Notice Requirements for Adoption

It is always necessary to give all interested parties proper notice of pending adoption proceedings. A copy of the adoption petition should be served on all interested parties, e.g. persons with parental rights to the minor child(ren) involved. Acceptable methods of service include personal service or certified mail, return receipt requested, restricted delivery. With personal service, an affidavit of service would then be filed with the court detailing date, time and place of service. With service via mail, verification of delivery would come back from the post office with the signature of the party served. Proof of service should be filed with the court and/or submitted at the time of the hearing.

A copy of the notice for hearing must also be served on all interested parties. At least ten days’ notice of any hearing must be served by personal service or registered mail to the parties’ last known address. If the rights of the natural parents have already been terminated, you are not required to give them notice of the subsequent adoption hearing date since they are no longer an interested party. If you do not have an address for an interested party, you can petition the court to allow service by an alternate method. This would usually entail publication in the newspaper in the county where the interested party was last known to reside.