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Sep
22

Adoption Services

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Adoption Services

All Adoption services (to include packets) are by appointment only.

Please contact the Adoptions Office at (206) 477-1493 or email: SCAdoptionParalegal@kingcounty.gov for questions.

Emergency Instructions and Motion & Order Allowing Clerk to Provide Below Noted Sealed Documents:

 

King County Adoption Services assists pro se litigants in limited types of adoptions. Litigants may purchase adoption legal forms and schedule adoption facilitation appointments with the Adoption Paralegal.

Adoption Services also conducts file review for adoption termination, finalization, and review hearings.

All requests for adoption records access in King County are processed through Adoption Services.

Legal forms for limited types of adoptions are available for purchase at the Family Court Services offices. Both attorneys and pro se litigants are welcome to purchase these packets. Each packet comes with forms and instructions to assist in completing the adoption process. Packets for the following types of adoptions are available:

  • Step-parent / Second Parent consenting
  • Step-parent / Second Parent non-consenting
  • Adult
  • International (Re-adoption)
  • Independent / In Home (Non-agency)

Adoption packets may be purchased by written request or **in person by appointment only** at Family Court Services in either:

King County Courthouse (Seattle)
516 Third Avenue, Suite W-280
Seattle, WA 98104

In-person purchases may be made with cash or with an in-state check or money order made payable to the Office of Financial Management in the amount of $20.00. You may also pay with a credit or debit card for an additional $1.49.

Written requests may be sent with an in-state check or money order made payable to the Office of Financial Management in the amount of $23.50. Please be sure to specify which adoption packet is requested and include your first and last name and a return mailing address.

King County Adoption Services does not provide forms for every type of adoption. Please review the Packet Selection Guidelines and contact the Adoption Paralegal for further assistance with packet selection.

Assistance to pro se litigants in reviewing adoption packets is available by appointment only. After purchasing an adoption packet from Family Court Services, please call or email in order to schedule an appointment.

Appointments are available at both the King County Courthouse in Seattle and the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Please be advised that the Adoption Paralegal can only provide procedural and legal information. The Adoption Paralegal does not provide legal advice.

A $20.00 user fee is required to meet with the Adoption Paralegal. The fee to meet with a paralegal may be reduced to:

  • $10.00 if you earn less than $20,000 annually (income verification is required);
  • $5.00 if you are indigent, receiving Disability Benefits of Public Assistance (a copy of your ProviderOne Services card, TANF (cash assistance), or SSI/SSDI is required);
  • $0 if waived by a judicial officer or FCO Management.
**If you would like an interpreter for an adoption appointment with the paralegal, please notify the paralegal when you schedule your appointment. Interpreters are provided free of cost.

During the course of your adoption you most likely will be required to have a Post-Placement Reporter appointed to your case. Any social worker can provide Post-Placement Report services, as long as they follow the RCW pertaining to Adoptions and Post-Placement Reports, per RCW 26.33.200. King County does not specifically recommend, endorse, or advertise any particular social worker on the following resource list:

Learn about the Confirmation of Consent to Adopt process with relinquishing birth parents, per Local Rule 93.04(g). There is an hourly fee for this service. You may find the Adoption Confirmation of Consent Checklist helpful for this process.

When noting an adoption termination or finalization hearing, parties and/or attorneys must provide King County Adoption Services a copy of the Notice of Hearing or Note for Motion Docket per LR 93.04(b) and (c) at least fourteen (14) days in advance of the hearing along with a $15.00 payment (in-state check or money order made payable to Office of Financial Management) (per King County Code 4.72.022). No additional documentation is required. Please deliver working copies as per usual.

King County Adoption Services will review the adoption file and will complete a checklist for the court. Parties/Attorneys will be notified if there are any issues or missing documents in advance of the hearing and may be instructed to bring any necessary documents with them.

In the event that Adoption Services has not been notified and a checklist has not been provided to the court, it will be at the discretion of the judicial officer to determine whether the hearing will go forward.

Please refer to our FAQ document for answers to more frequently asked questions.

Adoptees ONLY may request the filing location and cause number of their adoption record through the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) by utilizing either of the following forms. Please note that these forms are for use with the DOH and NOT King County Superior Court. King County Superior Court does not endorse the department and provides these forms here for informational purposes. Obtaining this filing information prior to utilizing any of the below listed services is often helpful in locating an adoption record. Should you have any questions regarding these forms, please contact the DOH directly.

Requests to obtain copies (certified and non-certified) of certain documents or the complete records from an adoption file by court order (per RCW 26.33.330 and LGR 15(e)) must utilize the following form. To request this service, please complete the following form and send it to Adoption Services with an in-state check or money order made payable to Office of Financial Management in the amount of $30.00.

If you are an out-of-state resident or special circumstance prohibits you from travelling to the courthouse in order to obtain copies, and you are either the adoptive parent or adoptee (age 18 or older) and only requesting certified copies of the decree of adoption, you may include the following document in your request with a photocopy of your current photo identification.

This information is provided to adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents only, (per RCW 26.33.340). To request this service, please complete the following form and send it to Adoption Services with an in-state check or money order made payable to Office of Financial Management in the amount of $60.00.

Confidential Intermediaries (CI) provide a service to help facilitate contact between parties of an adoption. King County Superior Court has reviewed the credentials of the agencies and individuals on the following list for compliance with state and local standards to serve as CIs. There is no supervisory or contractual relationship between the CI and King County Superior Court. The purpose of the list is to provide opportunities to the public to select independent CIs who have met minimum qualifications for that role.

Adoption administrative fees may be reduced or waived depending on income. For fee reduction/waiver requests for packets, appointments, checklists, and records access requests, please complete the following form and provide proof of income to our office.

For fee reduction/waiver requests for Confirmation of Consent, please complete the following form and provide proof of income to our office:

Has your question already been answered? Check our FAQ .

To make an appointment or contact Adoption Services, please call or submit written correspondence to:

King County Adoption Services
516 Third Avenue Room W-280
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: (206) 477-1493
Email: SCAdoptionParalegal@kingcounty.gov.

Please be advised that King County Adoption Services cannot provide legal advice. Please contact an adoption attorney for assistance with legal questions. Please be advised that no employee of the court may recommend any specific attorney.

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