Direct adoption in the Czech Republic: possibilities, risks and legal framework

Quick overview

Direct adoption is not a separate legal institution, but a practical term for the adoption of a child by a specific person or couple without traditional mediation. The key point is that parental consent to adoption must be given in a legal manner, the mother no earlier than six weeks after the birth, and the adoption is always decided by the court. As a rule, the child is first placed in pre-adoptive care and only then does the court decide on the adoption itself. In particular, financially motivated agreements, trafficking of the child or circumventing the rules through false recognition of paternity are illegal.

What is meant by direct adoption today

In common parlance, direct adoption refers to situations where the birth mother and possibly the father want a particular person or couple to adopt the child. Unlike traditional mediation, this does not involve the inclusion of the child and the applicants in the registration and matching system through the regional authority and the OSPOD. However, the Czech legal order does not recognise the term “direct adoption”. From a legal point of view, it is still an adoption under the Civil Code, with the only difference that it is not a standard mediation of adoption under the Act on Social and Legal Protection of Children.

In practice, the main point is this: even if the birth parents and the prospective adoptive parents know each other, the child cannot be “handed over” by private agreement alone. Without a court decision on custody before adoption and without a subsequent adoption decision, this is not a legally safe solution. In our practice, this is where the first mistake often arises: people think that the consent of the parents is enough and everything is done. It isn’t.

How does a direct adoption have to take place to be legal

The basic prerequisite is the consent of the birth parents to the adoption. In the case of the mother, this consent can be given no earlier than six weeks after the birth. In the case of the father, it is possible earlier, usually after the birth of the child. The consent must be free, serious and given in a lawful manner before a court. In addition, the law provides that consent may be revoked within three months of the date on which it was given; after that time, it may be revoked only if the child has not yet been placed in care before adoption.

Thereafter, the court may , on the application of the prospective adoptive parent, decide to transfer the child to pre-adoptive care. As a rule, this does not take place until three months have elapsed since the parents’ consent. The pre-adoption care must then last long enough to verify that a genuine parental relationship is established between the child and the adoptive parent; in practice, at least six months of care at the adoptive parent’s expense is envisaged. Only then does the court decide on the adoption itself.

The OSPOD intervenes as a body protecting the interests of the child. It is therefore not just a formality. Both the court and the OSPOD examine whether the proposed solution is indeed in the best interests of the child and whether suspicious or coercive behaviour is present.

Where the greatest risks are in practice

The biggest legal problem does not arise from the mere fact that the birth mother wants the child to be raised by a particular family. The risk is only in how this is to be achieved. The law comes down very hard on situations where a child is entrusted for a fee or where the whole process effectively turns into a business. The offence of entrusting a child to the care of another under section 169 of the Criminal Code carries a basic penalty of up to three years. For trafficking in human beings, the rates are even significantly higher.

Internet advertisements such as “we are looking for parents for our child” or “I will help arrange an adoption” are also over the line. The wording alone may not automatically constitute a criminal offence, but once there is a financial reward, intermediaries or pressure for a quick formal solution in the background, the situation is very dangerous. Similarly risky is the sham establishment of paternity, where the prospective adoptive father has himself registered as the father of the child and then his partner is to adopt the child. Such a procedure can legally break the whole thing years later.

In practice, we often see another risk: prospective adoptive parents invest emotions and money in a situation that is not yet legally certain. If the birth mother changes her mind or a dispute over paternity arises, the whole plan can fall apart.

Direct adoption is not the same as surrogacy

These two situations are often conflated in debates, but legally they are not the same. In surrogacy, another woman gives birth to the child with the intention that the intended parents will take it over. Czech law does not regulate surrogacy in detail, even in 2026, but neither does it explicitly prohibit it. There is therefore little legal certainty. The mother of the child is always the woman who gave birth to the child, regardless of genetic origin. This means that the transfer of the child to the intended parents cannot be “contractually enforced” in advance, as people sometimes imagine.

In Czech practice, then, the relationship of the intended parents to the child is usually settled afterwards, typically through the establishment of paternity and adoption of the child by the parent’s partner. Here again, however, any financial remuneration beyond the reasonable costs of pregnancy and childbirth is very risky and may be considered criminally.

When it makes sense to contact a lawyer

Legal advice is almost always appropriate in a direct adoption. Not because it is “extra paperwork”, but because a mistake at the beginning can make the whole process unworkable. An attorney can help check whether the chosen route is even legal, prepare motions to the court and identify risks that those involved are often unaware of.

The most common mistake is trying to resolve everything quickly and in private so as not to “complicate things unnecessarily”. But this is often where people cause themselves the most complications. For a child, legal certainty is more important than speed.

Summary

Direct adoption is a possible but legally sensitive solution in the Czech environment. It is not prohibited in itself if it means adoption by a specific adoptive parent in compliance with all the rules of the Civil Code and under the control of the court. The safe route is through the legal consent of the parents, pre-adoption care and the subsequent court decision on the adoption. In contrast, private arrangements for money, advertising, intermediaries and sham paternity determinations are high-risk. In the case of surrogacy, the legal uncertainty is even greater because Czech law does not regulate this institution in detail.