Consent and Relinquishment in Nevada Adoptions

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 2 of 10: Consent and Relinquishment

Before a child can be adopted in Nevada, the child’s parents generally must sign a specific consent to adoption or a relinquishment, or have their parental rights terminated by a court (NRS 127C.230, 127C.240, 127C.820). These documents have strict requirements, and in most cases the parent who signs one cannot revoke it (NRS 127B.310(3), 127C.320(4), 127D.190(4)).

Nevada sets out the consent rules separately in each adoption chapter. Chapter 127B covers children in the custody of an agency which provides child welfare services, chapter 127C covers agency and identified adoptions, and chapter 127D covers close-family adoptions (NRS 127B.080, 127C.090, 127D.070). The rules are similar but not identical, so this page cites the chapter each rule comes from.

Key Terms

• Specific consent to adoption: a document that authorizes the child to be adopted by a specifically named person or persons. Under chapters 127C and 127D, it either terminates or keeps the signing parent’s rights (NRS 127C.080, 127D.060). Under chapter 127B, the parent keeps his or her rights until the adoption is final (NRS 127B.070).
• Relinquishment: a document that terminates the signing parent’s rights and places the child with an agency for adoption. Under chapters 127C and 127D, the agency is a named child-placing agency (NRS 127C.070, 127D.050). Under chapter 127B, it is an agency which provides child welfare services (NRS 127B.060).
• Parent: includes a biological or legal parent whose rights have not been terminated, a putative or proven parent, a presumed parent, a parent whose parentage was established under chapter 126, and a parent whose parentage was confirmed by court order (NRS 127B.040, 127C.030, 127D.020).
• Putative parent: a person alleged or reputed to be a child’s parent whose parentage has not been legally established (NRS 127A.120).
• Placing parent: a parent who signed a specific consent to adoption or relinquishment (NRS 127C.040, 127D.030).

Who Must Consent

Under chapters 127C and 127D, a specific consent or relinquishment is required from each living parent of the child and from any legal guardian of the child’s person appointed by a court (NRS 127C.230, 127D.130). Under chapter 127B, a specific consent is required from each living parent whose rights have not been terminated or relinquished and from any such guardian (NRS 127B.230).

Others must also agree in some cases:

• The child. A child over the age of 14 must agree to the adoption (NRS 127B.210(1)(c), 127C.210(1)(c), 127D.110(1)(c)).
• The adoptive parent’s spouse. A married person not lawfully separated may not adopt without the agreement of a spouse who is capable of agreeing. The court may dispense with it if the spouse cannot be found after a diligent search or lacks capacity (NRS 127C.220(2), (5)).
• An agency. An agency to which a child has been relinquished may consent to the child’s adoption (NRS 127C.250(2), 127D.150(2)).

In an adult adoption, the spouse of the adopting person and the spouse of the person being adopted must agree, if married and not lawfully separated and the spouse is capable of agreeing. The agreement of the adult’s parents, the Division, or anyone else is not required (NRS 127C.710). See Adult Adoption.

When a Parent’s Consent Is Not Needed

A parent does not need to sign a specific consent or relinquishment (NRS 127B.240, 127C.240, 127D.140):

• If a court has terminated the parent’s rights. See Termination of Parental Rights.
• If the parent has died. Chapters 127C and 127D add that the death may be shown by a death certificate or other evidence the court finds sufficient (NRS 127C.240(2), 127D.140(2)).
• If the parent’s rights were terminated by operation of law through a birth father registry in another state.

Requirements for a Valid Consent or Relinquishment

Under chapters 127C and 127D, a specific consent or relinquishment signed in Nevada, or signed elsewhere for use in Nevada, is not valid unless it (NRS 127C.290(1), 127D.160(1)):

1. Identifies the child by name, if any, sex, date of birth and time of birth.
2. Is in writing and signed not sooner than 72 hours after the child’s birth.
3. Is acknowledged before a judge or clerk of a court having a seal, a notary public, or a justice of the peace.
4. Names, when signed, the person or persons who may adopt the child (for a specific consent) or the child-placing agency (for a relinquishment).
5. States whether the parent has reason to know the child is an Indian child and, if not, promises to tell the court immediately if such information comes up before the order of adoption.
6. Is attested by at least two competent, disinterested witnesses who sign in the presence of, or by remote appearance of, the parent and a notary public.

Under chapter 127C, one of the two witnesses must be a social worker or caseworker employed by an agency which provides child welfare services, a child-placing agency, a comparable agency of another state, or, if the parent lives in another state, an agency authorized there to place children (NRS 127C.290(1)(f)). A social worker employed by a child-placing agency may witness remotely when the parent lives in another state (NRS 127C.290(2), 127D.160(2)).

Chapter 127B has its own list. The document must identify the child by name, if any, sex and date of birth, be in writing, be acknowledged, name the adoptive parents or the agency, and include the Indian child statement (NRS 127B.280(1)). One of the two witnesses must be an employee of the agency which provides child welfare services if the signing is in Nevada, or a person authorized in the other state to witness or accept the document (NRS 127B.280(1)(f)).

The witnesses may sign a sworn affidavit on the document, or on a paper attached to it, stating the facts that prove it was properly signed. The court must accept that affidavit as if the testimony had been given in court (NRS 127B.290, 127B.300, 127C.300, 127C.310, 127D.170, 127D.180).

Timing Rules

Under chapters 127C and 127D, any specific consent or relinquishment signed in Nevada by the parent who gave birth, before the birth or within 72 hours after it, is invalid (NRS 127C.320(1), 127D.190(1)). A parent who did not give birth may sign before the birth if he or she is not married to the parent who gave birth (NRS 127C.320(2), 127D.190(2)).

Under chapter 127C, a parent may sign a specific consent or relinquishment while the parent is in the custody of a law enforcement agency or while the child is in the custody of an agency which provides child welfare services (NRS 127C.340(2)). Also under chapter 127C, no one may petition to be appointed guardian of the child’s person, or be appointed temporary guardian, until a parent signs a consent or relinquishment and an approved home study is obtained (NRS 127C.340(1)).

In an identified adoption, before the parent signs, the child-placing agency must give the parent information on the adoption process, the State Register for Adoptions, counseling and alternatives to adoption. The agency must also tell the parent that he or she may read the adoptive parents’ home study before signing (NRS 127C.280). The stated purpose is to make sure the decision is made without coercion, duress or undue influence (NRS 127C.280(1)).

Minor Parents

A parent who is a minor may sign a specific consent or relinquishment without notifying or getting consent from his or her own parents. The document cannot be revoked or nullified because the minor parent later becomes an adult (NRS 127B.310(1)-(2), 127C.320(3), (5), 127D.190(3), (5)).

Can a Consent or Relinquishment Be Revoked?

Under chapters 127C and 127D, a specific consent or relinquishment cannot be revoked or nullified by the parent who signed it (NRS 127C.320(4), 127D.190(4)). However, it may become invalid if (NRS 127C.320(6), 127D.190(6)):

• Every other parent has not signed a consent or relinquishment, or had rights terminated by a court, within 18 months after it was signed;
• No petition for adoption has been filed by the persons named in the specific consent within 18 months after it was signed;
• It is declared void under the surrender rules described below; or
• It was obtained by fraud, duress or undue influence, and the action to void it is brought not later than 30 days after it was signed.

Under chapter 127B, a specific consent or relinquishment cannot be revoked or nullified by the signing parent unless it was obtained by fraud, duress or undue influence and the action to void it is brought within 30 days after it was signed (NRS 127B.310(3)).

Issue	Chapter 127B	Chapter 127C	Chapter 127D
Earliest signing by the parent who gave birth	No 72-hour rule appears in NRS 127B.280	Not sooner than 72 hours after birth (127C.290, 127C.320)	Not sooner than 72 hours after birth (127D.160, 127D.190)
Revocation by signing parent	Not allowed, unless fraud, duress or undue influence and action within 30 days (127B.310(3))	Not allowed; may become invalid on listed grounds (127C.320(4), (6))	Not allowed; may become invalid on listed grounds (127D.190(4), (6))
18-month invalidity rule	Not stated in 127B.310	Yes (127C.320(6)(a)-(b))	Yes (127D.190(6)(a)-(b))

A consent can also be undone by the adoptive side. If prospective adoptive parents decide that an identified or close-family adoption cannot or should not go forward, they may declare the specific consent void and surrender the placement by a notarized written declaration with notice to the parents. The child is returned to the placing parents if they want the child back; if not, they may relinquish the child to a child-placing agency. The voided consent has no legal effect and parental rights are restored, but a placement cannot be surrendered after the adoption is final (NRS 127C.360, 127D.220).

If a court determines that a parent has legal rights that make the child ineligible for an agency adoption, the child-placing agency must immediately declare the relinquishment void, and the placing parent’s rights are restored by operation of law (NRS 127C.370). If the agency’s investigation finds the prospective adoptive home unsuitable, the agency must apply to the court for an order prohibiting the placement. If the court decides the placement should be prohibited, it may nullify the consent and order the child returned to the parent (NRS 127C.860(2)(b)).

After an adoption is granted, a placing parent may not bring an action to set it aside unless a court has already, in a separate action, set aside the consent or relinquishment or reversed the termination order (NRS 127B.450, 127C.500, 127D.300).

A parent who wants a postadoptive contact agreement must sign it before signing the consent or relinquishment for it to be enforceable (NRS 127B.600(2)(c), 127C.600(2)(c), 127D.400(2)(c)). Failure to follow such an agreement is not a ground to revoke or set aside a valid consent or relinquishment (NRS 127C.640(1)(b)). See Postadoptive Contact Agreements.

Consent to the Adoption of an Indian Child

Special rules apply when the child is an Indian child. Unless their rights have been terminated, the Indian child’s parents must give written consent, which is filed with the court (NRS 127B.320(1), 127C.330(1), 127D.200(1)). A parent may consent no sooner than 10 days after the child’s birth, in person before the court on the record. Under chapter 127B, this may also be done by remote appearance (NRS 127B.320(2), 127C.330(2), 127D.200(2)).

Before the parent consents, the court must explain in detail, in the parent’s language, the right to a lawyer, the terms and consequences of the consent, and that the parent may withdraw consent for any reason before the order of adoption (NRS 127C.330(3)). The parent may withdraw consent at any time before the order of adoption, by a written withdrawal filed with the court or a statement on the record, and may petition for the child’s return (NRS 127C.330(5)).

After the adoption, a parent who consented may petition to vacate the order. The court shall vacate it if the petition is filed not later than 2 years after the order and the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the consent was obtained through fraud or duress (NRS 127B.460, 127C.510, 127D.310).

Fathers Who Have Not Consented

Chapter 128 addresses fathers when a mother relinquishes or proposes to relinquish a child for adoption. If the child has a presumed father under NRS 126.051, a father whose relationship was determined by a court, or a father as to whom the child is legitimate, and he has not consented or relinquished, a termination proceeding must be brought (NRS 128.150(1)). If there is no such father and no father who can be otherwise identified, the agency, the mother or the person with custody must petition to terminate the father’s rights, unless a court has already done so or found no relationship exists (NRS 128.150(2)).

To identify and protect the interests of the natural father, the court must cause inquiry to be made of the mother and any other appropriate person, including whether she was married at conception or later, whether she was living with a man at conception or birth, whether she received support or promises of support, and whether any man has acknowledged possible paternity (NRS 128.150(3)). Each identified or possible father must get notice. If he does not appear, or appears but does not claim custodial rights, that failure constitutes abandonment of the child (NRS 128.150(4), (6)).

If no father can be identified and no one comes forward claiming custodial rights, the court shall terminate the unknown father’s rights. Subject to any appeal, after 6 months the order cannot be questioned on any ground, including fraud or lack of notice (NRS 128.150(5)). A putative father who does not acknowledge the child or petition to establish his rights before the termination hearing is presumed to have intended to abandon the child (NRS 128.095). A putative father is a person who is, or is alleged or reputed to be, the father of an “illegitimate child,” the statute’s term (NRS 128.016).

When the mother of an unborn child petitions to terminate the father’s rights, the known father or putative father must be served with notice, and the hearing may be held any time after the birth once service is complete (NRS 128.085). For establishing parentage, see Parentage in Nevada.

No Payment for Consent

It is a category D felony to pay or offer anything of value to a parent in return for placing a child, signing a consent or relinquishment, or cooperating in an adoption. Birth-related medical and living expenses may be paid as charity if the payment is not contingent on those acts, and these rules do not prohibit a parent from refusing to place the child for adoption after birth. They do not apply to a lawful gestational carrier contract (NRS 127C.900(1), (3)-(5), (6)(a); 127D.500).

How I Can Help

I help birth parents and adoptive families understand what a Nevada consent or relinquishment means before it is signed, prepare documents that meet the statutory requirements, and address problems such as a missing or unknown father, a guardian’s consent, or a challenge to a consent. 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.