13 Del. C. § 904
This is the official text of 13 Del. C. § 904, part of Delaware’s Del. C — part of the compiled statutory law of Delaware, published by the state as "Del. C." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
§ Â 904. Placement and supervision for adoption.
Official statutory text
(a) No petition for adoption shall be presented unless prior to the filing of the petition the child sought to be adopted has been placed for adoption by the Department, a licensed agency or an authorized agency, and the placement has been supervised by the Department or a licensed agency, but no such placement or supervision shall be necessary in the case of:
(1) A child sought to be adopted by a stepparent;
(2) A child sought to be adopted by a blood relative, except as provided in § 926 of this title;
(3) A child sought to be adopted by a guardian or permanent guardian so long as guardianship or permanent guardianship has been granted for at least 6 months prior to filing the adoption petition.
(b) No placement for an identified adoption in which an intermediary has been involved shall be approved or permitted by the Department or a licensed agency.
(c) No child shall be placed for adoption in this State pursuant to § 926 of this title unless the placement is approved and supervised by the Department or a licensed agency.
(d) When the prospective adoptive parents are legal residents of the State, but live elsewhere, the approval and supervision required by this section shall be provided by an authorized agency located in close proximity to the family, as will the social report required by § 912 of this title.
(e) An adoptive placement shall not be made until a preplacement evaluation that complies with the Delaware Requirements for Child Placing Agencies has been completed by the Department or licensed agency.
(1) A child sought to be adopted by a stepparent;
(2) A child sought to be adopted by a blood relative, except as provided in § 926 of this title;
(3) A child sought to be adopted by a guardian or permanent guardian so long as guardianship or permanent guardianship has been granted for at least 6 months prior to filing the adoption petition.
(b) No placement for an identified adoption in which an intermediary has been involved shall be approved or permitted by the Department or a licensed agency.
(c) No child shall be placed for adoption in this State pursuant to § 926 of this title unless the placement is approved and supervised by the Department or a licensed agency.
(d) When the prospective adoptive parents are legal residents of the State, but live elsewhere, the approval and supervision required by this section shall be provided by an authorized agency located in close proximity to the family, as will the social report required by § 912 of this title.
(e) An adoptive placement shall not be made until a preplacement evaluation that complies with the Delaware Requirements for Child Placing Agencies has been completed by the Department or licensed agency.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Delaware?
Find a Delaware lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.