I have just completed a series called International Adoption: How to Choose a Country. If you are looking to adopt domestically in the United States, you might find yourself in a similar position of choosing a state instead of a country from which to adopt. Adoption laws differ from state to state, and some couples consider these differences when making this decision.

There are many factors to consider, such as the following:

• Are adoption facilitators permitted?


• Are there any age restrictions?


• Does the state have a putative father registry?


• How long does a placing mother have to choose to parent after she signs relinquishment papers?


• Is adoption advertising allowed by law?


• What birthparent expenses are allowed by law?


• When can adoptees and/or birthparents access adoption records?

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How you can find out the answers to these questions and others? Adoption.com has done the work for you! Adoption.com has put together lots of local (state-specific) information that you can easily access to find the answers to your questions about adoption in each state.

Local Section on Main Page

If you go to adoption.com, you can find the local section in the upper right corner of your screen. Click “change my location,” and select the state you want to research from the drop down menu. The local adoption section will populate with links for adoption information in the selected state.

At the bottom of this section, you will see topics under [State] Laws, beginning with adoption statutes. Click on those links to find the laws for the selected state, including references to where you can find the laws in the state statutes.

State-specific Resources

You can find a wealth of information about each state by typing in the state-specific URL. Do this by keying in the state’s name in front of adoption.com, such as arizona.adoption.com for information about adopting in Arizona. (Do not type “www” first – only type in the state’s name before adoption.com.) For states with two words (such as North Carolina), use a dash for the space, such as north-carolina.adoption.com.

Each state’s page has information about agencies, attorneys, related forums, adoption laws, and many articles about various aspects of adopting through each state. Because the format is similar on each page, it is easy to compare and contrast each state’s laws and procedures.