- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes to legislation:
Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, Section 30 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 28 April 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 14(3A) inserted by 2020 asp 16 s. 30(5)
- s. 14(4A)-(4C) inserted by 2020 asp 16 s. 2(2)(c)
- s. 84(5A)(5B) inserted by 2020 asp 16 s. 2(3)(c)
30Adoption by one personS
This section has no associated Explanatory Notes
(1)An adoption order may be made on the application of a person (“A”) if—
(a)A is aged 21 or over,
(b)subsection (2), (3), (4) or (5) applies,
(c)one of the conditions in subsection (6) is met, and
(d)where A is a natural parent of the child to be adopted, subsection (7) applies.
(2)This subsection applies if A is not a member of a relevant couple.
(3)This subsection applies if—
(a)A and another person (“B”) are a relevant couple,
(b)B is aged 18 or over,
(c)B is a parent of the child to be adopted, and
(d)B—
(i)is domiciled in a part of the British Islands, or
(ii)has been habitually resident in a part of the British Islands for a period of at least one year ending with the date of the application.
(4)This subsection applies if—
(a)A and B are—
(i)married to each other, or
(ii)civil partners of each other,
(b)B is not a parent of the child to be adopted, and
(c)the court is satisfied that—
(i)B cannot be found,
(ii)A and B have separated and are living apart and the separation is likely to be permanent, or
(iii)B is by reason of ill-health (whether physical or mental) incapable of making an application for an adoption order.
(5)This subsection applies if—
(a)A and B are a relevant couple by virtue of being members of a couple falling within paragraph (c) or (d) of subsection (3) of section 29,
(b)B is not a parent of the child to be adopted, and
(c)the court is satisfied that B is by reason of ill-health (whether physical or mental) incapable of making an application for an adoption order.
(6)Those conditions are—
(a)that A is domiciled in a part of the British Islands,
(b)that A has been habitually resident in a part of the British Islands for a period of at least one year ending with the date of the application.
(7)This subsection applies if the court is satisfied that—
(a)the other natural parent is dead,
(b)the other natural parent cannot be found,
[F1(c)by virtue of the provisions specified in subsection (7A), there is no other parent, or]
(d)the exclusion of the other natural parent from the application for adoption is justified on some other ground.
[F2(7A)The provisions referred to in subsection (7)(c) are—
(a)section 28 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 (disregarding subsections (5A) to (5I) of that section), or
(b)sections 34 to 47 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (disregarding sections 39, 40 and 46 of that Act).]
(8)In subsections (3)(c), (4)(b) and (5)(b), “parent” has the meaning given by section 29(4).
Textual Amendments
F1S. 30(7)(c) substituted (6.4.2009 for specified purposes, 1.9.2009 in so far as not already in force) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), s. 68(2), Sch. 6 para. 56(2); S.I. 2009/479, art. 6(1)(e)(2) (with art. 7, Sch.)
F2S. 30(7A) inserted (6.4.2009 for specified purposes, 1.9.2009 in so far as not already in force) by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (c. 22), s. 68(2), Sch. 6 para. 56(3); S.I. 2009/479, art. 6(1)(e)(2) (with art. 7, Sch.)
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Pt. 1 Ch. 2 applied in part (28.9.2009) by Adoptions with a Foreign Element (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (S.S.I. 2009/182), regs. 1(1), 9(1)
C2S. 30 applied (with modifications) (28.9.2009) by Adoptions with a Foreign Element (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (S.S.I. 2009/182), regs. 1(1), 9(2)(c)
Commencement Information
I1S. 30 in force at 28.9.2009 by S.S.I. 2009/267, arts. 1(2), 2 (with arts. 3-21) (as amended (7.5.2012) by S.S.I. 2012/99, art. 2)
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Chapter
PrintThe Whole Cross Heading
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
Explanatory Notes
Text created by the Scottish Government to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Acts of the Scottish Parliament except those which result from Budget Bills.
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.