Nevada Interstate Adoptions: The ICPC and Adoption Assistance Compact

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 7 of 10: Interstate Adoptions

When a child is moved from one state to another to be adopted, or when an adopted child who receives adoption assistance moves across state lines, two interstate agreements come into play. Nevada has enacted the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (NRS 127F.010), and the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance (NRS 127G.010). Each compact is enacted into Nevada law and entered into with all other jurisdictions that join it (NRS 127F.010; NRS 127G.010).

These compacts used to be in chapter 127 of NRS. Those sections were replaced in revision: the placement compact is now in chapter 127F and the adoption assistance compact in chapter 127G (NRS 127F.010 to 127F.050; NRS 127G.010 to 127G.030). Chapter 127 no longer contains any active compact sections.

Nevada Adoption Rules That Refer to the Placement Compact

Each of Nevada’s adoption chapters says who may handle compliance with the placement compact. The following table summarizes those rules.

Type of adoption	Who may perform compact compliance	NRS
Adoption of a child placed with an agency which provides child welfare services	The agency which provides child welfare services or a Nevada-licensed attorney	127B.110
Agency and identified adoptions	An agency which provides child welfare services, a child-placing agency or a Nevada-licensed attorney	127C.110
Close-family adoptions	An agency which provides child welfare services, a child-placing agency or a Nevada-licensed attorney	127D.080

In an identified adoption, when a parent is considering consenting to the adoption, the child-placing agency must facilitate a request under the placement compact if chapter 127F requires one (NRS 127C.280(6)).

When a Nevada court order is required

Subject to certain exceptions, including rules for Indian children, a child may not be adopted except upon an order of a Nevada district court if Nevada is the child’s “home state” on the date the proceeding begins, or was the child’s home state within 6 months before that date (NRS 127B.200(1); NRS 127C.200(1); NRS 127D.100(1)).

“Home state” means the state where the child lived for at least 6 consecutive months immediately before the proceeding began. Temporary absences count as time in the state, and the statute gives a placement outside the state through the placement compact as an example of a temporary absence. For a child under 6 months old, the home state is the state where the child has lived since birth, including temporary absences (NRS 127C.200(2)). Chapters 127B and 127D use the same definition (NRS 127B.200(2); NRS 127D.100(2)). The home state rules for custody cases are a separate set of laws.

Out-of-state homes, consents and agencies

• If a child is to be placed in a home outside Nevada, the child-placing agency must receive a copy of a report by the appropriate authority investigating the home and the medical, mental, financial and moral backgrounds of the prospective adoptive parents (NRS 127C.840(2)). The same rule applies to an agency which provides child welfare services (NRS 127B.730(2)).
• In agency and identified adoptions, a specific consent to adoption or relinquishment signed outside Nevada for use in Nevada must meet the same requirements as one signed in Nevada (NRS 127C.290(1)). It must be witnessed by at least two competent, disinterested witnesses, one of whom must be a social worker or caseworker. That witness may be employed by a comparable state or county agency of another state, or by an agency authorized under another state’s laws to place children for adoption if the parent lives in that state (NRS 127C.290(1)(f)).
• A social worker employed by a child-placing agency may remotely witness the signing by a parent who lives in another state (NRS 127C.290(2)).
• A child-placing agency authorized under another state’s laws to accept relinquishments and make placements may consent to the adoption of a child in Nevada if the child was relinquished to it, or otherwise approved for adoption, in that state (NRS 127C.250(2)(c)).

For more on consents, see Consent and Relinquishment.

The Placement Compact Now in Effect

Chapter 127F contains two versions of the placement compact. The version in NRS 127F.020 is effective until the date on which the 35th state ratifies and enters into the newer version set out in NRS 127F.030 (NRS 127F.010; NRS 127F.020). The statutes do not state that this has happened, so this section describes the NRS 127F.020 version.

Conditions before a child is sent

A sending agency may not send or bring a child into another party state for foster care or as a preliminary to a possible adoption unless it complies with the compact and with the receiving state’s laws on placing children (NRS 127F.020, Art. III(a)). Before sending the child, the sending agency must give written notice to the appropriate public authorities in the receiving state (NRS 127F.020, Art. III(b)). The notice must contain:

1. The child’s name and date and place of birth.
2. The identity and address or addresses of the parents or legal guardian.
3. The name and address of the person, agency or institution with which the child is to be placed.
4. A full statement of the reasons for the proposed action and evidence of the authority under which the placement is proposed.

The receiving state may ask for more information it considers necessary (NRS 127F.020, Art. III(c)). The child must not be sent until the receiving state’s public authorities notify the sending agency in writing that the proposed placement does not appear to be contrary to the child’s interests (NRS 127F.020, Art. III(d)).

Penalties and continuing responsibility

Sending a child in violation of the compact violates the child placement laws of both states and may be punished in either one. It is also grounds to suspend or revoke any license or permit that allows the sending agency to place or care for children (NRS 127F.020, Art. IV).

The sending agency keeps jurisdiction over the child’s custody, supervision, care and disposition until the child is adopted, reaches majority, becomes self-supporting or is discharged with the receiving state’s agreement. It also stays financially responsible for the child’s support during the placement (NRS 127F.020, Art. V(a)).

When the compact does not apply

The compact does not apply when a child is sent or brought into a receiving state by a parent, stepparent, grandparent, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, or guardian and left with any such relative or nonagency guardian there. It also does not apply to placements made under another interstate compact or agreement with the force of law that both states have joined (NRS 127F.020, Art. VIII).

Administration in Nevada

Nevada’s compact administrator serves at the pleasure of the Governor (NRS 127F.040). The administrator must enter into supplementary agreements with officials of other states under the compact (NRS 127F.050).

The Newer Placement Compact (Pending)

The newer version in NRS 127F.030 becomes effective in Nevada on the date the 35th state ratifies and enters into it (NRS 127F.010; NRS 127F.030). Its own text says it becomes binding once at least 35 states have enacted it (NRS 127F.030, Art. XIV(B)). Some features that affect adoptions:

• It applies to any interstate placement of a child by a public or private child placing agency as a preliminary step to a possible adoption (NRS 127F.030, Art. III(A)(3)).
• It does not apply to a placement by one relative with lawful authority directly with a relative in the receiving state, or to a child entering or leaving the United States for adoption in another country (NRS 127F.030, Art. III(B)(3), (6)).
• With stated exceptions, the substantive laws of the state where the adoption will be finalized solely govern all issues relating to the adoption (NRS 127F.030, Art. IV(H)).
• A final decree of adoption may not be entered in any state until the receiving state’s public child placing agency authorizes the placement as an “approved placement” (NRS 127F.030, Art. IV(I)).
• For placements by a private child placing agency, the request for approval must include the request itself, the birth parents’ consents or relinquishments, a certification by a licensed attorney or an authorized agent of a private adoption agency that they comply with the applicable law, a home study, and an acknowledgment of legal risk signed by the prospective adoptive parents (NRS 127F.030, Art. V(B)).
• A “legal risk placement” is one where the prospective adoptive parents acknowledge in writing that the child can be ordered returned to the sending state or the birth mother’s state of residence, if different, and that no final decree will be entered until all required consents are obtained or dispensed with (NRS 127F.030, Art. II(J)).
• If the receiving state’s public child placing agency does not approve the placement, the child may not be placed, and any interested party may seek administrative review in the receiving state (NRS 127F.030, Art. VI(B), (C)).

The Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance

This compact protects adoption assistance for children with special needs when the child lives in, or moves to, a state other than the one that committed to pay the assistance (NRS 127G.020, Art. II(a)). Nevada’s own special needs assistance rules for children adopted from agency custody are covered on the Adoption from Foster Care page.

Under the compact, a “child with special needs” is a minor who has not reached the age at which the state normally stops children’s services, or a child under 21 whose mental or physical handicaps the state finds warrant continued assistance. The state must also have made the determinations the compact lists, such as that the child cannot or should not be returned to the parents’ home, that a specific factor or condition makes it reasonable to conclude the child cannot be placed without assistance, or that a reasonable but unsuccessful effort was made to place the child without assistance (NRS 127G.020, Art. III(a)).

The written adoption assistance agreement

Each state sets its own assistance amounts under its own laws, and may reevaluate eligibility periodically (NRS 127G.020, Art. IV(a)). Every case must include a written agreement between the adoptive parents and the state agency providing the assistance (NRS 127G.020, Art. IV(c)). The agreement must include:

• An express commitment that assistance is payable regardless of where the adoptive parents live.
• The specific types of care and services the state will pay toward.
• A commitment to make medical assistance available under the compact.
• A declaration that the agreement benefits the child, the adoptive parents and the state, and is enforceable by any or all of them.
• The date each payment or benefit begins, which cannot be before the agreement’s effective date.

(NRS 127G.020, Art. IV(c)(1)-(5).) Payments for a child in another state are made on the same basis and in the same amounts as if the child lived in the paying state, although that state’s laws may allow higher amounts (NRS 127G.020, Art. IV(e)).

Medical assistance across state lines

A child whose agreement commits a state to provide federally aided medical assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act is eligible for it for the whole period the agreement is in effect. On application, the adoptive parents must receive a medical identification document in the child’s name, issued by the program of the state where the child lives (NRS 127G.020, Art. V(a)). The document must not indicate that it is based on another state’s adoption assistance agreement (NRS 127G.020, Art. V(b)).

If the child moves from one party state to another, the child is eligible for federally aided medical assistance under the new state’s program (NRS 127G.020, Art. V(e)). When the child lives in another party state, payment for medical services and benefits named in the agreement that are not available under that state’s Title XIX program must be made by the state that committed to the assistance, as its law requires (NRS 127G.020, Art. V(d)).

Administration and withdrawal

Nevada’s administrator of this compact serves at the pleasure of the Governor (NRS 127G.030). A state’s withdrawal from the compact does not take effect until one year after written notice is given, and agreements already in place continue until they expire or end under their own terms (NRS 127G.020, Art. VII(c), (d)).

How I Can Help

When an adoption involves more than one state, I help families and birth parents understand which Nevada chapter and which compact apply, review consents and home study reports from other states, and handle the compact compliance steps that Nevada law allows an attorney to perform. 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.