Adopt a child in Kenya
Directorate of Children Services and National Council for Children's Services · sources read 1 Oct 2026
Start at a children's office or a licensed adoption society, which assesses you and matches you with a child. After a 3-month bonding period you file in the High Court, then register the adoption order with the Registrar General. Expect at least 12 months.
- Fee
- KSh 15,000Adoption society costs (NCCS estimate, excludes lawyer's fees)KSh 100Registering the adoption with the Registrar General
- How long
- At least 12 months from placement to the end of the court process
- Where
- Your local children's office (Directorate of Children Services) or a licensed adoption society, then the High Court and the Registrar General
What you need
- Your photos, ID, marriage certificate (if married) and medical reports, attached to your application to the adoption society
- For the adoption certificate: the original adoption order (with its schedule) and copies of the court documents
Steps
- Go to your children's office or contact a licensed adoption society and apply in writing to adopt.
- A social worker visits your home, and the society's case committee approves, defers or rejects your application. If approved, you attend counselling and are matched with a child.
- The child is placed with you for a 3-month bonding period, with follow-up home visits.
- File an adoption application in the High Court, with a lawyer or on your own. The court gets reports from Children Services and a guardian ad litem, then issues an adoption order.
- Take the adoption order to the Registrar General (Attorney General's office) for an adoption certificate, then apply for the child's new birth certificate at Civil Registration Services headquarters.
Watch out
- You can't pick a specific child yourself, except in kinship adoption or when adopting a child you already foster.
- A man applying alone, or a foreigner, can only adopt a child they are related to by blood.
- Adoption is permanent. Once the order is issued, you cannot return the child.
Who can apply
- A sole applicant aged 25 to 65.
- A married couple applying jointly, where one is more than 21 years older than the child or is the child's parent or relative.
- Couples must have been married for at least 3 years.
- The child must be at least six weeks old and declared free for adoption.
Official sources (3)
- List of Licensed Adoption Societies (with adoption FAQs) nccs.go.ke · read 1 Oct 2026
- Guide to Local Adoption Process nccs.go.ke · read 1 Oct 2026
- Registration of Child Adoption in Kenya (Adoption Guide) statelaw.go.ke · read 1 Oct 2026