How much does it cost to adopt a child in the UK?

How much does adoption cost in the UK? Adopting a child in the UK has significant, but not insurmountable cost implications. Completing a thorough financial planning exercise before you begin is key.

Why adopt a child?

For many people, adoption is the only way to start a family and experience the joys of parenthood, and despite the fact that it is the only option for many people, you need to be fully aware of the financial challenges to be faced. While the government does provide some support with facilitating adoption, it’s best to do your research properly and independently, so you’re fully aware of all of the cost implications. With good financial planning, costs can easily be predicted and met.

What are the main costs of adopting a child in the UK

As stated above, the cost of raising a child in the UK can readily be quantified, and doing your research correctly is the first phase, to ensure you are able to bear the extra financial burden of parenthood. If you want to start preparing yourself financially for raising a child in the near future, it’s a good idea to start learning how to invest money so you will be able to provide the future for them to which you aspire.

Domestic adoption costs

If you’re adopting in the UK, a UK adoption agency will not charge you a fee for facilitating the adoption. However, there will be additional expenses, such as court costs, or a fee for a police check. (Minor youth charges usually don’t adversely affect your application in later life, providing the offences were not related to minors). You can ask the adoption agency (or agencies) for more details about any potential charges, and inquire as to what financial assistance is available to assist you in your endeavour.

Overseas adoption costs

How much is it to adopt a child from overseas? As you might expect, the price of the adoption process will be significantly greater if the child is coming from overseas. Anyone who wants to adopt a child from outside the UK must cover the cost of the evaluation process themselves, unlike adopting from within the UK. According to the Intercountry Adoption Centre, the total fee you pay the agency in the country of origin can easily amount to a six-figure sum – up to £25,000 in some instances.

Do adoptive parents get paid by the government?

The UK government provides something called Statutory Adoption Pay for up to 39 weeks following the commencement of the adoption. Statutory Adoption Pay is paid weekly and is a percentage of your average weekly earnings. For the first six weeks following the adoption, Statutory Adoption Pay is 90% of your average weekly earnings, and for the next 33 weeks, it’s £184.03 per week, or 90% of your regular weekly salary (whichever is less).

Can I get financial help when adopting?

In terms of financial help, how much do you get for adopting a child in the UK? The answer is that there are several forms of aid you may be eligible to receive when adopting, as detailed below.

Adoption pay and leave

Similar to birth parents’ salaries and leave rights, adoptive parents also have access to these benefits. When your adopted child joins your family, you typically have the right to statutory adoption pay and paid leave.

While the second parent may be eligible for shared parental leave or paternity leave if you’re adopting as a pair, only one of you will be allowed to take paid adoption leave. Some employers provide their employees with more lenient adoption-leave policies than others. Check the terms of your employment contract for information.

If you’re considering taking the surrogacy route, you could be eligible for 52 weeks off work. However, we ought to make you aware that, like adopting a child from abroad, surrogacy is a more expensive option – we’re talking six figures.

Adoption allowance

If the local authority decides it’s necessary to find an adoptive home for a child who would not otherwise be easily adopted, they may offer an adoption allowance. Under certain conditions, the program permits the payment of a regular allowance or a lump payments to adopters. These may include situations where the child has unique care needs due to disability or behavioural issues that require additional funds, or to make an adoption possible with current foster parents with whom the child has a close attachment.

The amount of the adoption allowance varies and will often take into account your family’s financial circumstances. This may include any additional compensation you get, any reasonable outgoings, and the child’s financial requirements. To learn more about this allowance in your region, you should get in touch with your local authority.

There is also something called a “settling-in grant.” This type of grant is offered to help with the cost of purchasing larger items like beds and child car seats. However, settling-in grants are awarded on a discretionary basis, and usually when no other allowance is payable.

The adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF)

The ASGSF supplies funds to local authorities and RAAs (Regional Adoption Agencies). They are to help cover the costs of essential therapeutic services and can be granted to eligible adoptive parents and special guardians. The criteria for match-funding include:

• High risk of adoption breakdown without special high-cost support
• Local authorities and RAAs having to deal with an unusually high number of complex cases that they can’t afford to fund without extra support from the ASGSF.
• To help to facilitate difficult-to-place adoptions. 
• The lack of available and affordable therapeutic support where it means that a higher-cost provision is needed.

Adoption support funds can also be used to cover things that are advantageous in terms of the child’s relationships with other family members, friends, teachers, and various school personnel, in order to aid participation in educational activities.

Child tax credit (Transitioning to Universal Credit)

Child Tax Credit is currently funded by HMRC to support families with children. It’s paid separately from child benefit and can be paid regardless of whether you’re working or not. It’s claimable where you are the child’s primary financial provider. It’s only available if you’re already in receipt of Working Tax Credit. It’s also dependent on the date your children were born.

Child Tax Credit (CTC) is in the process of being phased out. It is transitioning to Universal Credit, and all claims for CTC will end on 5 April 2025. If you’ve received a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) inviting you to make a claim for Universal Credit, and you fail to do so; after the 5th of April, your tax credits will cease.

You can ask your adoption specialist social worker about your eligibility for financial assistance and also get advice regarding preparing your application.

Adopting a baby in the UK is virtually impossible

Sadly, it’s almost impossible to adopt a domestic-born baby here in the UK, as an article on the Jigsaw Adoption website clearly explains. It’s primarily down to the fact that the process before a local authority and a court decide that a child can be adopted is very long-winded. But don’t be disheartened. Adopting young children of any age can be totally fulfilling. In actual fact, it’s quite rare in the UK for children over the ages of 6 to 7 to be available for adoption.

Can I adopt a child for free?

If you are adopting in the UK, an adoption agency cannot charge you a fee for facilitating the adoption. That said, adoption is not totally free. There can be additional expenses, such as court costs, and fees for police checks. If you’re considering adopting a child from overseas, there will be travel costs to take into account.

How to save and invest in order to afford child adoption

Of course, the expenses don’t stop once you’ve adopted a child. When you’re financially responsible for a child, you need to adjust your financial planning to account for all the costs associated with child-rearing. 

Regardless of the age of the child, you’ll need to consider a variety of new expenses that will arise, from food, childcare, clothing, and utility bills (don’t forget that having an extra person in your home can generally result in higher bills), to smaller but recurring expenses like purchasing birthday presents or funding field trips.

It’s also a good idea to start investing on behalf of your child at the earliest opportunity so you can help them to start building wealth from a young age. There are many different options for investing for children, from premium bonds for children to opening a child’s savings account or Junior ISA. You can check out the best ISAs are for children that will enable you to start accumulating wealth for them efficiently with the help of compound interest.

FAQs

Do you have to pay to adopt a child?

If you are adopting in the UK, an agency cannot charge you a fee for facilitating the adoption of a child. However, there are other costs associated with adoption that you will need to cover.

How much does it cost to adopt a child in the UK?

Adopting a child in the UK is free. However, the process may incur additional costs such as admin fees, private medical examinations, and obtaining certain documentation. There is no standard fee, but additional charges vary from agency to agency and local authority to local authority.

Certain agencies, like Jigsaw Adoption, for example, are independent, non-profit agencies that do not charge service fees. Their aim is to remove the financial barrier associated with using private adoption agencies in the UK.

What are the main UK adoption criteria?

To be eligible for adoption, you must be older than 21 and pass a police check and adoption suitability assessment. Some people believe that you cannot adopt if you have a criminal record. It is not necessarily true. If, for example, you committed a minor offence in your youth – such as being charged with possession –  it will probably not exclude you from adopting later as a 40-year-old.

For more in-depth and general information on adopting children here in the UK, visit the Jigsaw Adoption Agency website.