How Adoption Works in Berks County: Court, Costs and Steps

Adoptions in Berks County are court cases: a petition filed in the Orphans' Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas, through the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court on the second floor of the Berks County Services Center, 633 Court Street, Reading, followed by a hearing before a judge and a decree that makes the adopted person the legal child and heir of the adopting parent. The county's Orphans' Court fee schedule charges $126.25 to file the petition, $85 plus a $41.25 state computer fee, and adoptions arranged through the county's own Children & Youth Services usually cost the family nothing.

The rules come from Pennsylvania's Adoption Act, 23 Pa.C.S. Part III, the statewide Orphans' Court Rules, Chapter XV, and a short set of Berks local rules.

Who can adopt, and who can be adopted

The statute is short on both points. "Any individual may be adopted, regardless of his age or residence" (§ 2311), and "Any individual may become an adopting parent" (§ 2312). The law sets no marriage, income or home-ownership test, and the court may not refuse an adoption because of the age, sex, health, "social and economic status or racial, ethnic or religious background" of the child or the adopting parents; it decides "on the basis of the physical, mental and emotional needs and welfare of the child" (§ 2724(b)).

Agencies can add their own screening. Berks County Children & Youth Services says on its adoption page that single applicants are accepted and that "The only requirement for adoption is that you be over 21 years of age"; the state's adoption FAQ says "Anyone with an approved family profile may adopt" and that age, income, marital status and employment "are explored during the family profile process."

Venue is set by § 2302: you can file in Berks if the parent or parents, the adoptee, or the people who filed the report of intention to adopt live here, if an agency with custody of the child has an office here, if the agency that placed the child is located here, or, with the court's permission, if the adoptee used to live here.

The three common routes

An adoption needs two things before a decree: every required consent or a termination of the birth parents' rights, and a petition to adopt. How you get there depends on the route.

Adopting from foster care through a county or private agency

Children in the custody of Berks County Children & Youth Services (11th floor of the Services Center, 610-478-6700) become available for adoption when the court terminates their parents' rights. The county's page says it "does not prepare individuals or couples for the adoptive process" and "does not do home studies"; those are done by licensed private agencies and the state's Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN), reached at 1-800-585-7926. The county does run a foster-to-adopt program for its own resource parents: call 610-478-6700, complete an information sheet, attend the agency's pre-service training, finish a multi-visit home study, and wait for the Permanency Services Manager's approval. The home study and the training are free.

The state's process page lists eight steps: pick an agency, apply, complete the family profile (the home study), match through the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange or local recruitment, pre-placement visits, placement, a supervision period that agencies "normally plan" at six months, and finalization in court. Its adoptive-parent page adds that "the child must be in the home for a six-month period prior to finalization," and that once a child is placed "you will need to have your lawyer file a 'Report of Intent To Adopt.'"

Cost: the county says that when it is involved, "most likely your adoption will have no cost to you. Legal fees, placement fees, and other court costs are paid for by the county agency." The state says foster-care adoptions are "largely subsidized" through SWAN and that "In most cases, there is little or no cost to adopting families." Children who meet the state's special-needs definition (a disability, a genetic risk, minority status, part of a sibling group, or age five or older) may qualify for adoption assistance: a negotiated monthly payment that cannot exceed the foster-care rate, medical assistance to age 18, and reimbursement of one-time costs such as court and attorney fees up to "$2000 per adoption episode." The agreement "must be executed prior to or during the time of adoption finalization," and only county children and youth agencies decide eligibility.

Stepparent and relative adoptions

These skip the front end. A person adopting their own stepchild, grandchild, sibling, niece or nephew does not file a report of intention to adopt (§ 2531(c)), so no intermediary report or court-ordered investigation follows from it. When a parent consents to adoption by their spouse, that parent keeps full parental status (§ 2903).

The other birth parent is the hard part. Their consent is required for a child under 18 (§ 2711(a)(3)) unless a court has already terminated their rights, or the court finds after a hearing that grounds for involuntary termination exist (§ 2714). Two of the grounds in § 2511(a): a parent who for "at least six months immediately preceding the filing of the petition" has shown "a settled purpose of relinquishing parental claim" or "has refused or failed to perform parental duties," and a parent whose "repeated and continued incapacity, abuse, neglect or refusal" has left the child without essential care and whose conduct "cannot or will not be remedied." Statewide Rule 15.6 will not let a parent terminate the other parent's rights without a real adoption plan on file; because relatives file no report of intention, the rule "requires the adoption petition to be filed." Berks local rule 15.3A requires "a separate petition ... for each parent whose rights the petitioner seeks to terminate," and in a contested termination the court must appoint a lawyer for the child; "No attorney or law firm shall represent both the child and the adopting parent" (§ 2313).

Private and independent adoptions

When a child is placed by a private agency, a lawyer, a doctor or a friend rather than a county agency, the Adoption Act's reporting machinery applies in full:

• A home study with a favorable recommendation, completed within the past three years and updated within the past year, by a public child-care agency, an adoption agency or a court-designated licensed social worker, before any intermediary places the child (§ 2530).
• A report of intention to adopt, filed with the court within 30 days of taking custody (§§ 2531–2532). The report must carry a signed statement that the adopting parents know the birth parents can revoke consent within 30 days.
• A report of intermediary, filed under oath within six months of the report of intention, with an itemized accounting of every payment (§ 2533). Adoptive parents may reimburse the mother's prenatal and birth expenses, the child's medical and foster-care costs, counseling and home-study costs, and an agency's reasonable administrative costs including attorney fees; the court "may provide appropriate relief" if payments are excessive.
• An investigation by a local public child-care agency or other court-designated person (§ 2535). Berks Children & Youth says that in independent adoptions it "will be involved in providing a Report to the Orphans' Court relative to the child's placement." The court may set how investigation costs are paid.

The birth parents either file a petition to relinquish their rights to the adopting adult once the child has been, for at least three days, in the exclusive care of an adult who has filed a report of intention to adopt (§ 2502, Rule 15.8), or sign consents that the adopting parent or intermediary later asks the court to confirm after the revocation period runs (§ 2504). In both cases the hearing is set "not less than ten days" after the petition is filed and is private. A parent who files a relinquishment petition "must appear at the hearing" (§ 2503). A parent whose signed consent is being confirmed gets notice in the form § 2513(b) prescribes, which warns that "even if you fail to appear at the scheduled hearing, the hearing will go on without you"; § 2504 does not require that parent to attend.

Consents and the 30-day window

Consent is required from the adoptee if over 12, from the adopting parent's spouse unless the spouse joins the petition, from the parents of a child under 18, and from a guardian in some cases (§ 2711(a)). No consent is valid if signed before the birth or within 72 hours after it, except that "a putative father may execute a consent at any time after receiving notice of the expected or actual birth of the child." A birth mother's consent becomes irrevocable 30 days after she signs it; a birth or putative father's becomes irrevocable 30 days after the birth or his signature, whichever is later. Nobody can waive the 30 days. After that, a consent can be attacked only for fraud or duress, by petition filed within 60 days of the birth or signature or 30 days of the adoption decree, whichever comes first. Each consent needs two witnesses or a notary. For an adoptee over 18, or a child with no living parent whose consent is required, the court may dispense with every consent except the adoptee's own (§ 2713).

What the county charges

Fees are set by the Bill of Costs of the Orphans' Court, File No. 60539, signed by Administrative Judge M. Theresa Johnson on November 17, 2025 and effective December 1, 2025. The county's fee-schedules page posts it under a file still named 2022; the effective date and the amounts are inside.

Filing	Fee
Report of Intent to Adopt, with investigation	$25
Petition for adoption, preliminary order, proposed decree and one certified copy	$85, plus the $41.25 Pennsylvania Judicial Computer Project fee the schedule marks on that line, for $126.25
Each additional child on the petition	$15
Termination of parental rights (voluntary or involuntary): petition, preliminary order and proposed decree	$45
Each additional child on a termination petition	$15
Amended petition	$35
Affidavit or oath	$10
Certification (each extra certified copy)	$10
Subpoena	$10

The schedule also prints a $17.50 Record Improvement Fund footnote under the adoption heading without marking it on any adoption line; ask the clerk whether it is charged. One more question for the clerk: the county's $15 line is per additional child on a petition, but statewide Rule 15.3(a) says "Separate petitions must be filed for each child or adult adoptee," so ask whether siblings go on one petition at $15 each or on separate petitions at $126.25 each. The Register's FAQ page says "There is a minimum charge of $20.00 to use a credit card." Lawyer, agency and home-study fees are separate, and at the hearing the court "shall require a disclosure of all moneys and consideration paid or to be paid to any person or institution in connection with the adoption" (§ 2724(a)); Berks posts the Disclosure of Fees and Costs form for that.

Clearances every adoptive parent needs

Statewide Rule 15.13(b)(4) requires "the criminal history records information and child abuse clearance certificate for each Prospective Adoptive Parent" as exhibits to every adoption petition, stepparents included. The state's foster/adoptive clearance FAQ, dated October 1, 2026, lists three clearances for prospective adoptive parents and every adult 18 or older who lives in the home at least 30 days a year, each valid for 60 months:

1. Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, $13, applied for online through the Child Welfare Portal or on paper form CY113 (paper results within 14 days).
2. Pennsylvania State Police criminal history check, $22, at epatch.pa.gov, where results are "often received immediately."
3. FBI fingerprint check through the Department of Human Services, $27.95 as of October 1, 2026. Pre-register with IDEMIA at identogo.com or 1-844-321-2101 using service code 1KG72V for a prospective adoptive parent (1KG71B for a foster parent; an adult household member registers under 1KG774 for a prospective adoptive home or 1KG76Q for a foster home), then visit an IdentoGo site with photo ID. An FBI check obtained for another purpose "is not portable/acceptable for DHS purposes."

Anyone who lived outside Pennsylvania in the past five years also needs that state's child-abuse clearance. The county's resource-parent page quotes different figures: "Childline and State Police Clearances ($20 for each individual 14 years or older who reside in your home)" and FBI clearances at $37, required only "if you have not resided in Pennsylvania since you turned 18 years old." The state's pages are the ones that set the fees and the FBI requirement, so budget $62.95 per adult and confirm with your caseworker before paying.

What to bring

A Berks petition has to contain the 18 statements in Rule 15.13(a) and the § 2701 list, including each petitioner's addresses for the past five years, occupation, religious affiliation and racial background, how long the adoptee has lived with you, any new name, and a statement that you want "a 'parent-child' relationship" established. Attach, or explain in the petition why you cannot:

• The adoptee's birth certificate.
• Every required consent, or the court order terminating parental rights.
• The report of intermediary, if one was required.
• The clearances above for each adopting parent.
• Any custody or guardianship orders still in effect, and a note of any pending custody case (Berks local rule 15.13A asks you to tell the court and "request guidance" on notifying those parties).
• Interstate Compact approval if the child came from another state.
• A verified statement that you and a child old enough to understand were told about the option of a post-adoption contact agreement, with a copy of the notice.
• The Berks Statement of Financial Responsibility, which local rule 15.13B requires with every adoption petition and which the county posts as an Affidavit of Financial Responsibility. In it you acknowledge a duty of support that "is absolute and may extend beyond the child's eighteenth (18th) birthday."

Berks posts no fill-in petition. The county's Orphans' Court page links the statewide Orphans' Court forms, which include a Report of the Intermediary, a Preliminary Decree, a Final Decree and the foreign-adoption forms, but no stock adoption petition, consent or stepparent packet. The same county page asks that every filed document carry "an original signature, in blue ink" and that you "please do not staple" the original.

Where to file

File with the Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court, Berks County Services Center, 2nd Floor, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; phone 610-478-6600. The Services Center is the high-rise next to the courthouse, not the courthouse itself; our courthouse guide explains the two buildings, parking and security. Our Register of Wills guide covers the rest of what that office does.

The hearing may be in either building. The scheduling-order forms in the county's Orphans' Court rules set hearings "in the courtroom of the Berks County Courthouse/Services Center assigned to the undersigned," so read your order for the courtroom. If anyone needs an interpreter, local rule 1.9F requires an official court interpreter and a caption note on your filing.

Step by step: filing to decree

1. Clear the way for the petition. Depending on the route: get the agency's termination decree; file a relinquishment petition or a petition to confirm consents (hearing at least ten days after filing); or, in a stepparent case with a non-consenting parent, file a separate termination petition for that parent.
2. File any required report of intention to adopt within 30 days of placement ($25), and wait for the intermediary's report and the court-ordered investigation.
3. Get the clearances for every adopting parent and adult household member.
4. Assemble the petition and exhibits listed above, with the Statement of Financial Responsibility, and file it with the $126.25 fee ($15 for each additional child). The petition goes in with a proposed preliminary order and proposed decree; the fee covers one certified copy of the decree.
5. Give notice. The court "shall fix a time and place for hearing," and notice goes to everyone whose consent is required and anyone else the court directs, by personal service or registered mail (§ 2721). If a parent's rights are being terminated at the same hearing, that parent gets notice under Rule 15.4; a parent who already relinquished or consented, or whose rights were terminated earlier, does not need notice of the adoption hearing (Rule 15.13 comment).
6. Attend the hearing. "The adopting parent or parents and the adoptee must appear at and, if required, testify at the hearing under oath unless the court determines their presence is unnecessary" (§ 2723). The hearing is private or open as the judge decides. Bring the verified fee-and-expense report; the judge may ask for an itemization and may order an investigation.
7. Receive the decree. Once the terminations, investigation and intermediary report are done, "the court may enter a decree of adoption at any time" (§ 2901). The decree gives the adoptee "all the rights of a child and heir of the adopting parent or parents" (§ 2902) and, if you asked, the new name (§ 2904). The clerk issues a certificate of adoption that does not disclose the birth parents or the original name (§ 2907). Extra certified copies are $10 each.

The court can excuse a missing requirement "for cause shown." Rule 15.13's comment says a petition should not be thrown out for a missing exhibit; the petitioner gets a chance to explain why the requirement cannot be met and why the adoption still serves the child.

Adopting an adult

Adult adoptions are the simplest cases: the adult's own consent is required and the court may dispense with all others (§ 2713); no report of intention, intermediary report or home study applies because those sections cover children under 18; and the petition itself supplies the vital statistics an intermediary's report would otherwise hold (§ 2701(5)). One extra step: an adoptee over 18 who wants the adoptive surname must show "compliance with the law relating to change of name" under 54 Pa.C.S. § 702 before the decree (Rule 15.13(f)), which means the State Police fingerprint check described in our name-change guide. A child whose name changes in an adoption skips that check.

After the decree: the birth certificate

For a child born in Pennsylvania, the court reports the adoption to the Department of Health on form H105.091, which Berks posts as the Report of Adoption and the state's adoptions page calls the "Certificate of Adoption." The clerk certifies the decree date and docket number on it, and courts send the prior month's reports "by the 15th of each month." Vital Records then seals the original record, creates a replacement, and notifies you that you may order a certificate. "Please allow up to 16 weeks after the adoption," the state says; after that you may send a certified copy of the form with the court's raised seal yourself. Do not order a birth certificate before that notice arrives: applications sent with the adoption form "will be rejected and returned." The new certificate is $20, plus a $10 service fee online; our birth certificate guide has the ordering options. A child born in another state gets a new record from that state.

Contact agreements, the registry and the original birth record

Act 101 of 2010 lets adoptive parents and a birth relative (a parent, grandparent, stepparent, sibling, aunt or uncle) sign a voluntary agreement for continuing contact, from letters and photos to visits (§§ 2731–2735). A child 12 or older must consent. The agreement is filed with the court that finalizes the adoption, needs a sworn affidavit that it was made "knowingly and voluntarily," and "shall not be legally enforceable unless approved by the court." The state's Act 101 FAQ notes that informal arrangements remain allowed but "cannot be enforced." In Berks, local rule 15.13C requires notice to any guardian ad litem from the child's dependency case, and a hearing is continued if an agreement surfaces for the first time at the hearing and the guardian is absent.

The Pennsylvania Adoption Information Registry is the state's medical and social history database for adoptees, adoptive parents and birth relatives. Any of them can file medical history, authorize release of identifying information, or state whether they want contact; forms "will only be accepted in hard copy." The state's PAIR brochure gives the contact as P.O. Box 959, Camp Hill, PA 17011, 1-800-227-0225, says adoptive parents and birth parents "may submit and update medical and social history information to the registry at any time regardless of the age of the adoptee," and explains that a trained Authorized Representative conducts confidential searches. Getting information back is age-gated by § 2924: an adoptee who is at least 18, the adoptive parent or legal guardian of an adoptee under 18, a descendant of a deceased adoptee, and, with conditions the statute spells out, birth parents, their parents and birth siblings once the adoptee is 21.

Separately, under Act 127 of 2016 (§ 2937), an adoptee who is at least 18 and has finished or legally left high school, or the descendants of a deceased adoptee, can get a noncertified copy of the original birth record from the Department of Health. File the Adoptee's Application (form HD02045F) with a $20 check to "Vital Records," one photo ID, and, for applicants 18 to 21, proof of educational status, to Division of Vital Records, Attn: Adoptee Applications, PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103-1528. The state's adoptee page says to allow 45 days, that only the adoptee or lineal descendants are eligible, and that a birth parent who filed a redaction request appears as "NAME REDACTED."

How long it takes

No Berks court page publishes a timeline for adoptions. The fixed points in the law are the 30-day consent window, the ten-day minimum between filing a relinquishment or confirmation petition and its hearing, and the court's power to enter the decree "at any time" once the requirements are met. The agency figures are longer: Berks Children & Youth says to "allow 3-6 months" for a home study and that an adoption "should be finalized within 6 months" after placement and termination; the state says a family profile "may take up to 120 days" and that a child must be in the home six months before finalization. Add up to 16 weeks after the decree for the new birth record.

Whether you need a lawyer

Nothing in the Adoption Act requires one. The court must appoint a lawyer for the child in a contested involuntary termination and, "upon petition of the parent," for a parent facing termination who "is unable to pay for counsel or if payment would result in substantial financial hardship" (§ 2313(a) and (a.1)); nobody is appointed for the adopting parent. In practice every Berks document assumes a lawyer: the Register's office page says staff "are NOT permitted to give legal advice" and that "only Pennsylvania licensed attorneys are permitted to represent persons before the Register of Wills"; the county's fee-disclosure form is written for the "Attorney for Petitioners"; and the state tells foster-to-adopt families "your lawyer" files the report of intent. If you file on your own, you must still meet every requirement of Rule 15.13.

The Berks County Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service, 544 Court Street, Reading, 610-375-4591, matches callers with a local lawyer; its Modest Means Program for people just above legal-aid income limits does not list adoption among its case types, so ask. MidPenn Legal Services, 35 N. 6th Street, Mezzanine Suite 101, Reading, 1-800-326-9177, lists custody as its only family-law practice area and does not list adoption. For a county adoption, the county pays the legal fees, and adoption assistance can reimburse up to $2,000 of a family's own one-time costs.

FAQ

How much does it cost to adopt in Berks County?

The court filing is $126.25 for the petition, plus $25 for a report of intention when one is required and $45 for a termination petition. Clearances run $62.95 per adult. Agency, home-study and lawyer fees come on top, except that the county covers them when Children & Youth places the child.

How do I adopt my stepchild in Berks County?

File a petition for adoption with the Clerk of the Orphans' Court with your spouse's consent, the child's consent if over 12, and the other parent's consent or a separate petition to terminate that parent's rights. No report of intention or home study is required for a stepchild, but your clearances and the Statement of Financial Responsibility are.

Can a birth mother change her mind after signing consent?

Yes, for 30 days after she signs, by a written revocation served on the agency or adult who has the child. A birth father has 30 days after the birth or his signature, whichever is later. After that, consent can be undone only for fraud or duress, by a petition filed within 60 days of the birth or the signing, whichever is later, or within 30 days of the decree, whichever comes first.

Can an adopted adult get their original birth certificate in Pennsylvania?

Yes. An adoptee 18 or older who has finished or legally left high school applies to the Division of Vital Records on form HD02045F with $20 and ID, and receives a noncertified copy within about 45 days. A birth parent's name may appear as redacted if that parent filed a request.

Does adopting from Berks County foster care cost anything?

Usually not. The county says legal, placement and court costs are paid by the agency when it is involved, and the state says most foster-care adoptions involve "little or no cost." Children with special needs may also qualify for a monthly adoption subsidy and medical assistance to age 18.

Sources

• 23 Pa.C.S. Chapter 23 (court, venue, who may adopt, counsel for the child), Chapter 25 (relinquishment, termination grounds, home study, reports, investigation), Chapter 27 (petition, consents, hearing, contact agreements) and Chapter 29 (decree, certificate, original birth record): the Adoption Act.
• 231 Pa. Code Chapter XV, Rule 15.3, Rule 15.13, Rule 15.6 and Rule 15.8: the statewide adoption rules, effective July 1, 2022 per the rules committee's report.
• Berks County Register of Wills, its Orphans' Court page, fee-schedules page, FAQs, and the Bill of Costs of the Orphans' Court, effective Dec. 1, 2025.
• Berks County Orphans' Court Rules, Rev. 3/21/26, the Affidavit of Financial Responsibility, the Disclosure of Fees and Costs, the Report of Adoption H105.091, and the statewide Orphans' Court forms.
• Berks County Children & Youth Services, its adoption, foster care and resource parents pages.
• Pa. Department of Human Services: Adopt PA Kids, FAQ, Become an Adoptive Parent, adoption process, adoption assistance, SWAN, PAIR, the PAIR brochure and the Act 101 FAQ.
• Pa. DHS Keep Kids Safe: clearances overview, Child Abuse History Clearance, State Police check, FBI fingerprinting and the foster/adoptive FAQ dated 10/01/2026.
• Pa. Department of Health, Vital Records: Adoptions, Information for Adoptees, form HD02045F and Birth Certificates.
• Berks County Bar Association: Find a Lawyer, MidPenn Legal Services: What We Do and MidPenn office locations.

Register of Wills and Clerk of the Orphans' Court: Berks County Services Center, 2nd Floor, 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601; 610-478-6600; fax 610-478-6251; Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Berks County Children & Youth Services: Services Center, 11th Floor, 633 Court Street; 610-478-6700. SWAN Helpline: 1-800-585-7926. Pennsylvania Adoption Information Registry: 1-800-227-0225.