Adoption (Amendment) Bill 2026 Malaysia: What the Bill Proposes

What is the Adoption (Amendment) Bill 2026?

It is a government bill to amend the Adoption Act 1952 (Act 257), the law under which non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia adopt a child by court order. It was tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on 15 October 2026 and was published on Parliament's website the same day, according to Bernama.

A first reading only introduces a bill. It is not debated or voted on at that stage. The Deputy Home Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, said the second and third readings are scheduled for the current meeting of the Dewan Rakyat, which The Edge reports ends on 8 December 2026.

• The bill was reported by Bernama, The Edge, The Vibes and RTM on 15 October 2026.
• All four reports focus on one change: the age limit in the definition of "child".
• Bernama describes this as one of the changes in the bill, so the full bill text should be checked for any smaller amendments before relying on this summary.

Until the bill is passed by both Houses, receives Royal Assent and comes into force, the Adoption Act 1952 continues to apply exactly as it stands. Courts will keep deciding applications under the current definition in the meantime.

What exactly does the bill propose?

The bill proposes to lower the age limit in the definition of "child" in section 2 of Act 257 from 21 to 18. The definition matters because the court can make an adoption order only in respect of a "child".

In practical terms, the court route would close three years earlier. Non-Muslims aged 18, 19 or 20 would no longer be eligible for adoption under the Act, as The Edge put it.

The bill does not, as reported, change the rules on who may adopt. The applicant age rules in section 4(1), for example that an applicant must generally be at least 25 and at least 21 years older than the child, are a separate provision. The reports do not mention transitional provisions for applications already filed, or a commencement date. Our guide on who can adopt in Malaysia explains the current eligibility rules.

Why does the government want the change?

According to the bill as reported, the change aligns the adoption age limit with four other age rules in Malaysian law.

1. The age limit for citizenship by registration under the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2025 (Act A1752), which lowered the limit for applications under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution to under 18. Government statements say Article 15A applications are accepted only for children under 18 from 1 June 2026.
2. The voting age of 18 under the Federal Constitution.
3. The definition of a child under the Child Act 2001 (Act 611), which is a person under 18.
4. The age of majority under the Age of Majority Act 1971 (Act 21).

The citizenship link is the most practical one. Adoption does not by itself give a child Malaysian citizenship, and adoptive parents of a non-citizen child often need to apply for the child's registration as a citizen under Article 15A. With the Article 15A limit now reported to be under 18, an adoption order for a 19 or 20 year old could no longer be followed by a registration application under that article.

The change would also bring Act 257 into line with the Registration of Adoptions Act 1952 (Act 253), which already limits JPN registration to a child under 18 who has never married (section 6). Both adoption routes in Peninsular Malaysia would then use the same age.

Who would be affected if the bill becomes law?

The people most affected are young adults aged 18 to 20 whom a non-Muslim family wants to adopt by court order. Children under 18 are not affected by the age change.

Typical families affected include a step-parent who wants to adopt a spouse's child who is already 18, relatives who raised a nephew or niece and only now want to formalise it, and foster families whose foster child is about to turn 18. In each case, the new limit would remove the option of an adoption order after the 18th birthday.

Timing matters because an application to court takes months. The child must have lived with the applicants for at least three consecutive months, and JKM must have had three months' written notice, before an order can be made (section 4(4)). If your child is 17 or older, see our guides on the adoption process and stepchild adoption, and take advice promptly.

What stays the same?

Based on the reported contents, almost everything else in Malaysian adoption law stays the same. The bill targets one definition, not the structure of the Act.

• Act 257 still applies only to non-Muslims, and not to a Muslim adopter or a Muslim child (section 31).
• Muslim families continue to use JPN registration under Act 253, which already applies to a child under 18. Under Islamic law the adopted child still keeps his or her own lineage (nasab).
• The applicants and the child must still be ordinarily resident in Peninsular Malaysia (section 4(3)). Sabah and Sarawak keep their own adoption laws.
• The consents of parents and guardians, and the grounds on which the court can dispense with them, stay in section 5.
• The court must still be satisfied that the order is for the child's welfare and that no unsanctioned payment was made (section 6).
• An adoption order still transfers parental rights and duties to the adopters and leads to a new birth certificate (sections 9 and 25A).
• Advertising to adopt or to place a child is still an offence (section 26).

These points should be checked against the final text of the bill and of the amending Act, because amendments can be made during debate.

What happens next, and what should families do now?

The bill must pass several more stages before it changes anything. Until it comes into force, file and argue applications under the current Act.

1. Second reading in the Dewan Rakyat, when the principles of the bill are debated and voted on.
2. Committee stage, when the bill is considered clause by clause and can be amended.
3. Third reading and passage in the Dewan Rakyat.
4. The same process in the Dewan Negara.
5. Royal Assent. Under Article 66 of the Federal Constitution, a bill that is not assented to within 30 days becomes law as if it had been assented to.
6. Publication in the Gazette and commencement, on the date the Act states or a date appointed by notification.

If you are planning to adopt someone who is 17 or older, the practical steps are to give JKM written notice now, gather the birth certificate, identity cards, consents and evidence of care, and get advice on timing and on any transitional provisions in the final Act. If the child is not a Malaysian citizen, plan for the citizenship application at the same time, because of the under-18 limit for Article 15A. Our family law team advises after reviewing your documents at a consultation.