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Adoptions

A petition for adoption shall be filed in the county in which the person to be adopted was born, or in which, at the time of filing the petition, the petitioner or the person to be adopted or parent of the person to be adopted resides, or in which the petitioner is stationed in military service, or in which the agency having the permanent custody of the person to be adopted is located.

Due to the technical aspect of the legal process, the language, and the permanency of the outcomes, the Probate Court requires you have an attorney.

An independent adoption is an adoption that is arranged with a child-placing agency acting as placement agent. Independent adoptions are permitted in Ohio only where the criteria of ORC Section 5103.16(D) are met.

An Agency adoption concerns children placed with an agency for adoption, or who have been placed with an agency by a Juvenile Court.

Rules for a Step-parent adoption apply also to grandparents. Petitioners must be married for least one year.


Legal Holidays are per the Hardin County Handbook: New Years Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after, and Christmas Day.
**Note: If the above holiday falls on a Saturday, the Court will be closed the Friday before the holiday. If the holiday falls on a Sunday, the Court will be closed the Monday after the holiday.