Agency and Identified Adoptions in Nevada

Part of my Nevada Adoption Overview.

By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against Nevada Revised Statutes chapters 127A through 127G and 128 (current through the 2025 legislative session)

In This TopicNevada AdoptionTopic 3 of 10: Agency & Identified

Nevada’s chapter 127C covers two ways to adopt a child who is not a close relative: agency adoptions and identified adoptions. In an agency adoption, an agency which provides child welfare services or a child-placing agency takes temporary custody of the child until the adoption is final and matches birth parents with adoptive parents (NRS 127A.035). An identified adoption is one where no prospective adoptive parent is related to the child within the third degree of consanguinity, and the adoptive parents and at least one parent of the child already know each other through means not caused by a child-placing agency (NRS 127A.100).

Chapter 127C applies in addition to the general adoption rules in chapter 127A, and it also governs adult adoptions (NRS 127C.090). Children in the custody of a child welfare agency are covered on the adoption from foster care page, and adoptions by close relatives on the close-family adoptions page.

Key Terms

• Child-placing agency: a nonprofit corporation organized under chapter 82 of NRS and licensed by the Division of Child and Family Services to place children for adoption (NRS 127A.065, 127A.085).
• Specific consent to adoption: a document signed in an identified adoption that terminates or retains the signer’s parental rights and authorizes the child to be adopted by a specifically named person or persons (NRS 127C.080).
• Relinquishment: a document signed in an agency adoption that terminates the signer’s parental rights and places the child for adoption with a named child-placing agency (NRS 127C.070).
• Home study: the investigation of the prospective adoptive parents before placement to decide whether their home is suitable (NRS 127C.020).

Who May Adopt

• One or more adults may adopt a child (NRS 127C.210(1)(a)) and may petition the district court of any county in Nevada (NRS 127C.220(1)).
• The adopting person must be at least 10 years older than the child (NRS 127C.210(1)(b)). The court may approve an adoption without regard to ages if the child is being adopted by a relative within the third degree of consanguinity and the court is satisfied it is in the child’s best interest (NRS 127C.210(2)).
• A child over the age of 14 must agree to the adoption (NRS 127C.210(1)(c)).
• Each prospective adoptive parent, and each parent who agrees to the adoption and wants to keep parental rights, must be a joint petitioner (NRS 127C.220(1)).
• A married person who is not lawfully separated may not adopt without the spouse’s agreement, if the spouse is capable of agreeing, unless the court dispenses with it because the spouse cannot be located after a diligent search or lacks capacity (NRS 127C.220(2), (5)).

A spouse who only agrees does not gain parental rights. To be named as an adoptive parent, the spouse must file a writing with the court specifically agreeing to adopt and to establish parental rights and responsibilities, and a post-placement investigation and home study must find the spouse’s home suitable (NRS 127C.220(3), (4)).

Before a Child Is Placed

A child must not be placed in an adoptive home until an approved home study is obtained and a parent signs a valid specific consent or relinquishment, or a court order terminating the parents’ rights is obtained (NRS 127C.820). The child-placing agency must first receive written notice of the proposed placement from the prospective adoptive parents, the person recommending the placement, or a parent (NRS 127C.830(1)(a)). In an identified adoption, the placing parent must also have had a chance to review a redacted home study of the prospective adoptive parents, if possible (NRS 127C.830(1)(c)).

The child-placing agency must complete the home study within 60 days after it receives confirmation of the parents’ intent to place the child and a completed application from the prospective adoptive parents (NRS 127C.840(1)). The home study looks at the medical, mental, financial and moral backgrounds of the prospective adoptive parents (NRS 127C.840(1)). Each prospective adoptive parent must submit fingerprints for a criminal history check and pay the fingerprinting fees (NRS 127C.850(1), (4)).

If the agency decides a home is unsuitable or harmful to the child, it must first let the prospective adoptive parents review and respond (NRS 127C.870(2)). The agency may not find a home unsuitable solely because a prospective adoptive parent is deaf, blind or has another physical disability, or holds a valid registry identification card for the medical use of cannabis (NRS 127C.870(3), 127A.095).

Until the investigation is complete, the parent keeps the child or places the child with the child-placing agency for care in a licensed foster home (NRS 127C.860(1)). If the home is found unsuitable, the agency must ask the district court for an order prohibiting the placement (NRS 127C.860(2)(b)). Agencies must, to the extent practicable, prefer placing siblings together (NRS 127C.880).

Identified Adoptions: The Agency’s Duties

Even in an identified adoption, a child-placing agency has duties. Before a parent signs a specific consent, the agency must give information about the adoption process, the State Register for Adoptions and counseling, so the decision is made without coercion, duress or undue influence (NRS 127C.280(1)). It must also give information about alternatives to adoption, gather background and health history, and tell the parent that he or she may read the adoptive parents’ home study before signing (NRS 127C.280(2)–(5)).

If the person named in the specific consent has legal custody of the child when the consent is signed, that person is legally responsible for the child’s care, support and maintenance until the court holds a hearing to grant or deny the adoption (NRS 127C.350).

If the prospective adoptive parents decide the adoption cannot or should not proceed, they may withdraw their petition, declare the specific consent void and surrender the placement by a notarized written declaration with notice to all parents, the court and any child-placing agency involved (NRS 127C.360(1), (2)). The child must be returned to the placing parents if they wish to regain custody, and a consent declared void has no legal effect, so parental rights are restored (NRS 127C.360(3), (4)). A placement cannot be surrendered after the order finalizing the adoption (NRS 127C.360(5)).

Agency Adoptions: The Agency’s Role

Relinquishments may be accepted by an agency which provides child welfare services or by a child-placing agency licensed by the Division, and the agency to which the child is relinquished may consent to the adoption (NRS 127C.250(1), (2)). That agency is responsible for the child’s care and is entitled to custody until the adoption petition is granted (NRS 127C.270). A placement may be ended by mutual consent of the agency and the prospective adoptive parents, or by court order on the agency’s application if it believes the placement is harmful to the child (NRS 127C.270).

The agency must give the prospective adoptive parents a report with the child’s medical records in its possession and non-identifying information about the medical and sociological history of the child and parents (NRS 127C.470(1), (3)). If a court finds that a parent has legal rights that make the child ineligible for an agency adoption, the agency must immediately declare the relinquishment void, and the placing parent’s rights are restored by operation of law (NRS 127C.370).

Consents and Relinquishments

A specific consent or relinquishment is required from each living parent and from any court-appointed legal guardian of the person of the child (NRS 127C.230). It is not needed from a parent whose rights were terminated by court order, who has died, or whose rights were terminated by operation of law through another state’s birth father registry (NRS 127C.240).

To be valid, the document must identify the child, be in writing, be signed not sooner than 72 hours after the child’s birth, and be acknowledged before a judge, a clerk of the court having a seal, a notary public or a justice of the peace (NRS 127C.290(1)(a)–(c)). It must name the adoptive person or persons or the child-placing agency, state whether the parent has reason to know the child is an Indian child, and be attested by two competent, disinterested witnesses, one of whom is a social worker or caseworker of an agency listed in the statute (NRS 127C.290(1)(d)-(f)). A parent who did not give birth may sign before the birth if not married to the parent who gave birth (NRS 127C.320(2)).

Once signed, a specific consent or relinquishment cannot be revoked or nullified by the parent who signed it (NRS 127C.320(4)). It may become invalid if, within 18 months after signing, not every parent has signed one or had his or her rights terminated, or the person named in a specific consent has not filed an adoption petition (NRS 127C.320(6)(a), (b)). It may also become invalid if it was obtained by fraud, duress or undue influence and the action to void it is brought within 30 days after signing (NRS 127C.320(6)(d)).

Different rules apply to an Indian child, whose parent consents in person before the court at least 10 days after birth and may withdraw consent before the order of adoption (NRS 127C.330(2), (5)). See consent and relinquishment and termination of parental rights.

The Petition and Court Process

The petition may be filed any time after the child is placed with the petitioners (NRS 127C.380(1)). Among other things, it must state that the petitioners are fit and financially able to provide for the child, that the law on termination of parental rights, consent and relinquishment has been fully followed, whether the petitioners have reason to know the child is an Indian child, and whether there is a postadoptive contact agreement (NRS 127C.380(2)).

Unless the court waives it, a child-placing agency designated by the court investigates the child and the adoptive home (NRS 127C.390(2), (3)). Its report, with a recommendation for or against the adoption, is due before the child has lived in the home for 6 months or within 30 days after the agency receives the petition, whichever is later, unless the court extends the time for good cause (NRS 127C.390(4)). The report goes in confidence to the judge, who must let the petitioner rebut an adverse recommendation before denying the petition (NRS 127C.420).

Notice of the petition must go to all legal custodians or guardians of the child who are not parents (NRS 127C.400). Within 15 days after filing or 5 months after placement, whichever is later, the petitioners and their attorney must file an affidavit listing all fees, donations and expenses paid in the adoption (NRS 127C.410). The prospective adoptive parents, the child, the agency’s representative and counsel may attend hearings by telephone or remote appearance (NRS 127C.430(1)).

If the child’s best interest warrants it, the court enters an order of adoption, giving strong consideration to the emotional bond between the child and the prospective adoptive parent, and may change the child’s name (NRS 127C.440(1)). Except as otherwise provided, an order of adoption may not be made until 6 months after the child is placed with the petitioners (NRS 127C.440(2)).

After the Adoption

After the order, the court directs the petitioner or the petitioner’s attorney to prepare a report of adoption on a form from the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or the equivalent office in the state that issued the birth certificate (NRS 127C.480(1)). The legal effects of adoption, including inheritance, are covered on the adoption basics page (NRS 127A.250).

A placing parent may not bring an action to set aside a granted adoption unless a court, in a separate action, has already set aside the consent or relinquishment or reversed the order terminating that parent’s rights (NRS 127C.500(1)). Parents and prospective adoptive parents may make an enforceable agreement for contact after adoption; see postadoptive contact (NRS 127C.600).

Payments to Parents and Placement Services

Paying or offering to pay a parent for placing a child, signing a consent or relinquishment, or cooperating in the adoption is a category D felony (NRS 127C.900(1), (6)(a)). Paying birth-related medical and other necessary living expenses as charity is allowed if the payment is not contingent on the parent placing the child, signing, or cooperating (NRS 127C.900(3)). These rules do not apply to a lawful gestational carrier contract (NRS 127C.900(5)). Accepting birth-expense payments from a prospective adoptive parent while intending not to consent to or complete the adoption is a gross misdemeanor (NRS 127C.900(2), (6)(b)).

Generally, a person must have a child-placing agency license to place or arrange the placement of a child for adoption, but a parent or guardian may do so when the placement is made under NRS 127C.830, 127C.840 or 127C.860 (NRS 127A.300(1), (2)). An attorney may not be paid for finding children or adoptive parents, but may receive reasonable pay for legal services in the adoption (NRS 127A.400(1)).

Key Deadlines and Time Limits

Event	Time Rule	Source
Earliest signing of consent or relinquishment	Not sooner than 72 hours after birth	NRS 127C.290(1)(b)
Action to void consent for fraud, duress or undue influence	Within 30 days after signing	NRS 127C.320(6)(d)
Other parents sign or rights terminated; petition filed	Within 18 months, or consent may become invalid	NRS 127C.320(6)(a), (b)
Home study completed	Within 60 days after confirmation of intent and completed application	NRS 127C.840(1)
Fees and expenses affidavit	15 days after petition or 5 months after placement, whichever is later	NRS 127C.410
Post-placement report to court	Before 6 months in the home or 30 days after receiving petition, whichever is later	NRS 127C.390(4)
Earliest order of adoption	6 months after placement, except as otherwise provided	NRS 127C.440(2)

How I Can Help

I help adoptive parents and birth parents understand how chapter 127C applies to their situation, from the home study and consent documents through the petition, fee affidavit and final hearing. I can review the paperwork for compliance with Nevada’s requirements and coordinate with the child-placing agency along the way. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.

This page provides general information about Nevada adoption law, based on the Nevada Revised Statutes as currently revised, and is not legal advice. Court rules, regulations, federal law, and case law also affect adoptions. Every adoption is different; consult an attorney about your situation. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.