Adoption application forms

• To file an adoption application with the Adoption Board, fill in and send your application using our secure form service.
• If applying as a couple, you only need to submit one application. 
• Select the application form that is appropriate for the type of adoption for which you wish to apply. 
• If you are applying for permission for intercountry adoption through a service provider, your service provider will deliver all the needed attachments to the Adoption Board. 
• When sending attachments to an application that is already being processed, use the form ‘Supplement to an adoption case’ and attach the scanned documents to that. 
• With domestic adoption permission applications and with intercountry adoption permission applications filed without a service provider, the adoption counsellor will deliver a report on adoption counselling to the Adoption Board.
• An application for an extension to an adoption permission must be filed no later than on the day on which your valid adoption permission expires. 
• When sending attachments to an application that is already being processed, use the form ‘Supplement to an adoption case’ and attach the scanned documents to that.
• The system notifies you of the successful submission of the form and offers the option to save the information you submitted in PDF format. The system does not send an automatic email message about the form submission. If you are unsure whether the form was successfully submitted, please contact the Adoption Board.

• Instruct the adoption applicants to submit their own application, because their matter will not be filed by the Adoption Board until they submit an application themselves.
• When you submit attachments to a new application to the Adoption Board, fill in the form as appropriate for your type of application and attach the scanned documents to that.
• When sending attachments to an application that is already being processed, use the form ‘Supplement to an adoption case’ and attach the scanned documents to that.
• The system notifies you of the successful submission of the form and offers the option to save the information you submitted in PDF format. The system does not send an automatic email message about the form submission. If you are unsure whether the form was successfully submitted, please contact the Adoption Board.

The form for a notification of change in circumstances may be used by an adoption applicant, an adoption counsellor or an adoption service provider, as per the notification obligation in section 49 of the Adoption Act.

The Supplement form can be used to submit further information for an application already being processed. This form may be used by an adoption applicant, an adoption counsellor or an adoption service provider.

Adoption permissions are granted by the Adoption Board on application by the adoption applicants themselves. You may apply for an adoption permission once you have completed adoption counselling. Fill in your application using the secure form service of the Adoption Board according to the type of adoption permission you are applying for (permission for domestic adoption / permission for intercountry adoption through a service provider / permission for intercountry adoption without a service provider / adoption permission extension). No fee is charged for permission decisions issued by the Adoption Board. If you require your adoption permission to be in English, please state this on your application form.

How the attachments need to be submitted depends on what type of permission you are applying for. The main rule is that in the case of intercountry adoption through a service provider, it is the service provider that delivers the application attachments to the Adoption Board. In the case of intercountry adoption without a service provider, the applicants themselves must deliver the attachments to the Adoption Board, legalised and translated into Finnish.

Fill in the application to extend your adoption permission well in advance of the expiry of the permission. This will ensure that your application will be taken up by the Adoption Board in good time. You can submit attachments to your application after sending the application.

Once the Adoption Board receives your application, it will be assigned to a referendary who will review your case and prepare a proposal for the Section of Adoption Permission Matters of the Adoption Board. The Section of Adoption Permission Matters meets in its limited formation and its full formation once a month to deal with adoption applications. The meeting dates are listed on our website. Applications are processed according to their urgency and in the order in which they are received. The overall processing time varies from one application to another, depending on its content, any requests for further information that have to be made and when such further information is received. We process all matters with due diligence and expediently.

The Adoption Board will send a certified copy of the permission decision and directions for appeal by mail to the address given by you on the application form. The original decision will be delivered to the adoption counsellor, to the adoption service provider or to yourself, depending on whether the matter concerns domestic adoption, intercountry adoption through a service provider or intercountry adoption without a service provider. You may inquire about the progress of your application by contacting the Adoption Board.