Overview
Original Birth Certificates. Idaho is a Compromised State. The original birth record for Idaho-born adopted people is available through a state-operated “voluntary adoption registry.” Release of the original birth certificate through the registry is subject to redactions and the consent of one or both birth parents.
Court Records. Court adoption records are sealed by the court or if requested by the adoptive parents. The adopted person may petition the court to unseal the records, though the law is silent on what factors a court must consider in determining whether to allow an adopted person to inspect or request copies of the court’s records.
Identifying Information. Idaho adoption law and its regulations do not directly address whether or how an adult adopted person can obtain identifying information from an adoption agency, if at all. It is presumed that only the court or the adoption registry is available to obtain identifying information.
Descendant Rights. “Relatives” of a deceased adoptee may apply for information through the Idaho voluntary adoption registry, though restrictions on the release of information apply equally to the applicant. Idaho law defines a relative as the “individual’s spouse, birthparent, adoptive parent, sibling, or child who is eighteen (18) years of age or older.”
Adoption Registry. Idaho relies on a Voluntary Adoption Registry to facilitate contact and sharing of information between adopted people and birth family. It is a consent-based registry and does not allow for the release of the original birth record except for adoptions finalized on or after July 1, 2022.
Adult Adoption. While Idaho law provides for the adoption of adults, the law is limited. The adopting person must have “sustained the relation of parent to such adopted person” and must have done so for more than one year while the adoptee was a minor or for a lesser time period during which a “substantial family relationship” formed.
Idaho Law: Vital Records and Birth Certificates
Relevant parts of Idaho vital records law, which includes provisions for the adoption registry. The entire Idaho vital records statute is available here.
39-241. Definitions
For the purposes of this chapter and this chapter only, the following terms shall be construed to have the meanings hereinafter set forth:
(1) “Adoptive parent” means an adult who has become a parent of a child through the legal process of adoption.
(4) “Certified copy” means the reproduction of an original vital record by typewritten, photographic or electronic means. Such reproductions, when certified by the state registrar, shall be used as the original.
(5) “Consent” means a verified written statement which has been notarized.
(7) “Director” means the director of the department of health and welfare.
(9) “Identifying information” includes the following information:
(a) The name of the qualified adoptee before placement in adoption;
(b) The name and address of each qualified birthparent as it appears in birth records;
(c) The current name, address and telephone number of the qualified adult adoptee; and
(d) The current name, address and telephone number of each qualified birthparent.
(14) “Qualified adult adoptee” means an adopted person eighteen (18) years of age or older who was born in Idaho.
(15) “Qualified adult birth sibling” means a genetic, biological, or natural brother or sister or half-brother or half-sister, eighteen (18) years of age or older.
(16) “Qualified birthparent” means a genetic, biological, or natural parent whose rights were voluntarily or involuntarily terminated by a court or otherwise. “Birthparent” includes a man who is the parent of a child prior to the termination of parental rights.
(17) “Record” means the original certificate of an event and any replacement thereof filed for record by virtue of authority contained in this chapter, as well as instruments of any nature provided by this chapter as a means of effecting replacement of certificates.
(18) “Registrar” means the state registrar of vital statistics or a designated representative.
(19) “Relative” includes only an individual’s spouse, birthparent, adoptive parent, sibling, or child who is eighteen (18) years of age or older.
(22) “Voluntary adoption registry” or “registry” means a place where eligible persons, as described in section 39-259A, Idaho Code, may indicate their willingness to have their identity and whereabouts disclosed to each other under conditions specified in section 39-259A, Idaho Code.
39-258. Adoption of Persons Born in Idaho—New Birth Certificate Issued to Replace Original Certificate—Procedure—Adoption Proceedings Not Open to Inspection with Certain Exceptions—Duties of the Clerks of Courts Issuing Adoption Decrees—Duties of State Registrar of Vital Statistics
(1) Whenever a final decree of adoption, issued by an Idaho court, declares a person born in Idaho to be adopted by someone other than his or her natural parents, the court shall require the preparation of a report (denominated as a certificate in accordance with Idaho court rules) of adoption on a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar. The report shall include such facts as are necessary to locate and identify the certificate of birth of the person adopted; shall provide information necessary to establish a new certificate of birth for the person adopted; and shall identify the order of adoption and be certified by the clerk of the court.
(2) Information necessary to prepare the report of adoption shall be furnished by each petitioner for adoption or the petitioner’s attorney. The provision of such information shall be prerequisite to the issuance of a final decree in the matter of the court.
(3) The report of adoption shall, within fifteen (15) days after becoming final, be recorded by the clerk of the court with the bureau of vital records and health statistics in the state department of health and welfare.
(4) If a court of some other state issued a decree or report of adoption of a person actually born in Idaho, the certified copy or report may be similarly filed by the person involved or by the adoptive parents. Failure to file certified copies or reports of said decrees within said period of time, however, shall not bar issuance of a new birth certificate as hereinafter provided. This copy of said decree or report shall be filed with and remain a part of the records of the bureau of vital records and health statistics.
(5) Upon receipt by the bureau of vital records and health statistics of the certified report of adoption, a new certificate of birth shall be issued (but only in cases where such person’s birth is already recorded with the bureau of vital records and health statistics) bearing among other things the name of the person adopted, as shown in the report of adoption, except that a new certificate of birth shall not be established if so requested by the court decreeing the adoption, the adoptive parents, or the adopted person. No such birth certificate shall have reference to the adoption of said person. Such birth certificate shall supplant and constitute a replacement of any birth certificate previously issued for said person and shall be the only birth certificate open to public inspection.
Provided however, upon good cause shown and the affidavit of the adoptive parents that a diligent search has been made, but no certificate of birth for the adoptive child can be located, the magistrate judge may order the adoptive child examined, at the expense of the adoptive parents, by a doctor of medicine licensed by the state of Idaho. The examination will be conducted pursuant to rules promulgated by the state board of health and welfare for the purpose of determining those matters required for the issuance of an original birth certificate. Upon the examination of the doctor made pursuant to the rules of the state board of health and welfare, the court may order the bureau of vital records and health statistics to issue an original birth certificate for the adoptive child based upon those facts determined by the examination and included in the court’s order. In such case a certified copy of the court order shall be provided to the bureau of vital records and health statistics.
(6) In respect to form and nature of contents, such a new birth certificate shall be identical with a birth certificate issued to natural parents for the birth of a child, except that the adoptive parents shall be shown as parents and the adopted person shall have the name assigned by the decree of adoption as shown on the report of adoption. In a case where a single person adopts another person, any new birth certificate may designate the adopting parent as adoptive.
(7) Whenever an adoption decree is amended, annulled, or rescinded, the clerk of the court shall forward a certified copy of the amendment, annulment, or rescindment to the bureau of vital records and health statistics in accordance with the time provisions in subsection (3) of this section. Unless otherwise directed by the court, the bureau of vital records and health statistics shall amend the certificate of birth upon receipt of a certified copy of an amended decree of adoption. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a decree of annulment or rescindment of adoption, the original certificate of birth shall be restored to its place in the files and the new certificate and evidence shall not be subject to inspection except upon order of a court of record of this state.
(8) All records and information specified in this section, other than a new birth certificate issued hereunder, and all records, files, and information of any court in this state relating to adoption proceedings shall not be open to inspection except as provided in section 39-259A, Idaho Code, or upon the order of a court of record of this state; provided however, that the provisions of section 16-1616, Idaho Code, to the contrary notwithstanding, any magistrate judge may furnish a certified copy of a decree of adoption to any duly authorized agency of the United States or the state of Idaho without procuring any prior court order therefor.
(9) For adoptions that occur on or after July 1, 2022, the provision of this section shall apply, except that:
(a) The natural or adoptive parentage of each parent shall be demonstrated as determined by the registrar on the face of a new birth certificate described in subsection (6) of this section; and
(b) A copy of the original birth certificate, all medical and demographic information contained in the sealed file, and the report of adoption must be provided upon the signed request, on a form prescribed by the registrar, of the adoptee who is named on the birth certificate or such adoptee’s legal representative, provided that:
(i) The adoptee must be eighteen (18) years or older;
(ii) The documents referenced in this paragraph will be released to the adult adoptee upon completion of the voluntary adoption registration process. In the event of a match on the voluntary adoption registry, a minimum thirty (30) day waiting period will apply, during which time a registered birth parent may:
1. Indicate a preferred method of contact, which method will be communicated to the adoptee at the time the documents are released;
2. Request no contact, which request will be communicated to the adoptee at the time the documents are released; or
3. Request that the registered birth parent’s name be redacted before records are released, which request shall be effective for five (5) years. After the five (5) years have elapsed, the adoptee may again request documents according to this paragraph, and all provisions of this paragraph shall apply; and
(iii) The bureau of vital records and health statistics is not obligated to provide court records to the adoptee under the provisions of this paragraph.
39-259. Adoption of Persons Born in Foreign Countries
(1) When it appears from a final decree of adoption issued by an Idaho court that a person born in a foreign country has been adopted in Idaho by someone other than the person’s natural parents, the court shall require the preparation of a report (denominated as a certificate in accordance with Idaho court rules) of adoption on a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar. The report shall contain evidence from sources determined to be reliable by the court as to the true or probable date and place of birth and parentage of such person; shall provide information necessary to establish a new certificate of birth for the person adopted; and shall identify the order of adoption and be certified by the clerk of the court. Upon receipt by the state registrar of vital statistics of the report of adoption, the state registrar of vital statistics shall make and file a new birth certificate for the child when requested to do so by the court decreeing the adoption, the adoptive parents, or the adopted person. The new birth certificate shall show the true or probable foreign country (and city, town, village or other local designation, if known) of birth and the true or probable date of birth as established by the court and shown on the court report of adoption, the child’s new name and parentage as stated in the report of adoption, and any other necessary facts as required by the state registrar. This birth certificate shall not be evidence of United States citizenship. The form and content of the certificate of foreign birth shall be established by the director.
(2) All records and information specified in this section, other than a new birth certificate issued hereunder, and all records, files, and information of any court in this state relating to adoption proceedings, shall not be open to inspection except as provided in section 39-259A, Idaho Code, or upon the order of a court of record of this state; provided however, that the provisions of section 16-1616, Idaho Code, to the contrary notwithstanding, any probate court, or the judge thereof, may furnish a certified copy of a decree of adoption to any duly authorized agency of the United States or the state of Idaho without procuring any prior court order therefor.
(3) The report of adoption shall, within fifteen (15) days after becoming final, be recorded by the clerk of the court with the bureau of vital records and health statistics in the state department of health and welfare.
(4) Whenever an adoption decree is amended, annulled or rescinded, the clerk of the court shall forward a certified copy of the amendment, annulment or rescindment to the bureau of vital records and health statistics in accordance with the time provisions in subsection (3) of this section. Unless otherwise directed by the court, the bureau of vital records and health statistics shall amend the certificate of birth upon receipt of a certified copy of an amended decree of adoption. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a decree of annulment or rescindment of adoption, the Idaho birth certificate shall be removed from the file and along with the decree of annulment or rescindment shall be placed in the sealed file for that person. Such sealed file shall not be subject to inspection except upon order of a court of record of this state.
(5) For adoptions that occur on or after July 1, 2022, the provision of this section shall apply, except that:
(a) The natural or adoptive parentage of each parent shall be demonstrated as determined by the registrar on the face of a new birth certificate described in subsection (6) of this section; and
(b) A copy of the foreign birth certificate, if available, all medical and demographic information contained in the sealed file, and the report of adoption must be provided upon the signed request, on a form prescribed by the registrar, of the adoptee who is named on the birth certificate or such adoptee’s legal representative, provided that:
(i) The adoptee must be eighteen (18) years or older;
(ii) The documents referenced in this paragraph will be released to the adult adoptee upon completion of the voluntary adoption registration process. In the event of a match on the voluntary adoption registry, a minimum thirty (30) day waiting period will apply, during which time a registered birth parent may:
1. Indicate a preferred method of contact, which method will be communicated to the adoptee at the time the documents are released;
2. Request no contact, which request will be communicated to the adoptee at the time the documents are released; or
3. Request that the registered birth parent’s name be redacted before records are released, which request shall be effective for five (5) years. After the five (5) years have elapsed, the adoptee may again request documents according to this paragraph, and all provisions of this paragraph shall apply; and
(iii) The bureau of vital records and health statistics is not obligated to provide court records to the adoptee under the provisions of this paragraph.
39-259A. Voluntary Adoption Registry for Providing Limited Access to Birth Information of Adult Adoptees
(a) The state registrar of vital statistics shall establish and maintain a confidential list of qualified adult adoptees who have presented a consent regarding the release of identifying information about themselves. Any consent by a qualified adult adoptee shall be accompanied by the adoptee’s desired method of notification in the event that a match occurs; however, the state shall not incur costs of notification in excess of that part of the fee charged to the applicant for the purpose of notification. Any consent shall also indicate whether the qualified adult adoptee desires release of his identifying information if a match occurs after his death. The qualified adult adoptee may revise his consent with respect to change of address or method of notification. Any name and accompanying information shall be removed from the list upon the verified written request of the listed adoptee. The registrar shall maintain a closed record of such list and accompanying information, except as provided in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b) The state registrar of vital statistics shall establish and maintain a confidential list of qualified birth parents who have presented a consent regarding the release of identifying information about themselves. Any consent by a qualified birth parent shall be accompanied by the birth parent’s desired method of notification in the event that a match occurs; however, the state shall not incur costs of notification in excess of that part of the fee charged to the applicant for the purpose of notification. Any consent shall also indicate whether the qualified birthparent desires release of his identifying information if a match occurs after his death. The qualified birth parent may revise his consent with respect to change of address or method of notification. Any name and accompanying information shall be removed from the list upon the verified written request of the listed birth parent. The registrar shall maintain a closed record of such list and accompanying information, except as provided in accordance with the provisions of section 39-258(8) and 39-259(2), (3) and (4), Idaho Code. Any birth parent who, in terminating his parental rights, used an alias and this alias is listed in the original sealed birth certificate, may also file a consent with the registry. A birth parent shall not be matched with a qualified adult adoptee without the consent of the other birth parent unless:
(1) There is only one (1) birth parent listed on the birth certificate; or
(2) The other birth parent is deceased; or
(3) The other birth parent is unable to be located by the department of health and welfare or by a licensed child placement agency designated by the department of health and welfare, after a search, which shall consist, at a minimum, of a certified letter to the other birth parent at the last known address and a newspaper advertisement made in the county of the last known address; such search to be completed within ninety (90) days and the cost of said search to be fully funded and completed by the birth parent seeking a match; said search to be in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the department.
(c) The state registrar of vital statistics shall establish and maintain a confidential list of qualified adult birth siblings who have presented a consent regarding the release of identifying information about themselves. Any consent by a qualified birth sibling shall be accompanied by the birth sibling’s desired method of notification in the event that a match occurs; however, the state shall not incur costs of notification in excess of that part of the fee charged to the applicant for the purpose of notification. Any consent shall also indicate whether the qualified birth sibling desires release of his identifying information if a match occurs after his death. The qualified birth sibling may revise his consent with respect to change of address or method of notification. Any name and accompanying information shall be removed from the list upon the verified written request of the listed birth sibling. The registrar shall maintain a closed record of such list and accompanying information, except as provided in accordance with the provisions of sections 39-258(8) and 39-259(2), Idaho Code, and this section.
(d) The state registrar shall maintain a confidential list of relatives of deceased qualified adult adoptees and relatives of deceased qualified birth parents who have presented a consent regarding the release of identifying information about themselves. Any consent by such relative shall be accompanied by the person’s desired method of notification in the event that a match occurs; however, the state shall not incur costs of notification in excess of that part of the fee charged to the applicant for the purpose of notification. Such relative may revise his consent with respect to change of address or method of notification. Any name and accompanying information shall be removed from the list upon the verified written request of the listed relative. The state registrar shall maintain a closed record of such list and accompanying information, except as provided in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(e) The state registrar shall regularly review the lists provided for in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section and any other nonsealed administrative files or records within the office to determine if there is a match. If it appears that a match has occurred, then and only then is the registrar authorized to proceed to confirm the match through recourse to sealed documents on file in the office of the registrar. When a match is confirmed, the registrar shall notify each party, by its designated method only, prior to an exchange of identifying information. Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow any state or local governmental department, agency, or institution, or any employee thereof, to solicit any consent for the release of identifying information.
(f) When a match is made and both the adopted person and the birth parent or parents submit to the state registrar a notarized request for a copy of the original birth record of the adopted person, the state registrar shall issue such copy, marked “NOT FOR OFFICIAL USE” at the usual cost of certificate copies.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the registrar to issue a copy of the original birth certificate to any registrant, except as provided for in subsection (f) of this section.
(h) Except upon order of a court of record of this state and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information acquired by the registry shall not be disclosed under its public records law, sunshine or freedom of information legislation, rules, or practice.
(i) The initial fee to be charged each person requesting that his name be placed on the list provided for in subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section, and for the services provided by the registrar in establishing and implementing the registry pursuant to this section, shall be ten dollars ($10.00). Except for the cost of the search described in subsection (b)(3) of this section, the fee shall cover all direct and indirect costs incurred pursuant to this section. The state board of health and welfare shall annually review the fees and expenses incurred pursuant to this section and, as needed, adjust the fees charged to cover the expenses of administering the provisions of this section.
Idaho Law: Court Records
Relevant portion of Idaho’s adoption law related to court records. The entire Idaho adoption statute is available here.
16-1511. Sealing record of proceedings
Upon the motion of petitioners, or upon its own motion the court shall order that the record of its proceedings in any adoption proceeding shall be sealed. When such order has been made and entered the court shall seal such record and thereafter the seal shall not be broken except upon the motion of petitioners or the person adopted; provided, however, that such record may be sealed again as in this section provided.
Idaho Law: Adoption Generally, Including Adult Adoption
Relevant portion of Idaho’s general adoption law. The entire Idaho adoption statute is available here.
16-1501. Minors and Adults May Be Adopted
Any minor child may be adopted by any adult person residing in and having residence in Idaho, in the cases and subject to the rules prescribed in this chapter.
(1) Persons not minors may be adopted by a resident adult in cases where the person adopting has sustained the relation of parent to such adopted person:
(a) For a period in excess of one (1) year while the person was a minor; or
(b) For such period of time or in such manner that the court after investigation finds a substantial family relationship has been created.
(2) Adoptions shall not be denied solely on the basis of the disability of a prospective adoptive parent. As used in this chapter:
(a) “Adaptive equipment” means any piece of equipment or any item that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the parenting capabilities of a parent with a disability.
(b) “Disability” means, with respect to an individual, any mental or physical impairment which substantially limits one (1) or more major life activities of the individual including, but not limited to, self-care, manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning or working or a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. Disability shall not include transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, other sexual behavior disorders, or substance use disorders, compulsive gambling, kleptomania or pyromania. Sexual preference or orientation is not considered an impairment or disability. Whether an impairment substantially limits a major life activity shall be determined without consideration of the effect of corrective or mitigating measures used to reduce the effects of the impairment.
(c) “Supportive services” means services which assist a parent with a disability to compensate for those aspects of their disability which affect their ability to care for their child and which will enable them to discharge their parental responsibilities. The term includes specialized or adapted training, evaluations, or assistance with effective use of adaptive equipment, and accommodations which allow a parent with a disability to benefit from other services, such as Braille texts or sign language interpreters.
(3) If applicable, nothing in this chapter shall modify the requirements of the Indian child welfare act of 1978, 25 U.S.C. 1901, et seq.
16-1501A. Rights and Responsibilities of Parties in Adoption Proceedings
(1) The legislature finds that the rights and interests of all parties affected by an adoption proceeding must be considered and balanced in determining what constitutional protections and processes are necessary and appropriate.
(2) The legislature finds that:
(a) The state has a compelling interest in providing stable and permanent homes for adoptive children in a prompt manner, in preventing the disruption of adoptive placements, and in holding parents accountable for meeting the needs of children;
(b) An unmarried mother, faced with the responsibility of making crucial decisions about the future of a newborn child, is entitled to privacy, and has the right to make timely and appropriate decisions regarding her future and the future of the child, and is entitled to assurance regarding the permanence of an adoptive placement;
(c) Adoptive children have a right to permanence and stability in adoptive placements;
(d) Adoptive parents have a constitutionally protected liberty and privacy interest in retaining custody of an adopted child; and
(e) An unmarried biological father has an inchoate interest that acquires constitutional protection only when he demonstrates a timely and full commitment to the responsibilities of parenthood, both during pregnancy and upon the child’s birth. The state has a compelling interest in requiring unmarried biological fathers to demonstrate that commitment by providing appropriate medical care and financial support and by establishing legal paternity, in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
(3) (a) The legislature prescribes the conditions for determining whether an unmarried biological father’s action is sufficiently prompt and substantial to require constitutional protection pursuant to sections 16-1504 and 16-1513, Idaho Code.
(b) If an unmarried biological father fails to grasp the opportunities to establish a relationship with his child that are available to him, his biological parental interest may be lost entirely, or greatly diminished in constitutional significance by his failure to timely exercise it, or by his failure to strictly comply with the available legal steps to substantiate it.
(c) A certain degree of finality is necessary in order to facilitate the state’s compelling interest. The legislature finds that the interest of the state, the mother, the child, and the adoptive parents described in this section outweigh the interest of an unmarried biological father who does not timely grasp the opportunity to establish and demonstrate a relationship with his child in accordance with the requirements of this chapter.
(d) An unmarried biological father has the primary responsibility to protect his rights.
(e) An unmarried biological father is presumed to know that the child may be adopted without his consent unless he strictly complies with the provisions of this chapter, manifests a prompt and full commitment to his parental responsibilities, and establishes paternity.
(4) The legislature finds that an unmarried mother has a right of privacy with regard to her pregnancy and adoption plan, and therefore has no legal obligation to disclose the identity of an unmarried biological father prior to or during an adoption proceeding, and has no obligation to volunteer information to the court with respect to the father.
16-1501B. Right of Parent with Disability to Present Evidence and Information
If the prospective adoptive parent has a disability as defined in this chapter, the prospective adoptive parent shall have the right to provide evidence to the court regarding the manner in which the use of adaptive equipment or supportive services will enable the parent to carry out the responsibilities of parenting the child. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to create any new or additional obligation on state or local governments to purchase or provide adaptive equipment or supportive services for parents with disabilities.
16-1502. Restrictions as to Comparative Age
The person adopting a child must be at least fifteen (15) years older than the person adopted, or twenty-five (25) years of age or older, except such age restrictions or requirements shall not apply in cases where the adopting parent is a spouse of a natural parent, and except that such age restrictions or requirements shall not apply when the person adopting an adult shows to the satisfaction of the court that a substantial relationship as a parent has been maintained for a period in excess of one (1) year.
16-1512. Appeal from Order — Binding Effect of Adoption Order
(1) Any appeal from an order granting or refusing to grant an order of adoption shall be taken to the supreme court.
(2) After the order of adoption by the court becomes final, no party to an adoption proceeding, nor anyone claiming under such party, may later question the validity of the adoption proceedings by reason of any defect or irregularity therein, jurisdiction or otherwise, but shall be fully bound by the order, except for such appeal as may be allowed in subsection (1) of this section. In no event, for any reason, other than fraud on the part of the party adopting a child, shall an adoption be overturned by any court or collaterally attacked by any person or entity after six (6) months from the date the order of adoption becomes final. This provision is intended as a statute of repose.
16-1514. Petition for Adoption of Foreign Born Child
(1) Proceedings to adopt a foreign born child who has been allowed to enter the United States for the purpose of adoption shall be commenced by the filing of a petition under this section. A petition under this section shall be initiated by the person or persons proposing to adopt the child and shall be filed with the district court of the judicial district in which said person or persons reside. The petitioner shall have resided and maintained a dwelling within the state of Idaho for at least six (6) consecutive months prior to the filing of a petition. The petition shall set forth the following:
(a) The name and address of the petitioner or petitioners;
(b) The name of the child proposed to be adopted and the name by which he or she shall be known when adopted;
(c) The degree of relationship of the child, if any, to the petitioner or petitioners;
(d) The child’s country of origin, and date of birth, if known;
(e) That the child has been issued a visa or other document authorizing entry into the United States as an immigrant or for the purpose of adoption or for humanitarian reasons relating to adoption in the United States and the date of the person’s entry into the United States;
(f) That a home study of the petitioner or petitioners was prepared and the name of the person or agency performing the home study. A copy of the home study shall be attached to the petition;
(g) That, to the information and belief of the petitioners, the biological parents of the child to be adopted are residents of another country;
(h) That the adoption of such child is in the child’s best interests.
(2) At the time fixed for the hearing on a petition for adoption under this section, the person or persons adopting the child and the child to be adopted must appear before the court where the petition was filed. The judge shall examine the petitioner or petitioners at the hearing and, if satisfied that the proposed adoption is in the best interests of the child to be adopted, shall enter a decree of adoption. The petitioner or petitioners shall at such time execute an agreement to the effect that the child shall be adopted and treated in all respects as the petitioner’s own lawful child.
(3) This section governs the adoption of all foreign born children who have entered the United States to be adopted. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, no consent shall be required from the biological parents of the child to be adopted if the child has been granted permission by the United States department of state or United States department of homeland security to enter the United States for the purpose of adoption or for humanitarian reasons relating to adoption by United States citizens. A visa or other document from the United States department of state or United States department of homeland security authorizing entry into the United States for the purpose of adoption, or for humanitarian reasons relating to adoption by United States citizens, shall be deemed conclusive evidence of the termination of the parental rights of the biological parents and compliance with the laws of the country of the child’s birth. The provisions of chapter 20, title 16, Idaho Code, shall not apply to adoptions under this section.
(4) The decisions and orders of foreign courts and government agencies, authorized to approve adoptions, shall be accorded judicial comity or the same full faith and credit accorded a judgment of a sister state without additional proceedings or documentation, provided the United States department of state or United States department of homeland security has allowed the child to enter the United States as set forth in subsection (3) of this section.
16-1514A. International Adoption
(1) When an Idaho resident adopts a child in a foreign country in accordance with the laws of the foreign country, and such adoption is recognized as full and final by the United States government, such resident may file with a petition a copy of the decree, order or certificate of adoption which evidences finalization of the adoption in the foreign country, together with a certified translation thereof if it is not in English, and proof of full and final adoption from the United States government with the clerk of the court of any county in this state having jurisdiction over the person or persons filing such documents.
(2) The court shall assign a docket number and file and enter the documents referenced in subsection (1) of this section with an order recognizing the foreign adoption without the necessity of a hearing. Such order, along with the final decree, order or certificate from the foreign country shall have the same force and effect as if a final order of adoption were granted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
(3) When such order is filed and entered, the adoptive parents may request a report of adoption as provided in section 39-259, Idaho Code.
16-1515. Revocation of Adoption — Payment of Expenses of Adoptive Parents
(1) If a natural parent withdraws or revokes a consent to adoption and the court orders that the custody of the child be returned to the natural parent upon the petition of a natural parent, whether or not the order of adoption has been entered, the court shall order the natural parent who so petitioned to reimburse the adoptive or prospective adoptive parents for all adoption expenses including, but not limited to, all medical fees and costs and all legal fees and costs, and all other reasonable costs and expenses including, but not limited to, expenses for food and clothing incurred by the adoptive or prospective adoptive parents in connection with the care and maintenance of the child while the child was living with the adoptive or prospective adoptive parents. The court shall determine the amount of the reimbursement owing and shall enter the same as a money judgment in favor of the adoptive or prospective adoptive parents.
(2) If the natural parent agrees to consent to the adoption and the adoption proceedings have been initiated by the prospective adoptive parents in accordance with that agreement but the natural parent thereafter refuses to execute the consent to adoption, the prospective adoptive parents may file a motion for restitution in the adoption action and the court may order reimbursement as provided in subsection (1) of this section, or the prospective adoptive parents may file a suit independent of the adoption proceedings for damages which may include those items described in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) For purposes of this section, “prospective adoptive parents” shall include foster parents who have initiated adoption proceedings with respect to the child for whom foster care is being provided, but shall not include foster parents who are wholly or partially reimbursed by the state of Idaho for the care of the child.
