Adoption Process in Malaysia: How to Adopt a Child Step by Step

Which adoption route applies to your family?

The route depends mainly on religion and on how long the child has already lived with you. Non-Muslim families usually apply to court under Act 257. Muslim families, and non-Muslims who prefer an administrative route, can register a de facto adoption with JPN under Act 253 after two years of care.

Both Acts apply only where the applicants and the child are ordinarily resident in Peninsular Malaysia; Sabah and Sarawak have their own adoption laws. The Adoption (Amendment) Bill 2026, tabled for first reading on 15 October 2026, proposes lowering the Act 257 age limit from 21 to 18.

What do JKM and the court each do?

The court decides whether to make the adoption order. JKM supports the court: it receives your notice, and one of its officers usually investigates and reports on the child.

• At least three months before the order, you must tell a JKM officer in the state where you live, in writing, that you intend to apply (section 4(4)(b) of Act 257).
• Once the application is filed, the court must appoint a guardian ad litem to protect the child's interests (section 12). In practice this is usually a social welfare officer.
• The guardian ad litem checks whether the facts in the application are true, whether any payment has changed hands and whether you can maintain and bring up the child (section 13).
• The court must be satisfied that the consents have been given or dispensed with, that the order is for the child's welfare and that no unsanctioned payment was made (section 6).
• Hearings are held in camera, meaning in private, and the court documents are confidential (section 10(2)).

JKM also places children from its own care. Families apply to their district JKM office, are assessed and wait for a match, and the child is usually placed with them first as a foster child before they apply to adopt.

What are the steps, and how long does the court route take?

Malaysian practitioners often estimate six to nine months from filing for an uncontested court adoption, and longer if consent is disputed or the court makes an interim order.

1. The child comes into your care. If you received the child privately, for example from the birth parents, both you and the person who handed the child over must notify a Protector, who is a social welfare officer, within one week (section 35 of the Child Act 2001 (Act 611)).
2. You give JKM written notice of your intention to apply. The notice period and the three months of care both run up to the date of the order, so they usually run together.
3. You file the application in duplicate on the prescribed form, with the written consents (section 11).
4. The court appoints the guardian ad litem, fixes a hearing date and serves notice on the respondents, who include the child and each parent or guardian (section 12).
5. The guardian ad litem investigates and reports. The final hearing is often about three months after the first.
6. The court makes the order, refuses it, or makes an interim order giving you custody for a probationary period of six months to two years (section 17).
7. Within seven days, the court sends the order to the Registrar General at JPN (section 24), who issues the new birth certificate once the original is surrendered and the fee paid.

What documents should you prepare, and what should you avoid?

Start with documents that prove who the child is, who you are and that the right people consent.

• The child's birth certificate, and MyKid if one has been issued.
• The applicants' identity cards or passports, and your marriage certificate for a joint application.
• Written consent from each parent or guardian in the prescribed form. If the court excuses a parent from attending, a consent verified by declaration before a Magistrate or Commissioner for Oaths counts as evidence of consent (section 14(3)).
• A copy of your written notice to JKM.
• Evidence that the child lives with you and of your income, because the guardian ad litem reports on whether you can maintain the child.
• Where a consent is missing, evidence of why, such as a death certificate or records of efforts to trace the parent.

Avoid shortcuts. Publishing an advertisement that you want to adopt, that a parent wants a child adopted, or that anyone other than the Director General of Social Welfare will arrange an adoption is an offence (section 26 of Act 257). Taking part in a transaction to transfer a child for money or other valuable consideration can be an offence under section 48 of the Child Act 2001. Registering a child as your own biological child is not an adoption and can cause serious problems with the child's documents later.

What does an adoption order change?

An adoption order permanently transfers parenthood. The birth parents' or guardians' rights, duties and liabilities for the child's future custody, maintenance and education end and pass to the adopters, as if the child had been born to them in lawful wedlock (section 9(1)).

• If anyone dies without a will after the order, the child inherits as the adopters' child and not as anyone else's (section 9(2)). The Distribution Act 1958 (Act 300) counts a child adopted under Act 257 as a child.
• The adopters, the child and the adopters' other children are treated as within the prohibited degrees for marriage (section 9(7)).
• The order can give the child a new name or surname (section 25(3)(b)), and the new birth certificate replaces the old one without using the word "adopted" (section 25A).
• The Act has no procedure for cancelling an adoption order, so treat it as permanent.

An adoption order does not by itself decide the child's citizenship, which is governed by the Federal Constitution. In CCH & Anor v Pendaftar Besar bagi Kelahiran dan Kematian, Malaysia (Federal Court, 19 November 2021), a boy adopted by a Malaysian couple had been recorded as a non-citizen after his adoption order. The court declared him a citizen under the constitutional rules for abandoned newborns, not because of the adoption. If the child's status is unclear, take advice before you apply.

How does adoption work for Muslim families?

Muslim families cannot use the Adoption Act 1952. They can register a de facto adoption with JPN under Act 253 once the child, who must be under 18 and never married, has been cared for by them as their own for at least two continuous years (section 6).

The family applies at the JPN office where it lives, and in practice JPN may ask JKM to interview the family. JPN then issues a certificate of adoption. Registration does not carry the legal effects that section 9 of Act 257 gives an adoption order.

Islamic law, as explained by the Federal Territories Mufti's office, permits a family to raise an adopted child, but:

• the child is not named "bin" or "binti" the adoptive father and keeps his or her own lineage (nasab);
• adoption alone does not make the child a mahram of the adoptive family; and
• the child does not inherit from the adoptive parents under faraid.

Adoptive parents can still provide for the child by a gift (hibah) during their lifetime, or by a bequest (wasiat), which for a non-heir is generally limited to one-third of the estate unless the heirs agree. Non-Muslim families who use JPN registration should also make a will, because the Distribution Act 1958 does not count a registered adoption. Our family law team advises on both routes after reviewing the documents.