DSWD Adoption Requirements: How Domestic Adoption Works in the Philippines

Many families who want to adopt in the Philippines spend weeks trying to get a straight answer on what documents they need and where to go first. Offices redirect them. Websites contradict each other. And the 2022 shift from court-based adoption to the new administrative process under RA 11642 has made older guides unreliable.

This post lays out the current requirements and process for domestic adoption in the Philippines as it actually works today — under the National Authority for Child Care (NACC), which now handles all adoptions that the DSWD previously processed through the courts.

Why "DSWD adoption" is now "NACC adoption"

Until 2022, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) played a central role in adoption, and families filed cases in family courts. Republic Act 11642 — the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act — moved the entire process out of the courts and into a new quasi-judicial agency: the NACC. If you search "DSWD adoption requirements," you are looking for what is now technically the NACC's process.

The DSWD still operates residential care facilities and provides broader social protection programs, but the authority to process and approve adoptions now sits with the NACC and its regional arms — the Regional Alternative Child Care Offices, or RACCOs. Your first point of contact is the RACCO in your region.

Who can adopt in the Philippines

To qualify as a domestic adoptive parent under RA 11642, you must be:

• A Filipino citizen, or an alien who has been living in the Philippines for at least three continuous years before filing and who will continue to reside here until the adoption is finalized
• At least 21 years old and at least 16 years older than the child (the age gap requirement does not apply in relative adoption cases)
• In full civil capacity and legal rights
• Of good moral character, with no history of child abuse or neglect
• Financially capable of supporting a child's needs
• In a position to care for the child's emotional, educational, and developmental needs

Married applicants must adopt jointly. A spouse adopting the other's biological child is an exception — stepparent adoption can be done by one spouse alone.

Documents required for the petition

The NACC's 2024 Citizens' Charter specifies the documentary requirements for a domestic adoption petition. These are submitted to the RACCO, not a court. The core documents include:

For the petitioner (applicant):

• PSA-certified birth certificate
• PSA-certified marriage certificate (if married) or proof of legal capacity to adopt (if single or widowed)
• NBI clearance (issued within six months of filing)
• Police clearance from your local station
• Medical and psychological evaluation certificates (from a licensed physician and psychologist/psychiatrist)
• Income Tax Return or payslips covering the last three years, or other proof of financial capacity
• Barangay clearance
• Community Tax Certificate (cedula)
• Proof of residency — utility bills (water and electricity) for the past three months
• Character reference letters from at least three non-relatives

For the child:

• PSA-certified birth certificate
• CDCLAA — Certification Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (issued by the NACC; not required for stepparent or relative adoptions within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity)
• Child's medical certificate and developmental history
• Child Case Study Report (CCSR) prepared by the NACC/RACCO social worker

The Home Study Report (HSR) is not something you submit — it is prepared by a licensed social worker after visiting your home and interviewing your household. You facilitate it, but the RACCO commissions it.

The domestic adoption process step by step

Step 1 — Inquiry and Pre-Adoption Forum Contact your RACCO. Attendance at a Pre-Adoption Forum (orientation session) is mandatory. You will receive a certificate of attendance that becomes part of your file.

Step 2 — Submit documentary requirements Compile and submit the documents listed above. Incomplete submissions are returned, which delays your timeline, so treat the checklist as exhaustive.

Step 3 — Home Study Report A licensed social worker conducts home visits and interviews everyone in the household. The HSR assesses your living conditions, relationships, parenting capacity, motivations, and understanding of adoption. This is not a pass/fail exam — it is an assessment of readiness and fit.

Step 4 — Regional Matching Conference Once your HSR is approved, the RACCO presents your profile to a matching committee. The committee matches you with a child based on the child's needs and your assessed capacity. You cannot request a specific child in a standard non-relative domestic adoption.

Step 5 — Pre-Adoption Placement Authority (PAPA) If the match is approved, the NACC issues a PAPA, which authorizes the child to be placed in your home.

Step 6 — Supervised Trial Custody (STC) This is a six-month period during which the child lives with you and a social worker makes monitoring visits — once every two months during STC. The purpose is to assess adjustment and attachment before the adoption is finalized.

Step 7 — Filing the Administrative Petition After the STC period, you file a formal Petition for Adoption with the RACCO. The petition must include the STC reports prepared by the social worker.

Step 8 — Order of Adoption The NACC Executive Director reviews the case and, if all requirements are met, issues an Order of Adoption. This has the same legal force as a court decree. It triggers the PSA to issue a new birth certificate for the child with your name as parent.

From completed inquiry to matching can take several months, and the six-month STC adds to that. The NACC's timeline target from completed application to Order of Adoption is nine to twelve months, though social worker shortages in some regions can extend this.

Domestic adoption in 2025: what the numbers say

The NACC issued 1,311 domestic adoption orders in 2025. In the same year, 524 children had been declared legally available for adoption via CDCLAA as of the most recent reporting period. Approximately 1,057 children are in foster care under 927 licensed foster parents, many of whom are on a path toward adoption.

These figures reflect a system that is processing cases at a meaningful scale, but also one where the pipeline of children with CDCLAAs remains smaller than the pool of waiting families — meaning patience with the matching process is necessary.

The most common reasons applications stall

• Missing or expired documents (NBI clearance must be within six months of filing)
• Incomplete income documentation
• Social worker turnover mid-HSR — if your assigned social worker is reassigned, follow up promptly rather than waiting for the RACCO to reassign automatically
• Misunderstanding that the old court-based process still applies — all new domestic adoptions go through the NACC administratively

If you want a complete document checklist, timeline guide, and guidance on preparing for the Home Study interview, the Philippines Foster Care & Adoption Guide covers the full NACC process end to end.

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