Another way to grow your family: adoption

Adoption is a beautiful way to give a child a home. But before you start, it's important to see a realistic picture: in Germany, far more families are waiting to adopt than there are children who can be adopted.

The realistic picture

In 2025, 3,517 children were adopted in Germany, the lowest number since 1990. Most adoptions, about 75%, are step-parent adoptions of a partner's child. A large share of these are partners adopting a child born within a relationship between two women. Adopting a child with no family connection to you (Fremdadoption) is much rarer. That's why waiting times can be long.

Who can adopt?

• Age: You must be at least 25. For married couples, one spouse must be at least 25 and the other at least 21. There's no upper age limit, but the age gap is expected to fit a natural parent-child relationship.
• Married couples can only adopt a child together. Married female couples have the same rights.
• For unmarried couples, one partner adopts the child first. The other partner can then adopt the child separately (Sukzessivadoption).
• Single people can adopt too.
• The suitability assessment looks at things like health, the stability of your relationship, your financial situation, your home and how much time you can give a child.

Where to apply in Berlin

• The Senate Department's adoption agency (Adoptionsvermittlungsstelle): This unit handles adoptions for all 12 Berlin districts.
• Adoptionsdienst Berlin: An adoption agency run jointly by Caritas and Diakonie.
• Adopting from abroad: This is done through the Zentrale Adoptionsstelle Berlin-Brandenburg (ZABB) or authorised private agencies.

Step by step

1. Information evening or first meeting: You get information without committing to anything yet.
2. Application: You fill in a form and hand in your documents (health certificate, certificate of good conduct, proof of income, your life story).
3. Suitability assessment: There are several interviews and at least one home visit. There's no fixed time frame; it can take months.
4. Preparation seminars: Most agencies expect applicants to attend these seminars.
5. Matching: You're contacted when a suitable family is being sought for a child. This wait can take years.
6. Adoption foster period (Adoptionspflege): The child first lives with you for a while, usually about a year.
7. Family court: The family court (Familiengericht) makes the adoption decision.

Forms of adoption

• Open adoption: There is direct contact with the child's birth family.
• Semi-open: Contact happens through the adoption agency.
• Closed (Inkognito): The families don't know each other.

In every case, the child has the right to know their origins. From age 16 the child can see their adoption file.

An alternative: foster family

Some children can't live with their own families but can't be adopted either. These children grow up with foster families. The need is very great. In Berlin you can contact the foster care service (Pflegekinderdienst) of your district's Jugendamt.

What to know as a migrant

• You need to live in Berlin to apply.
• If you're a Turkish citizen, issues such as recognition of a German adoption in Turkey and the child's citizenship also matter. We recommend talking to a family law lawyer before applying.

Practical tips from women

• Meet other families. Go to meet-ups for adoptive families. The Senate Department, Adoptionsdienst and ZABB hold joint meet-ups.
• Use the waiting time well. You can use this time to strengthen your relationship and your support network.

This section will grow with the experiences of women in the BACIM community. If something has worked for you, you're welcome to share it.

Sources

• Adoption in Berlin (Senate Department)
• Adoption agency (service.berlin.de)
• Requirements for adoption (anwalt.org)
• Adoption statistics 2025 (Volksstimme/dpa)

This guide is not a substitute for legal advice. Information checked as of October 2026.