Adoption is the legal act of permanently placing a child with a parent or parents other than the child’s birth mother or father.
A legal adoption order ends the parental rights of the birth mother and father and hands over the parental rights and responsibilities to the adoptive parents.

There are 4 phases in the adoption process:

1. Application 
 

• In South Africa, the only way in which you can legally adopt a child is by working through an accredited adoption agency, or with the assistance of an adoption social worker, functioning within the statutory accredited adoption system.
• When working through an adoption agency, the process usually starts with the prospective adoptive parents submitting an application to the agency.
• Each agency has its own set of requirements – it’s a good idea to phone the particular agency to get their set of criteria before you actually apply in writing.

2. Screening process
 

• All prospective adoptive parents are required to undergo a screening and preparation process. This normally involves:
• orientation meetings,
• interviews with a social worker,
• full medical examinations,
• marriage and psychological assessments,
• home visits, and
• police clearance and the checking of references.
• The screening process allows social workers to get to know prospective adopters as a family, their motivation to adopt and their ability to offer a child a warm, loving and stable home.

3. Waiting list
 

• Once the screening process is complete, applicants are placed on a waiting list for a child. Applicants have their own ideas and wishes about the child they wish to adopt.
• They can decide about the age and sex of the baby or child they would like to adopt, and adoption agencies will try to meet those personal expectations.

4. Placement
 

• The official placement of the child with the adoptive parents is a legal process, carried out through the Children’s Court.
• Once the child has been with the new parents for a period of time, and the social worker has assessed the adoption to be in the best interests of the child, the adoption is finalised through the Children’s Court.
• The child then becomes the legal child of the adoptive parents as if the child was born to them and has all the same rights as a biological child.

An adopted child is regarded as the biological child of the adoptive parent/s and all parental rights and responsibilities his/her biological parent/s or previous legal guardian/s had will be terminated. The adoptive child takes the surname of the adoptive parent/s (unless the Children’s Court states otherwise). An adoption will not affect the adoptive child’s rights to property s/he obtained before the adoption.