Under section 47 an application for an adoption order by a couple may only be made where both of them have reached the age of 21. However, where one of them is the mother or father of a child to be adopted, an application may be made if that person is 18 or over and the other person is 21 or over.
Text created by the Northern Ireland Assembly department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes accompany all Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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