Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-119 (2026)

Final order of adoption - When entered

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaTenn. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) Unless the child is related to the petitioners, a final order of adoption shall not be entered before the home study has been filed with the court and before the petition has been on file at least six (6) months and before a final court report is filed with the court, except when the order is based upon a petition for re-adoption pursuant to § 36-1-106; however, the court, considering the petition as a whole, may deem it in the best interest of the child to reduce the waiting period to three (3) months.

(b) If the child is related to the petitioners, the court may, in its discretion, waive the six-month waiting period, the orders of reference, the preliminary home study and home study, the order of guardianship or custody, and the final court report and may proceed to immediately grant an order of adoption.

(c)
- (1) If the child has already resided in the home of the petitioners for three (3) months, the court has received the final court report concerning the circumstances of the child and the petitioners, and is satisfied that the adoption will be in the best interest of the child, the court may waive the six-month waiting period after the filing of the adoption petition and may enter an order of adoption.
- (2) If the child was voluntarily left at a facility or in a newborn safety device pursuant to § 68-11-255, the child has resided in the home of the petitioners for at least three (3) months, and the court has received the final court report concerning the circumstances of the child and the petitioners and is satisfied that the adoption will be in the best interest of the child, then the court may waive the six-month waiting period after the filing of the adoption petition and may enter an order of adoption.

(d) If no appeal has been taken from any order of the court, the court must complete or dismiss the adoption proceeding by entering a final order within one (1) year of the filing of the petition, unless the petitioner shows good cause why such final order should not be entered.

(e) If an appeal is taken from an order of the court, the proceeding must be completed by the court by entering a final order of adoption or a final order dismissing the proceeding within nine (9) months from the final judgment upon appeal, except for good cause shown by the petitioner.

Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 293, s 1, eff. 7/1/2023.

Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 187, s 8, eff. 7/1/2023.

Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 187, s 7, eff. 7/1/2023.

Acts 1951, ch. 202, § 21 (Williams, § 9572.35); Acts 1955, ch. 320, § 4; 1959, ch. 223, § 9; 1961, ch. 150, § 5; impl. am. Acts 1975, ch. 219, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 36-124; Acts 1989, ch. 229, § 1; 1992, ch. 994, § 1; T.C.A., § 36-1-124; Acts 1995, ch. 532, § 1; 1996, ch. 1054, § 57; 2006, ch. 890, § 3.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1989–2022 · leading case: Johnson ex rel. Johnson v. Wilbourn, 781 S.W.2d 857 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1989).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Johnson ex rel. Johnson v. Wilbourn, 781 S.W.2d 857 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1989). “Section 36-l-124(d) provides in part that the court handling the adoption may waive the granting of the interlocutory decree (provided for in § 36-1-119). The court may grant a final order of adoption after the child has resided in the home of the adoptive parents for a period…”

In Re: Adoption of AMH, a minor Jerry L. Baker & wife, Louise K. Baker v. Shao-Qiang (Jack) He & wife, Qin (Casey) Luo (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 12× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-119 (d) (2003) (emphasis added).”

In Re Halley M. (2017). · cites it 7× “(“Petitioners”) appeal the May 26, 2015 order of the Circuit Court for Sumner County (“the Trial Court”) dismissing their Petition for Adoption and Termination of Parental Rights (“the Petition”) based upon Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-119 . We find and hold that Petitioners have…”

In Re: The Adoption of Jeffrey T. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 6× “Second, the Sheltons requested in their petition that “[t]he six months waiting period, order of reference, preliminary home study, home study, the order of guardianship -8- or custody, supervision, and the final report to the court be waived …” pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. §…”

In Re Ljc, 124 S.W.3d 609 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 2× “DCS further alleged that termination of parental rights was in the best interest of the children under T.C.A. § 36-1-119(i)(1-9). The petition stated: [T]he Respondents .”

In Re Joshua M. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2022). “§ 36-1-119 (a) and (b). 10. That it is in the best interests of the minor children for [Mother’s] parental rights to be terminated.”

In Re Devon W. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2010). “on: That due to the previous foster parent relationship and the fact that the Minor Children resided with the Intervenor, Laurie Martin-Matera for over two (2) years, that the six-month waiting period, order of reference, preliminary home study, order of guardianship or custody,…”

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-119(a) — 1 case

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-119(d) — 1 case

In Re: Adoption of AMH, a minor Jerry L. Baker & wife, Louise K. Baker v. Shao-Qiang (Jack) He & wife, Qin (Casey) Luo (Tenn. Ct. App. 2005). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-119 (d) (2003) (emphasis added).”

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-119(g)(9)(A) — 1 case

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-119(i) — 1 case

In Re Ljc, 124 S.W.3d 609 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003). “DCS further alleged that termination of parental rights was in the best interest of the children under T.C.A. § 36-1-119(i)(1-9). The petition stated: [T]he Respondents .”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.