Adopting a Child From Foster Care 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 5 of 10: From Foster Care

Nevada’s chapter 127B governs the adoption of children who are in the custody of an agency which provides child welfare services under chapter 432B of NRS, in addition to the general adoption rules in chapter 127A (NRS 127B.080). Adults with whom the agency has placed the child may adopt under this chapter (NRS 127B.210(1)(a)).

Under chapter 127B, a “prospective adoptive parent” is a person the child welfare agency has identified as an adoptive resource but whose adoption petition has not yet been granted (NRS 127B.050). Adoptions that do not involve a child in agency custody are covered on the agency and identified adoptions and close-family adoptions pages.

Who May Adopt

• A child in agency custody may be adopted by one or more adults with whom the agency has placed the child (NRS 127B.210(1)(a)).
• The adopting person must be at least 10 years older than the child (NRS 127B.210(1)(b)). The court may approve the adoption without regard to the age difference if the prospective adoptive parent is related to the child within the third degree of consanguinity and the court is satisfied it is in the child’s best interest (NRS 127B.210(2)).
• A child over the age of 14 must agree to the adoption (NRS 127B.210(1)(c)).
• A married person who is not lawfully separated may not adopt without the spouse’s agreement, if the spouse is capable of agreeing (NRS 127B.220(2)). The court may dispense with this if the spouse cannot be located after a diligent search or lacks capacity (NRS 127B.220(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 the spouse’s home must be found suitable by a post-placement investigation and a home study (NRS 127B.220(3), (4)). The court may determine that a child has a legal relationship with more than two persons who petition to adopt (NRS 127B.220(6)).

Consent, Relinquishment and Termination

Parental rights may be ended by a court order; see termination of parental rights. A specific consent or relinquishment 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 127B.240).

Otherwise, a specific consent to adoption is required from each living parent whose rights have not been terminated or relinquished, and from any court-appointed legal guardian of the person of the child (NRS 127B.230). Under chapter 127B, a specific consent authorizes adoption by a specifically named person and lets the parent keep parental rights until the final adoption (NRS 127B.070). A relinquishment voluntarily ends the parent’s rights and places the child with the child welfare agency for adoption (NRS 127B.060).

The child welfare agency may accept a specific consent or relinquishment (NRS 127B.250). To be valid, the document must identify the child, be in writing, be acknowledged before a judge, a clerk of the court having a seal, a notary public or a justice of the peace, and name the adoptive person or the agency (NRS 127B.280(1)(a)–(d)). It must be attested by at least two competent, disinterested witnesses, one of whom must be an agency employee if signed in Nevada, or a person authorized in the other state if signed there (NRS 127B.280(1)(f)).

A minor parent may sign without notice to or consent of his or her own parents (NRS 127B.310(1)). A signed consent or relinquishment cannot be revoked or nullified unless it was obtained by fraud, duress or undue influence and the action to void it is brought within 30 days of signing (NRS 127B.310(3)). For an Indian child, the parent’s consent must be given before the court at least 10 days after birth and may be withdrawn before the order of adoption; see consent and relinquishment (NRS 127B.320(2), (5)).

The Agency’s Role Before Adoption

The agency to which a child has been ordered or relinquished for adoption is responsible for the child’s care and is entitled to custody and control until the adoption petition is granted (NRS 127B.270). The agency must, to the extent practicable, prefer placing a child for adoption together with the child’s siblings (NRS 127B.770).

The Home Study

The agency must complete a home study of the medical, mental, financial and moral backgrounds of the prospective adoptive parents, and any other relevant factor, to decide whether the home is suitable (NRS 127B.730(1)). If the home is outside Nevada, the agency must receive a report on it from the appropriate authority (NRS 127B.730(2)).

Prospective adoptive parents must submit fingerprints for a criminal history check and generally pay the fingerprinting fees, although the Division or the board of county commissioners, depending on county size, may provide for those fees to be paid instead (NRS 127B.740(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 to the home study (NRS 127B.750(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 127B.750(3), 127A.095).

Information for Adoptive Parents

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, and must get written confirmation that it was received (NRS 127B.410(1)–(3)).

The Petition

The petition may be filed any time after the child is legally free for adoption and upon the agreement of the child welfare agency (NRS 127B.330(1)). It must state, among other things, the petitioners’ names and ages, the child’s age and placement date, any new name desired, that the petitioners are fit and financially able, and that the consent and placement laws have been fully followed (NRS 127B.330(2)). It must also state whether the child may be an Indian child and whether there is a postadoptive contact agreement or a sibling or relative visitation order (NRS 127B.330(2)(i), (k), (l)).

An order of adoption may not be entered unless the placement and oversight rules in NRS 127B.700 to 127B.780 have been fully followed (NRS 127B.330(3)). Notice of the petition must go to all legal custodians or guardians of the child who are not parents (NRS 127B.360).

If the Child May Be an Indian Child

The petition must include a declaration under penalty of perjury and documents showing the petitioners’ good faith efforts to find out whether the child is an Indian child (NRS 127B.340(1)(a)). If the petitioner has reason to know the child is an Indian child, the petitioner must serve the petition and a notice on each tribe the child may belong to and on the child welfare agency, among others, within 30 days after filing (NRS 127B.340(3)). Within 90 days after being served, the agency must file an ICWA compliance report advising the court whether the petitioner’s documents are sufficient (NRS 127B.490(1)).

Chapter 127B also provides for tribal customary adoption, meaning an adoption through the custom, traditions or law of the child’s tribe, which may take place without terminating parental rights (NRS 127B.500(10)). Under the conditions in NRS 127B.500(2), the court must accept the tribe’s order or judgment and then enter an order of adoption (NRS 127B.500(2), (4)).

The Agency’s Report and the Hearing

Unless the court waives it, the agency must conduct a post-placement investigation and, at least 7 days before the finalization hearing, submit a written report on the child’s condition and the suitability of the home, with a recommendation for or against the adoption (NRS 127B.350(2), (3)). The court may extend that time for good cause, and the agency may waive the report for a prospective adoptive parent related to the child within the third degree of consanguinity (NRS 127B.350(3)). If the court is dissatisfied with the report, it may order an independent home study, and the costs may be charged to the petitioner (NRS 127B.350(4)).

The report is not public; it goes in confidence to the judge (NRS 127B.370). If the recommendation is against the adoption, the judge must give the petitioner a chance to rebut it before denying the petition (NRS 127B.370).

The prospective adoptive parents, the child, the agency representative and counsel may attend hearings by telephone or remote appearance, and the court may excuse the child for good cause (NRS 127B.380). Adoption hearings are confidential and held in closed court (NRS 127A.230(1)).

The Order of Adoption

• 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 127B.390(1)).
• An order of adoption may not be made until 6 months after the child is placed with the petitioners (NRS 127B.390(2)).
• The petitioners must send a copy of the order to the Division within 7 days after it is issued (NRS 127B.390(1)).
• If the court is not satisfied the adoption is in the child’s best interest, it must deny the petition, and custody stays with the agency (NRS 127B.390(3)).
• The court may not deny a petition solely because the petitioner is deaf, blind or has another physical disability, or holds a valid registry identification card (NRS 127B.390(3)).
• The order must include findings on whether the child is an Indian child (NRS 127B.400(1)).

After the order, the court directs the petitioner or the petitioner’s attorney to prepare a report of adoption for the State Registrar of Vital Statistics, and the agency must provide factual information to help (NRS 127B.420(1), (2)). The report must be forwarded to the State Registrar, or the equivalent office in the state that issued the birth certificate, within 30 days after the order is entered (NRS 127B.420(4)).

Sibling and Relative Visitation

Apart from postadoptive contact agreements, in the adoption case the court may grant a reasonable right to visit only to a sibling who already had a similar right under NRS 432B.580, or to certain relatives who already had a similar right under NRS 125C.050 (NRS 127B.430(1), (3)). The agency must give the court a copy of any sibling visitation order issued under NRS 432B.580 (NRS 127B.780(1)).

The court must include that sibling visitation order in the order of adoption unless an interested party petitions, within 30 days after notice of the adoption petition, to exclude or amend it (NRS 127B.780(2)). The petition is heard the same day as the adoption, the child’s best interest is the only consideration, and the court may not enter the adoption order until it decides the visitation question (NRS 127B.780(3), (4)). For visitation in custody cases generally, see visitation and relocation.

Children With Special Needs

A “child with special needs” is a child whose adoptive placement is, in the opinion of the Division’s Administrator or designee, made more difficult by age, race or number of siblings, or by a severe or chronic medical, physical, mental or emotional condition (NRS 127A.070). The Division keeps a Register of Children with Special Needs for those without an identified adoptive parent within 3 months after becoming available for adoption (NRS 127B.090).

If the agency determines the child has special needs, it must tell the prospective adoptive parents they may be eligible for financial assistance and help them apply (NRS 127B.440(2)). With written approval of the agency head or designee, the agency may grant assistance for attorney’s fees in the adoption, maintenance and preexisting physical or mental conditions, under a written agreement that cannot take effect before the order of adoption (NRS 127B.440(3), (4)).

Assistance ends immediately when the child reaches 18 (or 19 if enrolled in school), graduates from high school at 18 or older, becomes self-supporting, is emancipated or dies (NRS 127B.440(6)). The court must waive all court costs of the prospective adoptive parents if the agency consents to the adoption of a child with special needs under this section (NRS 127B.440(8)). No fee may be charged for agency services related to the adoption of a child with special needs (NRS 127B.720(3)).

After the Adoption

The legal effects of adoption, including inheritance, are explained 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 127B.450(1)). After the adoption, the law presumes that staying in the adoptive home is in the child’s best interest (NRS 127B.450(2)).

A postadoptive contact agreement for a child who was in agency custody is enforceable only if, in addition to the usual requirements, the agency or the court after a hearing has determined the agreement is in the child’s best interest (NRS 127B.600(2)(d)). See postadoptive contact.

Key Deadlines and Time Limits

Event	Time Rule	Source
Action to void consent or relinquishment for fraud, duress or undue influence	Within 30 days of signing	NRS 127B.310(3)
Indian child’s parent consents before the court	Not less than 10 days after birth	NRS 127B.320(2)
Serve petition on tribes when petitioner has reason to know child is an Indian child	Within 30 days after filing	NRS 127B.340(3)
ICWA compliance report by agency	Within 90 days after service on the agency	NRS 127B.490(1)
Petition to exclude or amend sibling visitation order	Within 30 days after notice of the adoption petition	NRS 127B.780(2)
Agency report to the court	At least 7 days before the finalization hearing	NRS 127B.350(3)
Earliest order of adoption	6 months after placement	NRS 127B.390(2)
Copy of order to the Division	Within 7 days after the order	NRS 127B.390(1)
Report of adoption to State Registrar	Within 30 days after the order	NRS 127B.420(4)

How I Can Help

I help foster parents, relatives and other caregivers adopt children from Nevada’s child welfare system, working with the agency on the petition, the home study, sibling visitation questions and any adoption assistance agreement. I can explain how chapter 127B applies to your case and prepare the court filings. 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.