Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 63.097 (2025)

Fees.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

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63.097 Fees.—

(1) When the adoption entity is an agency, fees may be assessed if such fees are approved by the department within the process of licensing the agency and if such fees are for:

(a) Foster care expenses.

(b) Preplacement and postplacement social services.

(2) The following fees, costs, and expenses may be assessed by the adoption entity or paid by the adoption entity on behalf of the prospective adoptive parents:

(a) Reasonable living expenses of the birth mother which the birth mother is unable to pay due to unemployment, underemployment, or disability. Reasonable living expenses are rent, utilities, basic telephone service, food, toiletries, necessary clothing, transportation, insurance, and expenses found by the court to be necessary for the health and well-being of the birth mother and the unborn child. Such expenses may be paid during the pregnancy and for a period of up to 6 weeks postpartum.

(b) Reasonable and necessary medical expenses. Such expenses may be paid during the pregnancy and for a period of up to 6 weeks postpartum.

(c) Expenses necessary to comply with the requirements of this chapter, including, but not limited to, service of process under s. 63.088, investigator fees, a diligent search under s. 63.088, a preliminary home study under s. 63.092, and a final home investigation under s. 63.125.

(d) Court filing expenses, court costs, and other litigation expenses and birth certificate and medical record expenses.

(e) Costs associated with advertising under s. 63.212(1)(g).

(f) The following professional fees:

1. A reasonable hourly fee or flat fee necessary to provide legal representation to the adoptive parents or adoption entity in a proceeding filed under this chapter.

2. A reasonable hourly fee or flat fee for contact with the parent related to the adoption. In determining a reasonable hourly fee under this subparagraph, the court must consider if the tasks done were clerical or of such a nature that the matter could have been handled by support staff at a lesser rate than the rate for legal representation charged under subparagraph 1. Such tasks include, but need not be limited to, transportation, transmitting funds, arranging appointments, and securing accommodations.

3. A reasonable hourly fee for counseling services provided to a parent or a prospective adoptive parent by a psychologist licensed under chapter 490 or a clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or mental health counselor licensed under chapter 491, or a counselor who is employed by an adoption entity accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Children and Families to provide pregnancy counseling and supportive services.

(3) The court must issue an order pursuant to s. 63.132(3) if the total of amounts permitted under subsection (2) exceeds:

(a) $5,000 in legal or other professional fees;

(b) $800 in court costs; or

(4) Any fees, costs, or expenses not included in subsection (2) require court approval and entry of an order pursuant to s. 63.132(3) before payment and must be based on a finding of extraordinary circumstances.

(5) The following fees, costs, and expenses are prohibited:

(a) Any fee or expense that constitutes payment for locating a minor for adoption.

(b) Any payment which is not itemized and documented on the affidavit filed under s. 63.132.

(c) Any fee on the affidavit which is not a fee of the adoption entity; is not supported by a receipt; does not specify the service that was provided and for which the fee is being charged, such as a fee for facilitation, acquisition, or other similar service; or which does not identify the date the service was provided, the time required to provide the service, the person or entity providing the service, and the hourly fee charged.

(6) Unless otherwise indicated in this section, when an adoption entity uses the services of a licensed child-placing agency, a professional, any other person or agency pursuant to s. 63.092, or, if necessary, the department, the person seeking to adopt the child must pay the licensed child-placing agency, professional, other person or agency, or the department an amount equal to the cost of all services performed, including, but not limited to, the cost of conducting the preliminary home study, counseling, and the final home investigation.

(7) Beginning January 1, 2025, an adoption entity shall report quarterly to the department information related to the age, race, ethnicity, sex, and county of birth of the adopted child and the county of residence of the adoptive family for each finalized adoption. The adoption entity shall also report for each finalized adoption the fees, costs, and expenses that were assessed by the adoption entity or paid by the adoption entity on behalf of the prospective adoptive parents, itemized by the categories enumerated in subsection (2), and any fees, costs, and expenses approved by the court under subsection (4). The confidentiality provisions of this chapter do not apply to the fees, costs, and expenses assessed or paid in connection with an adoption. In reporting the information required by this subsection to the department, the adoption entity shall redact any confidential identifying information concerning the child, the child’s biological parents, and the child’s adoptive parents. The department shall report quarterly on its website information for each adoption entity, including the actual fees, costs, and expenses of finalized adoptions. The department shall adopt rules to implement this subsection.

History.—s. 6, ch. 75-226; s. 1, ch. 77-174; s. 6, ch. 78-190; s. 2, ch. 84-101; s. 4, ch. 87-397; s. 1, ch. 90-55; s. 10, ch. 92-96; s. 20, ch. 2001-3; s. 21, ch. 2003-58; s. 11, ch. 2024-177.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 9 cases, 1986–2017 · leading case: In Re Adoption of a Minor Child, 593 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 1991).

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In Re Adoption of a Minor Child, 593 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 1991). · cites it 2× “[8] For instance, section 63.097, Florida Statutes (1987), regarding approval of fees to intermediaries, uses the words "attorney" and "intermediary" in the disjunctive, providing in part that "[a]ny fee, including intermediary or attorney fees over

Oklahoma Cnty. Pub. Def. v. Adoptive Parents & Birth Mother, 195 P.3d 377 (Okla. 2008). “Any services provided outside this state shall be allowed in an amount as if the services had been performed within the State of Oklahoma. . Administrative Order AD7-2006-21, In re.”

Amend. to Rules of App. Proc., Civ. Proc., 887 So. 2d 1090 (Fla. 2004). “; (B) notice of the hearing on the petition to terminate parental rights pending adoption is not being afforded a person whose consent is required but who has not consented; (C) there is an objection to venue, which was made after the waiver of venue was signed; (D) an…”

In Re: Amendments to the Florida Fam. Law Rules of Procedure—2017 Regular-cycle Report, 227 So. 3d 115 (Fla. 2017). “; (B) notice of the hearing on the petition to terminate parental rights pending adoption is not being afforded a person whose consent is required but who has not consented; (C) there is an objection to venue, which was made after the waiver of venue was signed; (D) an…”

Brod v. Matter of an Adoption, 522 So. 2d 973 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988). · cites it 3× “*976 Section 63.097 provided that "[a]ny fee, including those costs as set out in § 63.”

Home At Last Agency, Inc. v. J.L.C.-W, 98 So. 3d 699 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012). · cites it 7× “Section 63.097, Florida Statutes (2011), sets forth the fees permitted in an adoption proceeding and, in subsection (1), expressly places in DCF the authority to approve certain fees: (1) When the adoption entity is an agency, fees may be assessed if they are approved by the…”

In re Amendments to the Florida Fam. Law Rules of Procedure, 905 So. 2d 865 (Fla. 2005). “; (B) notice of the hearing on the petition to terminate parental rights pending adoption is not being afforded a person whose consent is required but who has not consented; (C) there is an objection to venue, which was made after the waiver of venue was signed; (D) an…”

Barnby v. An Adoption, 640 So. 2d 1244 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). · cites it 3× “As provided by section 63.097, Florida Statutes (1992), any fee over

In re Adoption of K.C. McG., 493 So. 2d 1139 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). · cites it 2× “We find, based on the record, that the trial court abused its discretion when it limited fees under section 63.097, Florida Statutes (1984), to no more than 0, regardless that a larger fee would be patently warranted and reasonable.”

— 63.097(1) — 1 case

Home At Last Agency, Inc. v. J.L.C.-W, 98 So. 3d 699 (Fla. 5th DCA 2012). “Section 63.097, Florida Statutes (2011), sets forth the fees permitted in an adoption proceeding and, in subsection (1), expressly places in DCF the authority to approve certain fees: (1) When the adoption entity is an agency, fees may be assessed if they are approved by the…”

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