Second Parent Adoption in Florida

A second parent adoption is a court proceeding that allows an unmarried person to adopt their partner’s child without terminating the existing parent’s rights. Both adults become full legal parents with equal custody, decision-making authority, and financial obligations. Florida courts grant second parent adoptions under Chapter 63 of the Florida Statutes, though the statute does not use that term.

Married couples use the simpler stepparent adoption process instead. Chapter 63, the statute behind every adoption granted in Florida, lists three categories of adopter: a married couple jointly, a single unmarried adult, or a married person adopting alone. A married person can adopt alone only when the spouse is the child’s parent and consents, or when a court excuses the spouse from joining. Two unmarried adults petitioning together appear nowhere on that list, and whether a judge will grant the adoption depends on where in Florida the couple files.

How Does Second Parent Adoption Differ from Stepparent Adoption?

Second parent adoption and stepparent adoption produce the same legal result—the adopting parent becomes a full legal parent—but an unmarried couple’s adoption takes two court proceedings instead of one and requires a home study.

	Second Parent Adoption	Stepparent Adoption
Eligibility	Unmarried couples	Married couples only
Home study	Required	Not required
Cost	$5,000 to $8,000	$3,500 to $4,500
Timeline	3 to 6 months	2 to 3 months
Separate termination-of-rights case	Required before the adoption petition	Not required; one joint petition covers both

A stepparent adoption is faster and less expensive because no home study is needed. For couples who are able to marry, the better path is almost always to marry first: the matter becomes a stepparent adoption, which removes the home study and the separate termination case.

What Are the Requirements?

A Florida second parent adoption requires four things: a fit adopting parent, consent from the existing legal parent, a home study, and a judgment terminating parental rights before the adoption petition is filed.

The adopting parent must demonstrate fitness to parent, and the court must find that the adoption is in the child’s best interest. The existing legal parent must consent to the adoption. If the child has another legal parent, such as a biological father with established paternity, that parent must also consent or have their rights terminated by court order. Florida requires a judgment terminating parental rights before an adoption petition may be filed, and stepparent, relative, and adult adoptions are the only ones exempt from that step.

The home study evaluates the adopting parent’s living situation, background, and ability to provide a safe and stable environment. A licensed adoption agency or a licensed clinical social worker conducts the study, which includes background checks, home visits, interviews, and reference checks.

If the child is 12 or older, the child must also consent to the adoption, unless the court dispenses with that consent in the child’s best interest.

What Is the Process?

A second parent adoption in Florida follows five steps:

1. Complete the home study. The adopting parent arranges a home study through a licensed agency or social worker. The home study can begin before the petition is filed to save time.

2. Obtain consents and terminate parental rights. The existing legal parent signs a written consent to the adoption before a notary and two witnesses. The adoption petition cannot be filed until a court has entered a judgment terminating parental rights in a separate proceeding.

3. File the adoption petition. The adopting parent files a petition for adoption in the circuit court of the county where the child resides or where the attorney is located. The petition includes information about both parents, the child, and the basis for the adoption. Whether the existing legal parent also signs as a petitioner, rather than only consenting, decides what happens to that parent’s own rights.

4. Attend the final hearing. The court schedules a hearing where the judge reviews the petition, the home study report, and the consents. If the judge finds the adoption is in the child’s best interest, the judge enters a final judgment of adoption.

5. Obtain an amended birth certificate. After the final judgment, the attorney submits paperwork to the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics. The bureau issues a new birth certificate listing both parents.

Does the Existing Parent Keep Their Parental Rights?

Florida’s adoption statute preserves an existing parent’s rights only when that parent is a petitioner in the adoption or is married to a petitioner. An unmarried parent who signs a consent and nothing else is neither, so under section 63.172 that parent’s rights end when the judge enters the final judgment.

The route around that result is a joint petition, with both partners named as petitioners. Florida’s appellate courts have not settled whether an unmarried couple can adopt jointly.

In 2014, Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal reinstated a joint adoption by an unmarried same-sex couple, writing that the decree was consistent with what the Legislature intended. In 2018, the Fourth District held that a parent whose rights are intact cannot join an adoption petition, and read the 2014 decision as limited to couples in a committed relationship. Until the Florida Supreme Court or the Legislature settles the question, the outcome can depend on which appellate district hears the case.

In practice, availability depends on where the couple files. In our experience, judges in Central and North Florida expect the couple to be married and to use a stepparent adoption. Unmarried second parent adoptions have been granted in some Florida circuits.

What a Court Judgment Gives That a Birth Certificate Does Not

A birth certificate is evidence of parentage, not a court order establishing it. Florida allows a biological mother to list her wife on the child’s birth certificate at birth, but that listing has limited legal force. A state legislature could decline to recognize birth certificates listing same-sex parents, and other states are not required to honor a Florida birth certificate.

Under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution, every state must recognize a valid court judgment from another state. A finalized adoption judgment cannot be undone by a future change in state law or policy. National LGBT rights organizations recommend a court judgment of adoption or parentage for every non-biological parent, whatever the birth certificate says. They renewed that recommendation after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Can Two Unmarried Women Both Be on a Birth Certificate in Florida?

Two unmarried women cannot both sign the initial birth certificate in Florida. Only the biological mother is listed at birth. The non-biological mother must complete a second parent adoption to be formally recognized as a legal parent, after which the birth certificate can be amended to list both parents. Florida’s birth certificate form provides one line labeled “Mother’s/Parent’s Name” and one line labeled “Father’s/Parent’s Name,” with no line for a third parent.

For married same-sex couples, the biological mother can list her wife on the birth certificate at birth, in the field the statute still calls the father’s. A stepparent adoption converts that listing into a court judgment.

When Is Second Parent Adoption Necessary?

Second parent adoption is the appropriate proceeding when the adopting parent is not married to the child’s legal parent, regardless of the couple’s gender. Common situations include:

• An unmarried same-sex couple where one partner is the biological parent and the other wants legal parental rights
• An unmarried opposite-sex couple in the same situation
• A domestic partner who has been raising the child but has no legal relationship to the child
• A couple who conceived through assisted reproductive technology and are not married to each other

What Happens After the Adoption Is Finalized?

A finalized second parent adoption gives the adopting parent the same rights and obligations as a biological parent. The adopting parent gains custody rights, decision-making authority over medical care and education, and the duty of financial support. The child gains inheritance rights from the adopting parent.

Florida’s intestacy statute preserves a child’s inheritance from a birth parent only when the adopting parent is that parent’s spouse. No exception covers an unmarried partner’s adoption, so the child’s right to inherit from the birth parent without a will is uncertain after an unmarried second parent adoption. A will or trust naming the child directly avoids the question.

If the couple later separates, the adopting parent retains full parental rights. Both parents have equal standing in any custody or support proceeding, just as they would if both were biological parents. Without a second parent adoption in place, the non-biological parent has no legal standing if the existing legal parent dies or the couple separates. A custody case in that situation can be expensive, with no guarantee of success.

Same-Sex Couples and Adoption in Florida

In 2010, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal struck down the state’s ban on adoption by gay and lesbian people. The court held that the ban violated the equal protection provision of the Florida Constitution, and the Florida Supreme Court has never ruled on the question.

Same-sex marriage became legal in Florida in January 2015 through federal court orders. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges made same-sex marriage legal nationwide that June. Since then, married same-sex couples have had the same right to stepparent adoption as any other married couple.

Can a Child Be Adopted as an Adult Instead?

An adult adoption is available once the person to be adopted is 18 or older. Adult adoption does not require a home study or the birth parents’ consent. The attorney fee is typically $3,500 to $4,500. The birth parents are entitled to notice of the final hearing, but they cannot block the adoption. It remains available where a second parent adoption was never completed while the child was a minor.

What a Second Parent Adoption Settles and What It Leaves Open

A final judgment of adoption is the strongest form of parentage Florida offers an unmarried second parent. Every state must honor it, a later change in Florida law cannot undo it, and it holds if the other parent dies or the couple separates.

What remains unsettled is the route to that judgment. Chapter 63 has no category for two unmarried adults petitioning together, and the two appellate decisions on the practice point in different directions. Florida’s intestacy statute does not preserve the child’s inheritance from the birth parent.