Chapter 48

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, after the final order of adoption is entered, no party to an adoption proceeding nor anyone claiming under such a party may question the validity of the adoption because of any defect or irregularity, jurisdiction…

This Article shall apply to the adoption of minors by adults who are not their stepparents. (1995, c. 457, s. 2.) Part 2. Placement of Minors for Adoption.

(a) Only the following may place the minor for adoption: (1) An agency, (2) A guardian, (3) Both parents acting jointly, if a. Both parents are married to each other and living together, or b. One parent has legal custody of a minor and the other has physical custody but neither …

(a) In a direct placement, a parent or guardian must personally select a prospective adoptive parent, but a parent or guardian may obtain assistance from another person or entity, or an adoption facilitator, in locating or evaluating a prospective adoptive parent, subject to the …

(a) An agency may acquire legal and physical custody of a minor for purposes of adoptive placement only by means of a relinquishment pursuant to Part 7 of this Article or by a court order terminating the rights and duties of a parent or guardian of the minor. (a1) No agency shall…

(a) The Social Services Commission may adopt rules requiring agencies to adopt and follow appropriate recruitment plans for prospective adoptive parents. (b) The Division may maintain a statewide photo-listing service for all agencies within this State as a means of recruiting ad…

(a) Before placing a minor for adoption, an individual or agency placing the minor, or the individual's agent, shall compile and provide to the prospective adoptive parent a written document containing all of the following information: (1) The date of the birth of the minor and t…

(a) To assist the court in determining that a direct placement was valid and all necessary consents have been obtained, the parent or guardian who placed the minor shall execute an affidavit setting out names, last known addresses, and marital status of the minor's parents or pos…

An interstate placement of a minor for purposes of adoption shall comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, Article 38 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes. (1995, c. 457, s. 2; 1998-202, s. 13(n).) Part 2A. Information and Guidance.

This Part consists of and may be cited as the Information and Guidance Provisions of the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act. The purpose of this Part is to prevent the unlawful transfer of custody of minors, as prohibited by G.S. 14-321.2, by better preparing adoptive…

For the purposes of this Part, the following definitions apply: (1) Intercountry adoption. - An adoption or placement for adoption of a minor who resides in a foreign country at the time of adoption or placement. The term includes an adoption finalized in the minor's country of r…

This Part applies to placement for adoption of a minor to whom any of the following applies: (1) Has been or is in foster or institutional care. (2) Previously has been adopted in a state. (3) Has been or is being adopted under the law of a foreign country. (4) Has come or is com…

Within a reasonable time before an agency places a minor for adoption with a prospective adoptive parent, the agency shall provide or cause to be provided to the prospective adoptive parent general adoption information. The information shall address all of the following: (1) Poss…

(a) Within a reasonable time before an agency places a minor to whom this Part applies for adoption with a prospective adoptive parent, the agency shall provide or cause to be provided to the prospective adoptive parent nonidentifying information specific to the minor, in additio…

(a) An agency placing a minor for adoption shall provide or cause to be provided to the prospective adoptive parent guidance and instruction specific to the minor to help prepare the parent to respond effectively to needs of the minor that are known to or reasonably ascertainable…

Consistent with the purposes of G.S. 48-1-110, on request of a minor who was placed for adoption or the minor's adoptive parent, the agency placing the minor or the Department of Health and Human Services shall provide information about how to obtain financial assistance or suppo…

(a) The Department of Health and Human Services may investigate an allegation that an agency has failed to comply with this Part and may commence an action for injunctive or other relief or initiate an administrative proceeding against the agency to enforce this Part. (b) The Dep…

In applying and construing this Part, a court shall consider the promotion of uniformity of the law among jurisdictions that enact Article 3 of the Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act. (2025-25, s. 46(a).)

This Part modifies, limits, or supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede 15 U.S.C. § 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in 15 U.S.C. § 7003(b)…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, placement of a minor may occur only if a written preplacement assessment: (1) Has been completed or updated within the 18 months immediately preceding the placement; and (2) Contains a finding that the individual who is th…

(a) An individual seeking to adopt may request a preplacement assessment at any time by an agency authorized by G.S. 48-1-109 to prepare preplacement assessments. (b) An individual requesting a preplacement assessment need not have located a prospective adoptee when the request i…

(a) A preplacement assessment shall be completed within 90 days after a request has been accepted. (b) The preplacement assessment must be based on at least one personal interview with each individual being assessed in the individual's residence and any report received pursuant t…

(a) An agency that prepares a preplacement assessment may charge a reasonable fee for doing so, even if the individual being assessed requests that it not be completed. No fee may be charged except pursuant to a written agreement which must be signed by the individual to be charg…

(a) The agency shall give a copy of any completed or incomplete preplacement assessment to the individual who was the subject of the assessment. If the assessment contains a finding that an individual is not suitable to be an adoptive parent, the agency shall contemporaneously fi…

An individual who receives a preplacement assessment containing a finding that the individual is suitable to be an adoptive parent shall provide a copy of the assessment to any person or agency considering the placement of a minor with the individual for adoption and shall also a…

(a) If a placement occurs before a preplacement assessment is completed, the prospective adoptive parent shall deliver a copy of the assessment when completed, whether favorable or unfavorable, to the parent or guardian who placed the minor. A prospective adoptive parent, who can…

(a) Each agency shall have a procedure for allowing an individual who has received an unfavorable preplacement assessment to have the assessment reviewed by the agency. In addition to the authority in G.S. 131D-10.5, the Social Services Commission shall have authority to adopt ru…

(a) The Department shall ensure that the criminal histories of all prospective adoptive parents seeking to adopt a minor who is in the custody or placement responsibility of a county department of social services and the criminal histories of all individuals 18 years of age or ol…

As used in this Article: (1) "Health care facility" includes a hospital and maternity home; and (2) "Attending practitioner" includes a physician, licensed nurse, or other licensed professional provider of health care who assists in a birth. (1995, c. 457, s. 2.)

(a) A health care facility or attending practitioner who has physical custody may release a minor for the purpose of adoption to a prospective adoptive parent or agency not legally entitled to the custody of the minor if, in the presence of an employee of the health care facility…

Unless the court orders otherwise, when a parent or guardian places the adoptee directly with the petitioner, the petitioner acquires that parent's or guardian's right to legal and continuing physical custody of the adoptee and becomes a person responsible for the care and suppor…

(a) Unless the court orders otherwise, during a proceeding for adoption in which an agency places the adoptee with the petitioner: (1) The agency retains legal but not physical custody of the adoptee until the adoption decree becomes final; but (2) The agency may delegate to the …

Unless consent is not required under G.S. 48-3-603, a petition to adopt a minor may be granted only if consent to the adoption has been executed by: (1) The minor to be adopted if 12 or more years of age; (2) In a direct placement, by: a. The mother of the minor; b. Any man who m…

If a parent as described in G.S. 48-3-601 has been adjudicated incompetent, then the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for that parent and, unless the child already has a guardian, a guardian ad litem for the child to make a full investigation as to whether the adoption sho…

(a) Consent to an adoption of a minor is not required of a person or entity whose consent is not required under G.S. 48-3-601, or any of the following: (1) An individual whose parental rights and duties have been terminated under Article 11 of Chapter 7B of the General Statutes o…

(a) A man whose consent is required under G.S. 48-3-601 may execute a consent to adoption either before or after the child is born. (b) The mother of a minor child may execute a consent to adoption at any time after the child is born but not sooner. (c) A guardian of a minor to b…

(a) A consent executed by a parent or guardian or by a minor to be adopted who is 12 years of age or older must conform substantially to the requirements in G.S. 48-3-606 and must be signed and acknowledged under oath before an individual authorized to administer oaths or take ac…

A consent required from a minor to be adopted, a parent, or a guardian under G.S. 48-3-601 must be in writing and state each of the following: (1) The date and place of the execution of the consent. (2) The name, date of birth, and permanent address, if any, and if none, the curr…

(a) A consent executed pursuant to G.S. 48-3-605 and G.S. 48-3-606 may be revoked as provided in G.S. 48-3-608. A consent is otherwise final and irrevocable except under a circumstance set forth in G.S. 48-3-609. (b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the conse…

(a) A consent to the adoption of any infant who is in utero or any minor may be revoked within seven days following the day on which it is executed, inclusive of weekends and holidays. If the final day of the revocation period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday when …

(a) A consent shall be void if: (1) Before the entry of the adoption decree, the individual who executed the consent establishes by clear and convincing evidence that it was obtained by fraud or duress; (2) The prospective adoptive parent and the individual who executed the conse…

If a person executing a consent and the prospective adoptive parent or parents enter into an agreement regarding visitation, communication, support, and any other rights and duties with respect to the minor, this agreement shall not be a condition precedent to the consent itself,…

(a) A parent or guardian may relinquish all parental rights or guardianship powers, including the right to consent to adoption, to an agency. If both parents are married to each other and living together, both parents must act jointly in relinquishing a child to an agency. (b) Th…

(a) A relinquishment executed by a parent or guardian must conform substantially to the requirements in this Part and must be signed and acknowledged under oath before an individual authorized to administer oaths or take acknowledgments. (b) The provisions of G.S. 48-3-605(b), (e…

(a) A relinquishment executed by a parent or guardian under G.S. 48-3-701 must be in writing and state the following: (1) The date and place of the execution of the relinquishment. (2) The name, date of birth, and permanent address, if any, and if none, the current mailing addres…

In addition to the mandatory provisions listed in G.S. 48-3-703, a relinquishment may also state that the relinquishment may be revoked upon notice by the agency that an adoption by a specific prospective adoptive parent, named or described in the relinquishment is not completed.…

(a) A relinquishment executed pursuant to G.S. 48-3-702 through G.S. 48-3-704 may be revoked as provided in G.S. 48-3-706 and is otherwise final and irrevocable except under a circumstance set forth in G.S. 48-3-707. (b) Upon execution, a relinquishment by a parent or guardian en…

(a) A relinquishment of any infant who is in utero or any minor may be revoked within seven days following the day on which it is executed by the infant or minor's parent or guardian, inclusive of weekends and holidays. If the final day of the period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, …

(a) A relinquishment shall become void if any of the following occur: (1) Before the entry of the adoption decree, the individual who executed the relinquishment establishes by clear and convincing evidence that it was obtained by fraud or duress. (2) Before placement with a pros…

This Article shall apply to the adoption of minors by their stepparents. (1995, c. 457, s. 2.)