Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202 (2026)

Parental, or agency, consent required; exceptions

✓ current as of May 2026

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A. No petition for adoption shall be granted, except as hereinafter provided in this section, unless written consent to the proposed adoption is filed with the petition. Such consent shall be in writing, signed under oath and acknowledged before an officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments. The consent of a birth parent for the adoption of his child placed directly by the birth parent shall be executed as provided in § 63.2-1233, and the circuit court may accept a certified copy of an order entered pursuant to § 63.2-1233 in satisfaction of all requirements of this section, provided the order clearly evidences compliance with the applicable notice and consent requirements of § 63.2-1233.

B. A birth parent who has not reached the age of 18 shall have legal capacity to give consent to adoption and perform all acts related to adoption, and shall be as fully bound thereby as if the birth parent had attained the age of 18 years.

C. Consent shall be executed:

1. By the birth mother and by any man who:

a. Is an acknowledged father under § 20-49.1;

b. Is an adjudicated father under § 20-49.8;

c. Is a presumed father under subsection D; or

d. Has registered with the Virginia Birth Father Registry pursuant to Article 7 (§ 63.2-1249 et seq.).

Verification of compliance with the notice provisions of the Virginia Birth Father Registry shall be provided to the court.

2. By the child-placing agency or the local board having custody of the child, with right to place him for adoption, through court commitment or parental agreement as provided in § 63.2-900, 63.2-903, or 63.2-1221; or an agency outside the Commonwealth that is licensed or otherwise duly authorized to place children for adoption by virtue of the laws under which it operates; and

3. By the child if he is 14 years of age or older, unless the circuit court finds that the best interests of the child will be served by not requiring such consent.

D. A man shall be presumed to be the father of a child if:

1. He and the mother of the child are married to each other and the child is born during the marriage;

2. He and the mother of the child were married to each other and the child is born within 300 days of their date of separation, as evidenced by a written agreement or decree of separation, or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce; or

3. Before the birth of the child, he and the mother of the child married each other in apparent compliance with the law, even if the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born during the invalid marriage or within 300 days of their date of separation, as evidenced by a written agreement or decree of separation, or within 300 days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce.

Such presumption may be rebutted by sufficient evidence that would establish by a preponderance of the evidence the paternity of another man or the impossibility or improbability of cohabitation with the birth mother for a period of at least 300 days prior to the birth of the child.

E. No consent shall be required of a birth father if he denies under oath and in writing the paternity of the child. Such denial of paternity may be withdrawn no more than 10 days after it is executed. Once the child is 10 days old, any executed denial of paternity is final and constitutes a waiver of all rights with respect to the adoption of the child and cannot be withdrawn.

F. No consent shall be required of the birth father of a child when the birth father is convicted of a violation of subsection A of § 18.2-61, § 18.2-63, subsection B of § 18.2-366, or an equivalent offense of another state, the United States, or any foreign jurisdiction, or has been found by clear and convincing evidence to have engaged in the conduct prohibited by subsection A of § 18.2-61, § 18.2-63, or subsection B of § 18.2-366, whether or not the birth father has been charged with or convicted of the alleged violation, and the child was conceived as a result of such violation or conduct.

G. No notice or consent shall be required of any person whose parental rights have been terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction, including foreign courts that have competent jurisdiction. No notice or consent is required of any birth parent of a child for whom a guardianship order was granted when the child was approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for purposes of adoption.

H. No consent shall be required of a birth parent who, without just cause, has neither visited nor contacted the child for a period of six months immediately prior to the filing of the petition for adoption or the filing of a petition to accept consent to an adoption. The prospective adoptive parent(s) shall establish by clear and convincing evidence that the birth parent(s), without just cause, has neither visited nor contacted the child for a period of six months immediately prior to the filing of the petition for adoption or the filing of a petition to accept consent to an adoption. This provision shall not infringe upon the birth parent's right to be noticed and heard on the allegation of abandonment. For purposes of this section, the payment of child support, in the absence of other contact with the child, shall not be considered contact.

I. A birth father of the child may consent to the termination of all of his parental rights prior to the birth of the child.

J. The failure of the nonconsenting party to appear at any scheduled hearing, either in person or by counsel, after proper notice has been given to said party, shall constitute a waiver of any objection and right to consent to the adoption.

K. If a birth parent, legal guardian, or prospective adoptee, executing a consent, entrustment, or other documents related to the adoption, cannot provide the identification required pursuant to § 47.1-14, the birth parent, legal guardian, or prospective adoptee may execute a self-authenticating affidavit as to his identity subject to the penalties contained in § 63.2-1217.

L. A legal custodian of a child being placed for adoption, and any other named parties in pending cases in which the custody or visitation of such child is at issue, whether such case is in a circuit or district court, shall be entitled to proper notice of any adoption proceeding and an opportunity to be heard.

Code 1950, § 63-351; 1954, c. 489; 1956, c. 300; 1960, c. 331; 1962, c. 603; 1968, c. 578, § 63.1-225; 1972, cc. 73, 475, 823; 1974, c. 620; 1978, cc. 730, 735, 744; 1985, c. 18; 1986, c. 387; 1989, c. 647; 1993, c. 553; 1995, cc. 772, 826; 1999, c. 1028; 2000, c. 830, § 63.1-219.10; 2002, c. 747; 2005, c. 890; 2006, cc. 825, 848; 2007, cc. 606, 623; 2009, c. 805; 2011, c. 486; 2012, c. 424; 2017, c. 200; 2020, c. 3; 2025, c. 547.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 39 cases (13 in the last 5 years), 2008–2026 · leading case: Copeland v. Todd, 715 S.E.2d 11 (Va. 2011).

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Copeland v. Todd, 715 S.E.2d 11 (Va. 2011). · cites it 26× “" At the conclusion of the proceedings, the circuit court granted Copeland's petition for adoption, holding that Todd failed to maintain contact with the child for a period of six months prior to the filing of the petition as provided in Code § 63.2-1202(H) and, in the…”

Cathleen Nelson & William Nelson v. Middlesex Dept. of Soc. Servs. & John & Jane Doe, 820 S.E.2d 400 (Va. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 13× “Code § 63.2-1202 provides whose consent is required in adoption proceedings.”

Todd v. Copeland, 689 S.E.2d 784 (Va. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 22× “Interpretation of Code § 63.2-1202(11) Our analysis does not end with our determination that the trial court’s application of Code §§ 63.”

Jocelyn Lee Geouge v. Jason Barry Traylor, Dustin Griffith & Tiffany Vadella-Griffith, 808 S.E.2d 541 (Va. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 4× “was not a member or eligible for membership in any of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, but argued that this fact did not eliminate the possibility that Geouge or L.”

Rochelle Lee Eaton v. Washington Cnty. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 785 S.E.2d 231 (Va. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 4× “Todd was an appeal of an adoption ordered pursuant to Code § 63.2-1202(H). Id. at 187-92, 715 S.”

T.S.G. v. B.A.S., 665 S.E.2d 854 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 11× “Under the “[gjeneral [provisions” portion of Chapter 12 (Article 1), Code § 63.2-1202 addresses the requirements for the birth *591 parent’s consent to the proposed adoption, which requirements were met by the written and notarized consent mother provided to grandmother in this…”

Perkins v. Howington (Va. 2026). · cites it 104× “Code § 63.2-1202(A). One such exception to the parental consent requirement is found in Code § 63.”

Mandy Lynn Corbin v. Cody Charles Schrock (Va. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 65× “for more than six months prior to the petition for adoption; therefore, mother’s consent was not required to enter the final order of adoption under Code § 63.2-1202(H). On appeal, mother challenges (i) the constitutionality of Code § 63.”

Michael Stacy Graves, Jr. & Lisa Anne Graves v. Neil Edward Jones (Va. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 27× ““We thus conclude that had the legislature intended to exclude or modify [Code § 63.2-1202’s] applicability to [Code § 63.”

Lindsey Nicole Perkins v. Rebecca Lynn (Hicks) Howington (Va. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 26× “1 Mother argues that the circuit court erred in finding her consent to the adoption was not required under Code § 63.2-1202(H). She claims that her consent was necessary because father and stepmother failed to prove that mother, “without just cause,” had “neither visited nor…”

TSG v. Bas, 665 S.E.2d 854 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 11× “Under the "[g]eneral [p]rovisions" portion of Chapter 12 (Article 1), Code § 63.2-1202 addresses the requirements for the birth parent's consent to the proposed adoption, which requirements were met by the written and notarized consent mother provided to grandmother in this case.”

Alison Helena Moroney v. Kelly Lynn Majerus (Va. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 12× “” The circuit court further found by clear and convincing evidence pursuant to Code § 63.2-1202 that mother had “not visited nor contacted the minor child for a period of six months immediately preceding the filing” of the stepparent petition for adoption and that “it is in the…”

Show all 39 citing cases →

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(11) — 1 case

Todd v. Copeland, 689 S.E.2d 784 (Va. Ct. App. 2010). “Interpretation of Code § 63.2-1202(11) Our analysis does not end with our determination that the trial court’s application of Code §§ 63.”

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(A) — 8 cases

T.S.G. v. B.A.S., 665 S.E.2d 854 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). “Under the “[gjeneral [provisions” portion of Chapter 12 (Article 1), Code § 63.2-1202 addresses the requirements for the birth *591 parent’s consent to the proposed adoption, which requirements were met by the written and notarized consent mother provided to grandmother in this…”

TSG v. Bas, 665 S.E.2d 854 (Va. Ct. App. 2008). “Under the "[g]eneral [p]rovisions" portion of Chapter 12 (Article 1), Code § 63.2-1202 addresses the requirements for the birth parent's consent to the proposed adoption, which requirements were met by the written and notarized consent mother provided to grandmother in this case.”

Perkins v. Howington (Va. 2026). “Code § 63.2-1202(A). One such exception to the parental consent requirement is found in Code § 63.”

Barbara Anne Keen v. Gary Ricky Barnett & Annette Barnett (Va. Ct. App. 2017).

Tina Lynn Tolley v. Terry Lou Tolley (Va. Ct. App. 2018).

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(C) — 1 case

Orel Jordan Chollette v. Robert Keeling & Kristin Keeling (Va. Ct. App. 2015).

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(C)(2) — 1 case

Cathleen Nelson & William Nelson v. Middlesex Dept. of Soc. Servs. & John & Jane Doe, 820 S.E.2d 400 (Va. Ct. App. 2018). “Code § 63.2-1202 provides whose consent is required in adoption proceedings.”

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(D) — 1 case

Orel Jordan Chollette v. Robert Keeling & Kristin Keeling (Va. Ct. App. 2015).

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(E) — 3 cases

Jocelyn Lee Geouge v. Jason Barry Traylor, Dustin Griffith & Tiffany Vadella-Griffith, 808 S.E.2d 541 (Va. Ct. App. 2017). “was not a member or eligible for membership in any of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, but argued that this fact did not eliminate the possibility that Geouge or L.”

Jocelyn Lee Geouge v. Jason Barry Traylor, Dustin Griffith & Tiffany Vadella-Griffith (Va. Ct. App. 2017).

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(G) — 1 case

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(H) — 27 cases

Copeland v. Todd, 715 S.E.2d 11 (Va. 2011). “" At the conclusion of the proceedings, the circuit court granted Copeland's petition for adoption, holding that Todd failed to maintain contact with the child for a period of six months prior to the filing of the petition as provided in Code § 63.2-1202(H) and, in the…”

Rochelle Lee Eaton v. Washington Cnty. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 785 S.E.2d 231 (Va. Ct. App. 2016). “Todd was an appeal of an adoption ordered pursuant to Code § 63.2-1202(H). Id. at 187-92, 715 S.”

Perkins v. Howington (Va. 2026). “Code § 63.2-1202(A). One such exception to the parental consent requirement is found in Code § 63.”

Mandy Lynn Corbin v. Cody Charles Schrock (Va. Ct. App. 2025). “for more than six months prior to the petition for adoption; therefore, mother’s consent was not required to enter the final order of adoption under Code § 63.2-1202(H). On appeal, mother challenges (i) the constitutionality of Code § 63.”

— Va. Code Ann. § 63.2-1202(J) — 1 case

Victor Campos v. Charles Hinsch (Va. Ct. App. 2011).

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