AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 3, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 23, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

95

Introduced by Senator Choi

(Coauthors: Senators Alvarado-Gil, Arreguín, Becker, Cabaldon, Dahle, Grove, Jones, McNerney, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto, Strickland, Umberg, and Valladares)

January 29, 2026

An act to amend Section 8919 of the Family Code, relating to adoption.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

In order to establish a record by which an adoptee can prove the facts of a foreign adoption, existing law requires a state resident who has finalized an intercountry adoption in a foreign country to file a petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptee’s entry into the United States or the adoptee’s 16th birthday. If the adoptive parent fails to file the petition within the prescribed timeframe or to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided adoption services to the adoptive parent, existing law requires the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption to file the petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States and to provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent and any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent, as specified. Existing law requires the petition to include, among other things, a report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the state. Existing law requires the clerk of the court to submit an order granting the petition to the State Registrar, as specified, and requires the State Registrar to issue a delayed registration of birth upon receipt of the order.

This bill would authorize an adoptee of any age to file a petition on their own behalf if both the adoptive parent or parents and the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file a petition to readopt pursuant to the above-described provisions. The bill would, notwithstanding the documentation requirements described above, authorize a court to grant a petition for readoption that does not include those documents if (1) the petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are the adoptee, (2) the petitioner proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more of the required documents cannot be obtained due to the passage of time or other circumstances beyond the petitioner’s control, and (3) the petitioner is able to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition. The bill would authorize evidence presented to the court for these purposes to include both documentary and nondocumentary evidence, including, among other things, testimony, declarations, court records, agency records, correspondence, and other corroborating sources of information the court deems sufficient.

Existing law requires the court to notify all appropriate authorities if it finds that the child may be a subject of human trafficking or may be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court as a dependent child, as specified.

This bill would also expand the notice requirements described above to include any adoptee who may be, or may have been, a subject of human trafficking.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 8919 of the Family Code is amended to read:

8919.

(a) In order to establish a record by which an adoptee can prove the facts of the foreign adoption, a state resident who has finalized an intercountry adoption in a foreign country shall file the petition to readopt within the earlier of 60 days of the adoptee’s entry into the United States or the adoptee’s 16th birthday. The petition shall include all of the following:

(1) A certified or otherwise official copy of the foreign decree, order, or certification of adoption that reflects finalization of the adoption in the foreign country.

(2) A certified or otherwise official copy of the child’s foreign birth certificate.

(3) A certified translation of all documents described in this subdivision that are not written in English. The court shall accept the certified translation, if any, that was completed abroad for purposes of obtaining the child’s visa or passport.

(4) Proof that the child was granted lawful entry into the United States as an immediate relative of the adoptive parent or parents.

(5) A report from at least one postplacement home visit by an intercountry adoption agency or a contractor of that agency licensed to provide intercountry adoption services in the State of California.

(6) A copy of the home study report previously completed for the international finalized adoption by an adoption agency authorized to provide intercountry adoption services pursuant to Section 8900.

(b) A readoption order shall not be granted unless the court receives a copy of the reports listed in paragraphs (5) and (6) of subdivision (a). The court shall consider the postplacement visit or visits and the previously completed home study when deciding whether to grant or deny the petition for readoption.

(c) If an adoptive parent or parents who adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country fails to file a petition pursuant to this section by the earlier of 60 days of the child’s entry into the United States or the child’s 16th birthday or fails to provide a copy of the petition to each adoption agency that provided the adoption services to the adoptive parent, then the adoption agency that facilitated the adoption shall file a petition within 90 days of the child’s entry into the United States, and shall provide a file-marked copy of the petition to the adoptive parent or parents and to any other adoption agency that provided services to the adoptive parent or parents within five business days of filing. An adoptive parent or parents shall be liable to the adoption agency for all costs and fees incurred as a result of good faith actions taken by the adoption agency to fulfill its requirement pursuant to this subdivision. If the adoption agency fails to file a petition as required by this subdivision, the department may take appropriate disciplinary action against the adoption agency if it is licensed in the State of California and the department has actual or constructive knowledge that the petition was not filed.

(d) An adoptee of any age may file a petition on their own behalf if both of the following conditions apply:

(1) The adoptive parent or parents failed to file a petition in compliance with subdivision (a).

(2) The adoption agency that facilitated the adoption failed to file a petition in compliance with subdivision (c).

(e) If the court finds that the adoptee may be, or may have been, the subject of human trafficking or may be a child who is described in Section 300 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the court shall, in accordance with existing law, notify all appropriate authorities.

(f) Within 10 business days, the clerk of the court shall submit to the State Registrar the order granting the petition to readopt. Upon receipt, the State Registrar shall issue a delayed registration of birth in accordance with Section 102695 of the Health and Safety Code that lists the adoptive parent or parents as the child’s legal parent or parents.

(g) A state resident who has adopted a child through an intercountry adoption that is finalized in a foreign country may obtain a birth certificate for that child pursuant to Section 102635 or 103450 of the Health and Safety Code.

(h) (1) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the court may grant a petition for readoption that does not include all of the documentation required by subdivision (a) if all of the following apply:

(A) The petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they are the adoptee. The petitioner may present evidence as described in paragraph (2) to establish the petitioner’s identity as the adoptee and the consistent use of that identity over time.

(B) The petitioner establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that one or more of the required documents cannot be obtained due to the passage of time or other circumstances beyond the petitioner’s control, including, but not limited to, the death or unavailability of the adoptive parent or parents and the closure, dissolution, or unavailability of the adoption agency.

(C) The petitioner is able to establish, by a preponderance of the evidence, the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, evidence presented to the court may include both documentary and nondocumentary evidence, including, but not limited to, testimony, declarations, court records, agency records, correspondence, and other corroborating sources of information the court deems sufficient to establish the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition.

(3) No single category of evidence shall be required or considered determinative to grant the petition. The court shall instead evaluate the totality of the circumstances and the relevance and reliability of the presented evidence to determine whether the petitioner has met the burden of proof to establish the fundamental facts necessary for the court to make the findings required to grant the petition.