoption order) where the child has been brought
into the UK for adoption) or Form A59 (Application for a Convention adoption order).
In these notes, any reference to a birth certicate, death certicate, marriage certicate
or certicate of civil partnership means a certied copy of the entry in the Register of
Live Births, the Register of Deaths, the Register of Marriages or the Register of Civil
Partnerships, as appropriate. A photocopy is not acceptable. The birth certicate you
send to the court for the child you are applying to adopt must be a certied copy of the
full entry in the Register of Live Births.
If you are attaching any order of the High Court or family court (England and Wales) or
an order made by a court in Scotland (permanence order) or Northern Ireland (freeing
order), it must be a sealed copy of the order (that is, a copy that has been stamped with
the seal of the court). If you are attaching an order made by a magistrates’ court, it must
be a certied copy (a copy certied by the court ofcer to be a true copy of the original
order), or a copy that bears the stamp of the originating court. An order issued by any
other authority must be properly authenticated by that authority. If you are in any doubt
about what is needed, please contact the court for assistance.
Take or send three copies of the completed application form to the court, together with
the court fee and any documents you are attaching in support of your application.
You should normally make your application to the Designated Family Centre for your
area. You can nd this, and a full list of courts and what type of work they do online at
courttribunalnder.service.gov.uk
There is a fee payable with your application. You may be exempt from paying all or part
of the fee. The Form EX50 – ‘Court Fees for the High Court, county court and family
court’ provides guidance of the costs involved and ways in which you can pay. You must
pay the relevant fee when you submit your application, unless otherwise stated. A copy of
this document is available from:
• Any family court or hearing centre
• hmctsformnder.justice.gov.uk
If you have little or no savings, are on certain benets or have a low income, you
might be able to get help with your court fee (also known as fee remission). For further
information, or to apply for help with fees, you can visit gov.uk/get-help-with-court-fees.
If you do not have access to the internet, you will be able to get a paper form (EX160 –
Apply for help with fees) from court staff at any family court ofce.
If you are attaching a statement of facts to your application (see note 22), please supply
two additional copies of the statement. If you are attaching health reports
(see note 24), please supply two additional copies of the reports.
A58 Notes - Application for an adoption order - Notes on completing the form (07.17) ©Crown copyright 2017
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