ICPC in New Hampshire Adoption: Interstate Placement Explained

If you are adopting a child who was born in another state, or if you are a New Hampshire birth parent whose child will be placed with a family in a different state, your case must comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC). This is the single most misunderstood and most frustrating part of many NH adoptions — and the source of the two-week hotel stays that nobody warned families about.

Understanding how ICPC works, what triggers it, and what to expect from the process will not eliminate the delays, but it will keep you from being blindsided by them.

What the ICPC Is

The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children is an agreement between all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands. It governs when a child is moved from one state to another for the purpose of placement in a foster or adoptive home.

The core principle: before a child crosses state lines for placement, the receiving state must review and approve the placement. The sending state's ICPC office packages the case file and sends it to the receiving state. The receiving state conducts a home study (or reviews an existing one) and issues a written approval before the child is legally permitted to enter that state in the custody of the prospective adoptive parents.

The child cannot leave the sending state with the prospective adoptive parents until ICPC clearance is in hand. This is the rule that creates the hotel stays: if your baby is born in, say, Massachusetts, and you live in New Hampshire, you must wait in Massachusetts until NH's ICPC office clears the placement. Massachusetts clears on their end (you are leaving their state), and New Hampshire clears on theirs (you are entering). Both clearances must be in hand.

When ICPC Applies to NH Adoptions

ICPC applies any time a child crosses state lines for an adoptive placement. This includes:

• A NH family adopting an infant born in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New York, or any other state
• A family from another state adopting a child born in New Hampshire
• A NH child in DCYF custody being placed with a prospective adoptive family in another state

ICPC does not apply to:

• Adoption by a stepparent or relative within the second degree who is the child's grandparent, aunt, uncle, or sibling (these are typically exempt)
• Temporary placements for school or medical purposes
• Visits or temporary custody arrangements short of adoption placement

If you are not sure whether your case requires ICPC compliance, ask your attorney before assuming it does not apply. The consequences of placing a child across state lines without ICPC approval are serious.

The NH ICPC Office

New Hampshire's ICPC office is located within DCYF in Concord. The NH ICPC office coordinates:

• Receiving state cases: NH families adopting children born in other states
• Sending state cases: children born in NH being placed with families in other states

Contact your adoption attorney or agency well in advance of any anticipated interstate placement. Your attorney will coordinate with the NH ICPC office on your behalf, but you need to allow time for the process.

Standard ICPC Timeline

Standard ICPC approval typically takes two to six weeks from the time the sending state's packet is received by the receiving state's ICPC office. This is the period during which you may be waiting in the child's birth state.

Timeline factors that affect actual wait times:

Completeness of the sending state's packet. The most common cause of ICPC delays is incomplete paperwork from the sending state. Missing medical records, an unverified home study, or missing court documents can add weeks to the process. Your attorney should verify that the sending state's packet is complete before you travel.

The receiving state's workload. ICPC processing times vary by state and season. Some states have processing backlogs that routinely extend beyond the standard six-week window.

Whether New Hampshire's home study is current and approved. If your NH home study is current and the sending state accepts it, the ICPC process can move faster than if the receiving state (NH) needs to conduct a new review.

Regulation 7: Expedited Placement

For cases involving genuine hardship or emergency circumstances, NH (and other states) can request processing under Regulation 7, the ICPC expedited placement process. Under Regulation 7, the receiving state must complete a home evaluation within 20 days — compared to the standard 60-day window that some states use.

Regulation 7 is not available in every case. It applies to specific hardship situations, including cases where siblings are being separated, where the child has medical needs that require immediate stable placement, or where other documented emergency circumstances exist. Your attorney can advise whether your case qualifies.

Practical Guidance for Managing the ICPC Wait

The families who handle ICPC best are the ones who have planned for it, not the ones who were surprised by it.

Plan financially for an extended stay. If your child is being born in another state, budget for at least two weeks of out-of-state hotel and living expenses. For some states and some case types, the wait can extend to four weeks or longer. Have a credit card with sufficient available credit or liquid savings accessible.

Arrange childcare logistics before travel. If you have other children at home, have a clear plan for who manages the household and childcare during your out-of-state wait. This is not the moment to improvise.

Maintain contact with your attorney daily. ICPC status can change quickly when documents arrive. Your attorney or agency should be monitoring the status and communicating with you regularly. If they are not, ask for daily updates.

Understand what "approval" means. ICPC approval is not the final adoption decree — it is the clearance to bring the child into your state. Finalization still requires the six-month post-placement period and the Probate Court hearing. Do not conflate ICPC clearance with completed adoption.

The 100A and 100B Forms

If your attorney or agency mentions these form numbers, here is what they are:

ICPC 100A (Placement Request): Filed by the sending state requesting placement approval. Contains information about the child, the prospective family, and the type of placement.

ICPC 100B (Placement Status): The response from the receiving state. It can approve, deny, or return the request for additional information. An approved 100B is the clearance you need to bring the child across state lines.

ICPC and the Putative Father Registry

If a child was born out of state and the father's identity is uncertain, your attorney must also complete a search of the birth state's putative father registry (if that state has one). This is a separate requirement from NH's own putative father registry. The form NHJB-2190-FP documents that this search was conducted and its results.

Missing the out-of-state putative father registry search is one of the most common technical errors in ICPC adoption cases and can create legal vulnerability long after the adoption is finalized.

When You Are the Sending State

If you are a New Hampshire birth parent whose child will be placed with a family in another state, the NH ICPC office manages the sending side of your case. Your adoption attorney or the receiving family's attorney submits the packet to the NH ICPC office, which then forwards it to the receiving state.

You do not need to take any direct action with the ICPC office — your attorney or the agency handles this. But understanding that the clearance must happen and that the child cannot travel with the adoptive family until it does will help you understand why there is a waiting period even after the birth and surrender.

For a detailed step-by-step guide to the ICPC process in NH adoption — including what the 100A and 100B forms contain, how to request Regulation 7 expedited processing, and the financial planning checklist for out-of-state placements — the New Hampshire Adoption Process Guide covers it in full. See the guide at /us/new-hampshire/adoption.

See more United States guides →