In FY 2024-25, CARA processed 4,515 in-country adoptions and 501 inter-country adoptions (CARA Annual Report, June 2025). At the same time, 31,200 PAPs were on the waiting list. The mismatch is structural — there are far more parents wanting to adopt than children declared legally free for adoption by the Child Welfare Committees. Those who succeed are usually those who are flexible on age, gender, sibling-pair, or special-needs preferences. CARA's own data shows that PAPs who say “any child, any gender, 0-6 years” get matched in 8-14 months on average, while those insisting on “infant girl 0-12 months” wait 30-40 months.

Adoption in India can happen under two parallel legal regimes:

1. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 — applicable to all citizens regardless of religion, and the only route for inter-country adoption. CARA is the central authority. This is the route most adoptive parents now use.
2. Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 — only Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains. Direct private adoption between known parties (e.g., a relative's child) without going through CARA. Faster but applicable only in narrow cases. The HAMA route is being progressively absorbed into the JJ Act framework, especially after the 2021 amendment to the JJ Act giving District Magistrates the power to issue adoption orders (instead of Civil Courts) — though several High Courts have stayed parts of the change.

The CARA Adoption Regulations 2022 (which superseded the 2017 Regulations) set out the operational rules, eligibility, fee structure, time limits, and the working of CARINGS. They were further updated by CARA Notification dated 18 January 2024 revising age slabs and inter-country procedures.

The Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption 1993, ratified by India in 2003, governs adoptions where the child or the adoptive parents are foreign nationals — ensuring a minimum global standard against trafficking.

Under Regulation 5 of the Adoption Regulations 2022, Prospective Adoptive Parents (PAPs) must satisfy:

1. Citizenship — Indian citizens (resident or NRI), Overseas Citizen of India (OCI), or foreign citizens.
2. Marital status — couple (married for at least 2 years) or single individual (male or female).
3. Age — composite age limits depending on age of the child being adopted. Updated 2024 slabs:

+-----------------------+--------------------------+-----------------------+
| Child's age           | Max combined age (couple)| Max age (single PAP)  |
+-----------------------+--------------------------+-----------------------+
| Up to 2 years         | 90 years (45 each avg)   | 40 years              |
+-----------------------+--------------------------+-----------------------+
| 2 - 4 years           | 100 years                | 45 years              |
+-----------------------+--------------------------+-----------------------+
| 4 - 8 years           | 110 years                | 50 years              |
+-----------------------+--------------------------+-----------------------+
| 8 - 18 years          | 120 years                | 55 years              |
+-----------------------+--------------------------+-----------------------+

1. Single male PAPs can adopt only boys (not girls). Single female PAPs can adopt children of any gender.
2. Health — physically and mentally fit; no life-threatening illness; HIV+ PAPs can adopt with additional safeguards under 2024 guidelines.
3. Financial — stable income (no minimum prescribed but typically ₹3-4 lakh annual household for tier-2, higher for metro), own or stable rental accommodation.
4. Existing children — couples with up to 2 biological children can adopt; couples with 3 or more cannot adopt (except special-needs children — added in 2024 guidelines).

There is no requirement of religion-matching between PAP and child under the JJ Act 2015 — a Hindu couple can adopt a Muslim child and vice versa, with the child taking the religion of the adoptive family upon adoption.

• CARINGS (cara.wcd.gov.in) — Central Adoption Resource Information & Guidance System. The single online portal for the entire process — registration, upload, HSR status, child matching, reservation, acceptance.
• DCPU (District Child Protection Unit) — the district-level institutional partner of CARINGS. Coordinates HSR for PAPs without an assigned SAA.
• SAA (Specialised Adoption Agency) — recognised by State Government and registered with CARA. Handles in-country adoption end-to-end at state level. Each state has multiple SAAs (e.g., Karnataka has 32, Maharashtra has 56).
• SARA (State Adoption Resource Agency) — coordinates SAAs and DCPUs within a state. Single point of contact at state level.
• CARA helpline 1800-111-311 / 011-2473-1740 (Mon-Fri, 9 am - 5 pm).

• Go to https://cara.wcd.gov.in
• Click “PAP Registration” → fill personal details, marital status, household, income, child preference.
• Upload documents (next step).
• Pay registration fee (₹6,000 for in-country resident PAPs; ₹40,000-₹50,000 for NRIs/OCIs/foreigners — fees revised periodically).
• System generates a PAP Registration Number (PRN) — your reference for the entire journey.

The mandatory document set for in-country PAPs:

• Aadhaar card (both spouses).
• PAN card (both spouses).
• Recent passport-size photographs (both, separately and together).
• Marriage certificate.
• Birth certificates of both PAPs.
• Last 3 years' Income Tax Returns (or Form 16 if salaried).
• Salary slip / current income proof.
• Residence proof (rent agreement / electricity bill / property deed).
• Photograph of the home — every room, kitchen, bathroom (so the SAA can pre-assess).
• Medical fitness certificate from a Registered Medical Practitioner (MBBS) — for both spouses, dated within the last 6 months. Should certify no life-threatening illness, mental fitness, fitness to raise a child.
• If existing children — their birth certificates and a no-objection statement.
• Two reference letters from non-relatives (acquainted with the family for at least 5 years).
• Police verification (in some states, recommended even if not strictly mandatory).

A licensed social worker from the assigned SAA visits your home — typically two visits, each 2-3 hours. They interview:

• Both spouses jointly and separately.
• Other household members (parents, existing children).
• Sometimes neighbours or close family.

They assess:

• Motivation for adoption.
• Financial stability and lifestyle.
• Marital relationship quality.
• Support system (extended family, friends).
• Home environment — space, safety, cleanliness, child-friendliness.
• Cultural openness — willingness to share child's adoption story, comfort with possibly different appearance.
• Existing children's perspective.

The HSR must be uploaded to CARINGS within 90 days of registration (Adoption Regulation 9). Any longer triggers a system flag.

A favourable HSR moves you to “active” status — CARINGS starts considering you for child match. An unfavourable HSR can be appealed — first to the SAA management, then to SARA, then to CARA.

This is the longest phase — and the most opaque. CARINGS uses a seniority-based algorithm modulated by child preference, child's special needs, and PAP location preference. There is no published wait time because it depends on luck of who else is registered with similar preferences.

Average wait times (CARA internal data 2024):

• Infant girl 0-12 months — 36-42 months.
• Infant boy 0-12 months — 32-38 months.
• Child 2-6 years (any gender) — 12-18 months.
• Special needs / sibling group — 4-8 months.
• Older children 8+ years — 3-6 months.

When your seniority comes up, CARINGS shows up to 6 child profiles (photo, age, medical history, behaviour notes) in priority order. You have 48 hours to either reserve a child or pass.

• Reserving locks the child to you for 20 days.
• Passing on all 6 sends you back into the queue — but you keep your seniority.
• No response in 48 hours is treated as automatic pass.

Once reserved, you have 20 days to visit the SAA where the child is in care. You can visit multiple times. The SAA caregivers brief you on the child's medical record, behaviour, attachment patterns, dietary needs.

You then either accept or decline. Declining is allowed without prejudice — but two consecutive declines after reservation may downgrade your seniority (Regulation 11(7), 2022).

On acceptance:

• Sign the Foster Care Agreement with the SAA.
• Pay the child-care contribution to the SAA (₹40,000 in-country; higher for inter-country).
• Take the child home — pre-adoption foster care under SAA supervision. This phase lasts until the court issues the Adoption Order.

The SAA conducts post-placement reports — visits at 1, 3, and 6 months — uploaded to CARINGS.

Within 10 working days of taking the child home, the SAA prepares the petition under §61 JJ Act 2015 for filing in the District Court or Family Court of jurisdiction.

Documents in the petition:

• Court fee stamps (₹50-₹500 depending on state).
• SAA petition + HSR + medical record + the matching log + acceptance letter.
• Birth/abandonment record of the child.
• Order of the Child Welfare Committee declaring the child legally free for adoption.
• Adoption Deed.

Lawyer fee: ₹15,000-₹50,000 typically. Some SAAs have empanelled lawyers offering reduced rates.

The court hearing is usually a single sitting (in some states, two). The judge verifies documents, may briefly ask the PAPs about their commitment, and then issues the Adoption Order under §61(2). The order is immediate and unconditional — the child becomes the legal child of the adoptive parents from that date, with full rights of inheritance, name, and nationality.

Take the certified copy of the Adoption Order to:

• Municipal Corporation / Panchayat — register the new birth certificate in the adoptive parents' names. The new certificate replaces the original entry. Process takes 15-45 days.
• Aadhaar update — UIDAI Self-Service Portal. Update child's parents and address.
• Passport — apply for the child's first passport with the Adoption Order and new birth certificate.

The SAA conducts post-adoption follow-up visits at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years (for in-country adoptions). These are mandatory — refusing to allow the SAA can be reported to CARA.

For inter-country adoptions, post-adoption follow-up runs for 2 years with 6 reports (every 4 months) submitted by the receiving country's authorised agency to CARA.

+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| CARINGS registration fee — in-     | ₹6,000                               |
| country resident PAPs              |                                      |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| CARINGS registration fee — NRI/OCI | ₹40,000 - ₹50,000                    |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Home Study Report                  | Bundled with registration; visits    |
|                                    | within 90 days                       |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Child-care contribution to SAA     | ₹40,000 (in-country)                 |
| (post-acceptance, pre-foster)      | ₹6,000 USD equivalent (inter-country)|
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Court fee (Adoption Order)         | ₹50 - ₹500 (state-dependent)         |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Lawyer fee for court petition      | ₹15,000 - ₹50,000                    |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Birth certificate (Municipal Corp) | ₹50 - ₹200                           |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| HSR upload deadline                | 90 days from registration            |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Reserve a shown child              | Within 48 hours of profile shown     |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Decision after visiting child      | Within 20 days of reservation        |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| File Adoption Order petition       | Within 10 working days of foster care|
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Total typical timeline (in-country)| 24 - 36 months                       |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Total typical timeline (inter-     | 36 - 60 months                       |
| country)                           |                                      |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| RTI to PIO CARA / SAA              | ₹10 by IPO. BPL = free.              |
+------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+

• Unfavourable HSR. Most common blockers: small home with no separate space for the child, recent marital strife visible to social worker, financial precarity, mismatched motivation between spouses, mental health concerns flagged by GP. Appeal first within the SAA, then to SARA.
• Child preference too narrow. Demanding “infant girl, fair-skinned, no medical issues” is the surest path to a 4-year wait. Widen the preferences and the wait drops dramatically.
• Income proof insufficient. Self-employed PAPs with informal income face the most friction. File current ITR, bank statements showing 12 months of consistent flow, and an employer (or chartered accountant) certificate.
• Medical fitness flag. History of mental illness, addiction, or chronic ailment (cancer, HIV, severe diabetes) can flag the HSR. Get a fresh opinion from a registered specialist; CARA's 2024 guidelines have eased many earlier blanket bars.
• CARINGS technical issues. Profile not visible, document upload errors, OTP failures. Use the helpline 1800-111-311 and email helpdesk@cara.wcd.gov.in. Save screenshots.
• SAA delays. Some SAAs have backlogs and don't conduct HSR in 90 days. File with SARA and CARA helpline; in worst case escalate to the District Magistrate.
• Court backlog. District Courts in some states (UP, Bihar, West Bengal) have month-long delays in even simple adoption petitions. Apply for early hearing on the ground that the child is in foster care without legal status.
• Child match algorithm opacity. PAPs often suspect bias or queue-jumping. CARA's algorithm is rule-based but not publicly audited — RTI helps here.

For HSR delays, technical issues with CARINGS, or SAA-side process delays, write to the SAA's Adoption Coordinator with your PRN. Most SAAs have a designated coordinator named in the CARINGS profile.

Each state has a SARA — typically housed at the State Department of Women & Child Development. The SARA can intervene with non-performing SAAs, transfer your case to a different SAA, or push your file at the District Court level.

• Helpline 1800-111-311 (Mon-Fri 9 am - 5 pm).
• 011-2473-1740 for direct CARA.
• Email carahelpdesk@gov.in with PRN, exact issue, and screenshots.
• Postal: CARA, West Block 8, Wing 2, R.K. Puram, New Delhi - 110066.

CARA falls under the MWCD. For policy-level grievances or repeated CARA inaction, write to the Joint Secretary (Child Welfare), MWCD, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.

pgportal.gov.in → Ministry of Women and Child Development → CARA. Higher visibility — escalates to a Joint Secretary with SLA.

If your local SAA is a Government-owned institution (many are), the District Magistrate can call its records and direct compliance. Useful when an SAA refuses or stalls without giving reasons.

CARA is a public authority under §2(h) of the RTI Act 2005 — confirmed by the CIC in Sushil Kumar v. CPIO CARA (2018) and many subsequent decisions. SAAs that are State Government-recognised institutions are also public authorities; private NGOs running SAAs are at least subject to RTI for the records they share with the State (per CIC Khosla v. PIO ICCR (2010) line of reasoning).

RTI helps here when:

• Your HSR was conducted but not uploaded to CARINGS for many weeks — RTI to PIO SAA / DCPU for the upload status and reason for delay.
• You suspect your PRN is being skipped in the matching algorithm — RTI to PIO CARA for: total PAPs registered with similar preferences, your seniority position, and number of children matched in your category in the last 12 months. This brings transparency to the queue.
• You declined a child profile and the system says “no further matches” — RTI to PIO CARA for the matching log and the algorithm's basis.
• You want the policy-level data — how many in-country adoptions in your state in the last year, average wait time for your preference category. Useful for advocacy or media follow-up.
• The post-placement report is delayed and your court hearing is pending — RTI to PIO SAA for the report submission status.

RTI does NOT help here when:

• You want to know another PAP's identity or seniority — protected under §8(1)(j) (personal information).
• You want medical or family history of a child before reservation — these are released only after reservation, under CARA's confidentiality framework.
• You want CARINGS to override the algorithm and place a particular child with you — RTI gives information, not commands. You need a court order for that.
• You are challenging a judicial decision by a District Court (e.g., refusal of adoption order) — that's a judicial matter; appeal to the High Court instead.

Q. Can a single woman in her 40s adopt?
Yes. Single female PAPs can adopt children of any gender. The age slabs allow a single woman up to 45 years to adopt a child aged 2-4, and up to 50 years to adopt a child aged 4-8. Many single working women have adopted successfully under CARA in recent years.

Q. Can same-sex couples adopt?
As of 2026, the JJ Act and CARA Regulations permit adoption by single individuals (regardless of sexual orientation) and married couples (married for at least 2 years). Same-sex marriage is not yet recognised in India, so same-sex couples currently adopt only through the single-PAP route — one partner is the legal adopter.

Q. What about second-time adoption?
Allowed without restriction, subject to the existing-children cap (max 2 biological + adopting another is OK if total stays within 3, but third adoption typically only of special needs).

Q. Can NRIs adopt from India?
Yes — under the inter-country adoption framework. NRIs / OCIs / foreigners must register through their Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA) in their country of residence, which liaises with CARA. The wait is typically longer (3-5 years) and inter-country fees are higher (~$5,000-$6,000 USD child-care contribution + court fees).

Q. Can we choose the child's religion?
On adoption, the child takes the religion of the adoptive family. The child's name, religion, identity is updated through the new birth certificate.

Q. Can the biological parents reclaim the child after adoption?
No. Once the Adoption Order is passed under §61 JJ Act, the biological link is legally severed and adoption is irrevocable. Even if the biological parents later trace and identify the child, they have no legal claim. (The only exception is if the surrender by biological parents was obtained by fraud — extremely rare.)

Q. We want to adopt our relative's child directly. Do we have to go through CARA?
For Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains: under HAMA 1956, you can do a direct adoption between known parties through a registered Adoption Deed. CARA is not required. For Muslims, Christians, Parsis, and inter-faith — CARA route only.

Q. Can we adopt more than one child at a time?
Yes — siblings can be adopted together (and CARA encourages this; sibling-pair preferences match faster). Two unrelated children together is generally not allowed.

Q. Is there reservation / preference for any category of PAPs?
Single women, parents adopting special-needs children, parents adopting older children, and Indian-origin parents (over foreign nationals) get priority in matching. Direct cash incentives for PAPs do not exist — but many states give additional maternity-style adoption leave (180 days for the adoptive mother under the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017).

Q. What if the child has a serious medical condition we discover later?
The SAA must disclose all known medical conditions before reservation. If a serious condition emerges that was not disclosed, you can challenge it before the District Court before the final adoption order. Once the order is passed, the child is your legal child and the same parental responsibilities apply as for biological children.

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Last reviewed: 26 April 2026 by RTI Wiki editorial team. Adoption regulations are revised periodically — verify current age slabs, fee structure and document list on cara.wcd.gov.in or write to admin@bighelpers.in if you spot a stale figure.