{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/63.2-1243.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/63.2-1243.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/63.2-1243.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/63.2-1243.html"}],"law_id":70188,"edition_id":1,"section_id":70188,"structure_id":16513,"section_number":"63.2-1243","catch_line":"Adoption of certain persons eighteen years of age or over","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7 63-348.1; 1950, p. 441; 1954, c. 489; 1964, c. 139; 1968, c. 578, \u00a7 63.1-222; 1972, c. 823; 1974, c. 337; 1979, c. 339; 1985, cc. 298, 300; 1988, c. 53; 1995, cc. 772, 826; 2000, c. 830, \u00a7 63.1-219.50; 2001, c. 236; 2002, c. 747; 2006, cc. 825, 848.","full_text":"A petition may be filed in circuit court by any natural person who is a resident of this Commonwealth (i) for the adoption of a stepchild eighteen years of age or over to whom he has stood in loco parentis for a period of at least three months; (ii) for the adoption of a close relative, as defined in \u00a7 63.2-1242.1, eighteen years of age or older; (iii) for the adoption of any person eighteen years of age or older who is the birth child of the petitioner or who had resided in the home of the petitioner for a period of at least three months prior to becoming eighteen years of age; or (iv) for the adoption of any person eighteen years of age or older, for good cause shown, provided that the person to be adopted is at least fifteen years younger than the petitioner and the petitioner and the person to be adopted have known each other for at least one year prior to the filing of the petition for adoption. Proceedings in any such case shall conform as near as may be to proceedings for the adoption of a minor child under this chapter except that:\n\na\n\nNo consent of either parent shall be required; andb\n\nThe consent of the person to be adopted shall be required in all cases.\n\t\t\tAny interlocutory or final order issued in any case under this section shall have the same effect as other orders issued under this chapter; and in any such case the word “child” in any other section of this chapter shall be construed to refer to the person whose adoption is petitioned for under this section. The entry of a final order of adoption pursuant to this section which incorporates a change of name shall be deemed to meet the requirements of § 8.01-217.\n\t\t\tThe provisions of this section shall apply to any person who would have been eligible for adoption hereunder prior to July 1, 1972.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":253465,"text":"A petition may be filed in circuit court by any natural person who is a resident of this Commonwealth (i) for the adoption of a stepchild eighteen years of age or over to whom he has stood in loco parentis for a period of at least three months; (ii) for the adoption of a close relative, as defined in \u00a7 63.2-1242.1, eighteen years of age or older; (iii) for the adoption of any person eighteen years of age or older who is the birth child of the petitioner or who had resided in the home of the petitioner for a period of at least three months prior to becoming eighteen years of age; or (iv) for the adoption of any person eighteen years of age or older, for good cause shown, provided that the person to be adopted is at least fifteen years younger than the petitioner and the petitioner and the person to be adopted have known each other for at least one year prior to the filing of the petition for adoption. Proceedings in any such case shall conform as near as may be to proceedings for the adoption of a minor child under this chapter except that:","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1,"next_prefix":"a"},"1":{"id":253466,"text":"No consent of either parent shall be required; and","type":"section","prefixes":["a"],"prefix":"a","entire_prefix":"a","prefix_anchor":"a","level":1,"prior_prefix":"","next_prefix":"b"},"2":{"id":253467,"text":"The consent of the person to be adopted shall be required in all cases.\n\t\t\tAny interlocutory or final order issued in any case under this section shall have the same effect as other orders issued under this chapter; and in any such case the word “child” in any other section of this chapter shall be construed to refer to the person whose adoption is petitioned for under this section. The entry of a final order of adoption pursuant to this section which incorporates a change of name shall be deemed to meet the requirements of § 8.01-217.\n\t\t\tThe provisions of this section shall apply to any person who would have been eligible for adoption hereunder prior to July 1, 1972.","type":"section","prefixes":["b"],"prefix":"b","entire_prefix":"b","prefix_anchor":"b","level":1,"prior_prefix":"a"}},"ancestry":[{"id":16513,"edition_id":1,"name":"Adult Adoption","identifier":"5","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":14096,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 04:21:56","date_modified":"2026-06-26 04:21:56","permalink":{"id":271599,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":16513,"identifier":"5","token":"63.2\/III\/12\/5","url":"\/63.2\/III\/12\/5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":14096,"edition_id":1,"name":"Adoption","identifier":"12","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13897,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:52","permalink":{"id":271365,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14096,"identifier":"12","token":"63.2\/III\/12","url":"\/63.2\/III\/12\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13897,"edition_id":1,"name":"Social Services Programs","identifier":"III","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12789,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:14","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:14","permalink":{"id":271331,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13897,"identifier":"III","token":"63.2\/III","url":"\/63.2\/III\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12789,"edition_id":1,"name":"Welfare (Social Services)","identifier":"63.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:53","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:53","permalink":{"id":270661,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12789,"identifier":"63.2","token":"63.2","url":"\/63.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":70188,"structure_id":16513,"section_number":"63.2-1243","catch_line":"Adoption of certain persons eighteen years of age or over","url":"\/63.2-1243\/","token":"63.2\/III\/12\/5\/63.2-1243","metadata":false},{"id":77117,"structure_id":16513,"section_number":"63.2-1244","catch_line":"Investigation and report at discretion of circuit court; exception","url":"\/63.2-1244\/","token":"63.2\/III\/12\/5\/63.2-1244","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":77117,"structure_id":16513,"section_number":"63.2-1244","catch_line":"Investigation and report at discretion of circuit court; exception","url":"\/63.2-1244\/","token":"63.2\/III\/12\/5\/63.2-1244","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/63.2-1243\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 13 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1954, chapter 489; in 1964, chapter 139; in 1968, chapter 578; in 1972, chapter 823; in 1974, chapter 337; in 1979, chapter 339; in 1985, chapters 298 and 300; in 1988, chapter 53; in 1995, chapters 772<\/a> and 826<\/a>; in 2000, chapter 830<\/a>; in 2001, chapter 236<\/a>; in 2002, chapter 747<\/a>; in 2006, chapters 825<\/a> and 848<\/a>.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":68832,"section_number":"63.2-1242.1","catch_line":"Relative adoption","order_by":null,"url":"\/63.2-1242.1\/"},{"id":73474,"section_number":"8.01-217","catch_line":"How name of person may be changed","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-217\/"}],"permalink":{"id":271601,"object_type":"law","relational_id":70188,"identifier":"63.2-1243","token":"63.2\/III\/12\/5\/63.2-1243","url":"\/63.2-1243\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/63.2-1243\/","token":"63.2\/III\/12\/5\/63.2-1243","dublin_core":{"Title":"Adoption of certain persons eighteen years of age or over","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 63.2-1243","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A petition<\/span> may be filed in circuit<\/span> court<\/span> by any natural person who is a resident of this Commonwealth (i) for the adoption of a stepchild eighteen years of age or over to whom he has stood in loco parentis for a period of at least three months; (ii) for the adoption of a close relative, as defined in \u00a7 63.2-1242.1<\/a>, eighteen years of age or older; (iii) for the adoption of any person eighteen years of age or older who is the birth child<\/span> of the petitioner or who had resided in the home of the petitioner for a period of at least three months prior to becoming eighteen years of age; or (iv) for the adoption of any person eighteen years of age or older, for good cause shown, provided that the person to be adopted is at least fifteen years younger than the petitioner and the petitioner and the person to be adopted have known each other for at least one year prior to the filing of the petition<\/span> for adoption. Proceedings in any such case shall conform as near as may be to proceedings for the adoption of a minor<\/span> child<\/span> under this chapter except that:<\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

a.<\/span> No consent of either parent shall be required; and <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

b.<\/span> The consent of the person to be adopted shall be required in all cases.\n\t\t\tAny interlocutory<\/span> or final order<\/span> issued in any case under this section shall have the same effect as other orders<\/span> issued under this chapter; and in any such case the word “child<\/span>” in any other section of this chapter shall be construed to refer to the person whose adoption is petitioned for under this section. The entry of a final order<\/span> of adoption pursuant to this section which incorporates a change of name shall be deemed to meet the requirements of § 8.01-217<\/a>.\n\t\t\tThe provisions of this section shall apply to any person who would have been eligible for adoption hereunder prior to July 1, 1972. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nADOPTION OF CERTAIN PERSONS EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER (\u00a7 63.2-1243)\n\nA petition may be filed in circuit court by any natural person who is a resident\nof this Commonwealth (i) for the adoption of a stepchild eighteen years of age\nor over to whom he has stood in loco parentis for a period of at least three\nmonths; (ii) for the adoption of a close relative, as defined in \u00a7 63.2-1242.1,\neighteen years of age or older; (iii) for the adoption of any person eighteen\nyears of age or older who is the birth child of the petitioner or who had\nresided in the home of the petitioner for a period of at least three months\nprior to becoming eighteen years of age; or (iv) for the adoption of any person\neighteen years of age or older, for good cause shown, provided that the person\nto be adopted is at least fifteen years younger than the petitioner and the\npetitioner and the person to be adopted have known each other for at least one\nyear prior to the filing of the petition for adoption. Proceedings in any such\ncase shall conform as near as may be to proceedings for the adoption of a minor\nchild under this chapter except that:\n\na. No consent of either parent shall be required; and\n\nb. The consent of the person to be adopted shall be required in all cases.\n\t\t\tAny interlocutory or final order issued in any case under this section shall\nhave the same effect as other orders issued under this chapter; and in any such\ncase the word “child” in any other section of this chapter shall be\nconstrued to refer to the person whose adoption is petitioned for under this\nsection. The entry of a final order of adoption pursuant to this section which\nincorporates a change of name shall be deemed to meet the requirements of §\n8.01-217.\n\t\t\tThe provisions of this section shall apply to any person who would have been\neligible for adoption hereunder prior to July 1, 1972.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7 63-348.1; 1950, p. 441; 1954, c. 489; 1964, c. 139; 1968,\nc. 578, \u00a7 63.1-222; 1972, c. 823; 1974, c. 337; 1979, c. 339; 1985, cc. 298,\n300; 1988, c. 53; 1995, cc. 772, 826; 2000, c. 830, \u00a7 63.1-219.50; 2001, c.\n236; 2002, c. 747; 2006, cc. 825, 848.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}