Part 1Adoption
Chapter 3Placement for adoption and adoption orders
The making of adoption orders
I151 Adoption by one person
C11
An adoption order may be made on the application of one person who has attained the age of 21 years and is not married F1or a civil partner.
C12
An adoption order may be made on the application of one person who has attained the age of 21 years if the court is satisfied that the person is the partner of a parent of the person to be adopted.
C13
An adoption order may be made on the application of one person who has attained the age of 21 years and is married if the court is satisfied that—
a
the person’s spouse cannot be found,
b
the spouses have separated and are living apart, and the separation is likely to be permanent, or
c
the person’s spouse is by reason of ill-health, whether physical or mental, incapable of making an application for an adoption order.
F23A
An adoption order may be made on the application of one person who has attained the age of 21 years and is a civil partner if the court is satisfied that—
a
the person’s civil partner cannot be found,
b
the civil partners have separated and are living apart, and the separation is likely to be permanent, or
c
the person’s civil partner is by reason of ill-health, whether physical or mental, incapable of making an application for an adoption order.
C14
An adoption order may not be made on an application under this section by the mother or the father of the person to be adopted unless the court is satisfied that—
a
the other natural parent is dead or cannot be found,
F3b
by virtue of the provisions specified in subsection (5), there is no other parent, or
c
there is some other reason justifying the child’s being adopted by the applicant alone,
and, where the court makes an adoption order on such an application, the court must record that it is satisfied as to the fact mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) or, in the case of paragraph (c), record the reason.
F45
The provisions referred to in subsection (4)(b) 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).