Child Adoption Malaysia 2026: JPN, Court Order and JKM

In a lot of Malaysian families it happens without a single form. A baby moves from a relative who cannot cope to an aunt who can, everyone agrees to jaga baik-baik, and the paperwork is left for later. Later usually arrives at a counter — school registration, a MyKad at 12, a passport — where someone asks for a document that shows who this child belongs to.

Malaysia has two legal routes to make that document exist, and they are not interchangeable: a registration at the National Registration Department (JPN), or an order from a civil court. Which fits depends on where you live, how long the child has been with you, your religion and the child’s, and what you need the paper to do. This guide sets out what each asks for, what each produces, and where the Social Welfare Department (JKM) sits — using only the Acts and the agencies’ own pages.

Quick Answer: In Peninsular Malaysia, a family that has cared for a child under 18 for at least 2 years can register a de facto adoption at the JPN office in its district under the Registration of Adoptions Act 1952 (Act 253). It is open to Muslims and non-Muslims, costs RM30.00 after approval, and produces an Adoption Certificate. Non-Muslims can instead apply to the High Court or a Sessions Court under the Adoption Act 1952 (Act 257), which produces a new birth certificate. On either route, anyone who takes a child into their care must tell JKM within one week. Sabah and Sarawak use their own ordinances.

• Registration (Act 253): JPN, Peninsular Malaysia only, after 2 years of continuous care; RM30.00; an Adoption Certificate.
• Court order (Act 257): non-Muslims only; High Court or Sessions Court; at least 3 months of care and 3 months of written notice to JKM before the order; a new birth certificate.
• The step people skip: telling JKM within one week of taking the child in — a Child Act duty, with a fine of up to RM10,000 for ignoring it.
• What adoption does not do: decide the child’s citizenship.

Tell JKM firstJPN routeCourt order

Two Laws, Two Counters: Which One Fits

Both laws were passed in 1952, both apply to Peninsular Malaysia only, and they do different jobs.

The Registration of Adoptions Act does not create an adoption; it records one that already exists. Section 11 says neither registering nor failing to register affects the validity of the adoption, and JPN’s FAQ says taking in an adopted child without registering breaks no law — but registration gives the child and the adoptive parents legal recognition.

The Adoption Act builds a new legal relationship. Section 9(1) moves every parental right and duty to the adopter “as though the adopted child was a child born to the adopter in lawful wedlock”. Custody after a divorce and court-appointed guardianship are different proceedings again; our guide to divorce procedure in Malaysia covers where custody rules come from.

Two things in that table catch families out. A Muslim family in Peninsular Malaysia has one route, not two — JPN’s FAQ says court-order adoption is only for non-Muslim applicants, while the registration Act is open to all who qualify. And the age gap differs — 18 years under one Act, 21 under the other — so a couple who fits one may not fit the other.

Both Acts also stop at the edge of Peninsular Malaysia. Section 10(3) of Act 253 and section 4(3) of Act 257 shut out anyone not ordinarily resident there. JPN’s FAQ says a couple living abroad cannot use Act 253 for a local child unless the adoptive parents and the child have lived together in Malaysia for 2 years continuously, and that a child born abroad can be registered once the child completes the residence period and holds a valid travel document. Anything cross-border beyond that is a question for JPN and a lawyer before you start, not after.

Before Anything Else: Tell JKM Within One Week

This step is in neither Adoption Act, and it applies the moment a child moves into your home. Section 35(1) of the Child Act 2001 says that where a person takes a child into their care, custody or control, that person — and the person in whose care the child was — must notify a Protector not later than one week afterwards. A Protector is any Social Welfare Officer appointed under section 8 of that Act.

Ignoring it is an offence. Section 35(7) sets the penalty at a fine of up to RM10,000, imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both. The duty does not apply where the child was placed under a court order, or by a Protector or a police officer acting under the Act.

JKM’s own page turns the section into a counter procedure:

• Go to the nearest district welfare office (PKMD) and report the taking on Form 12.
• JKM investigates you and the person who handed the child over, visits the home and prepares a report.
• If satisfied, JKM issues Form 13, with conditions, to the caregiver — or it may order the child returned to the person who had the child before.

Bring copies of your IC, the child’s birth certificate, your marriage certificate if you are married, a salary slip or income statement, the biological parents’ statutory declaration, and their ICs if you have them. JKM’s page names that consent form JPN.A07; JPN’s own page calls the same form JPN.AA07.

Keep Form 13. JPN lists it among the documents for a de facto adoption registration, and says you obtain Form 12 first — from a JPN office or the welfare office — before the welfare office issues Form 13. You notify JKM in week one using that Form 12; once JKM has investigated and is satisfied, it issues Form 13 with conditions — that is the document JPN will ask for when you register, at least 2 years later.

Route One: Registering a De Facto Adoption at JPN

JPN describes the registration Act’s purpose plainly: to register a de facto adopted child, meaning a child who has been in the care of, raised, supported and educated by a person or a married couple as their own for a continuous period of not less than two years before the registration. The Act applies to Muslims and non-Muslims, and only in Peninsular Malaysia.

Who qualifies

• The child: never married, under 18, living in Peninsular Malaysia, a citizen or a non-citizen, and holding an identity document — a birth certificate, identity card, passport or entry permit, with a visa that covers the 2 years for a foreign child.
• The applicant: one adoptive parent must be a citizen or a permanent resident, and a married couple needs a valid marriage document.
• Age: the Act allows three ways in — aged 25 and at least 18 years older than the child; aged 21 and the child’s brother, sister, uncle or aunt, by blood or by marriage; or the child’s own mother or father.
• Consent: from the biological mother and father, or a single mother. If the biological mother is under 18, her consent letter must be co-signed by one of her parents or a sibling aged 18 and above. With no consent, JPN asks for a social report from JKM.

Settle one inconsistency at the counter before you file. The Act sets 21 as the minimum age for a relative. JPN’s service page mentions only the 25-and-18 rule; one answer in JPN’s FAQ gives 21 for relatives, and another answer in the same FAQ says one spouse must be 25. If you are the child’s aunt or uncle and under 25, ask JPN which rule its Registrar will apply.

The two years

The two years is the rule JPN is least flexible about. Its FAQ says the Registrar cannot shorten the period because Act 253 fixes it, and that it is counted from the date the child was handed over, not from the date anyone signed a statutory declaration. It also says an informal agreement between the biological and adoptive parents is not enough — the statutory declaration is a legal requirement. The paper that proves the handover date matters more than anything signed later.

What to bring

• Form JPN.AA01, the application.
• The child’s birth certificate, original and copy, and a copy of the child’s passport if the child was born abroad.
• The biological parents’ statutory declaration or consent letter (JPN.AA07), and a copy of their IC or passport as shown on the child’s birth certificate.
• Your own statutory declaration, and your IC or passport and visa, original and copy.
• Your marriage document, original and copy, and the birth certificates of your own children, if any.
• A full-length, postcard-size photo of the child.
• Proof of address: an electricity, water or telephone bill, or assessment tax.
• A copy of the death certificate if a biological parent has died, and your salary statement if you have one.
• Form 13 from the welfare office.

A child born in Malaysia without a birth certificate cannot start here. JPN’s FAQ says late birth registration must be done first; our guide to birth registration in Malaysia covers that counter.

The proceeding and the fee

Every application is decided at a proceeding — an interview before the Registrar, attended by the adoptive parent or parents, the child, and the biological parents or lawful guardian where needed. JPN’s FAQ says the child must attend; the biological parents need not, if their statutory consent has been submitted. For this purpose the Registrar has the powers of a First Class Magistrate to summon and examine witnesses.

You may apply at any JPN counter near your home; it does not have to be in the child’s state of birth. The fee is RM30.00, collected only after the application is approved. JPN’s client charter lists no processing time for adoption.

Act 253 does not bar single applicants. JPN’s FAQ says there is no restriction on a single mother, and that an application by a single father for a girl is not encouraged; such cases are referred to the Registrar General of Births and Deaths and to JKM.

After registration

The result is an Adoption Certificate, not a birth certificate — JPN says an Act 253 adoption can only be issued with an Adoption Certificate. JPN also says that certificate has the same standing as a birth certificate for school registration, identity card and passport applications.

It is meant to be final. JPN’s FAQ says a de facto adoption cannot be undone by returning the child or passing the child to another couple, and that the biological parents cannot take the child back once it is approved: under civil law the adoption is final. The way out is a court order under section 13(2), on an application the Act gives to the Attorney General in the Sessions Court. If the Registrar refuses to register, section 10(5) allows no appeal, but the same or another Registrar can register later once the ground for refusal is gone.

Mistakes on the register are corrected at any JPN office on Form JPN.AA03 with a statutory declaration (SA81), for RM10.00. A search or extract of the register is RM5.00 on Form JPN.AA02.

Route Two: An Adoption Order From the Court

The Adoption Act 1952 is for non-Muslims in Peninsular Malaysia, and it runs through a court: the High Court or, at the applicant’s choice, a Sessions Court. Proceedings are held in camera and the documents filed are confidential.

The conditions in the Act

• The child is an unmarried person under 21.
• The applicant is 25 and at least 21 years older than the child, unless the Court finds special circumstances; or is 21 and a relative — a brother, sister, grandparent, uncle or aunt, by blood or by marriage; or is the child’s mother or father.
• A sole male applicant cannot adopt a girl unless the Court finds special circumstances that justify the order as an exceptional measure.
• The applicant and the child are ordinarily resident in Peninsular Malaysia.
• The child has been continuously in the applicant’s care for at least 3 months immediately before the order, and the applicant told a State Social Welfare Department officer in writing, at least 3 months before the order, of the intention to apply.

Consent is needed from every parent or guardian, from anyone liable to contribute to the child’s support, and from the applicant’s spouse. Section 5 lets the Court dispense with a consent where, for example, a parent has abandoned, neglected or persistently ill-treated the child, cannot be found, or is unreasonably withholding consent. Before making the order the Court must be satisfied that each consenting parent understands the order will permanently take away their parental rights, that the order is for the child’s welfare — with due weight given to the child’s own wishes — and that no payment or reward has been given or agreed for the adoption except as the Court sanctions.

How the case moves

When an application is filed, the Court must appoint a guardian ad litem for the child, whose duty is to investigate the child’s and the applicant’s circumstances and safeguard the child’s interests. The applicant and every respondent must attend in person unless the Court dispenses with it. The Court may also postpone its decision and make an interim order giving the applicant custody for a probationary period of not less than 6 months and not more than 2 years. Once the order is made, the court’s registrar must send a certified copy to the Registrar General within 7 days.

Registering the order at JPN

JPN then registers the order — only at its Headquarters in Putrajaya, and only through a law firm appointed by the adoptive parents or through the Legal Aid Department. The processing fee is RM5.00, paid cashless by money order, cheque or e-payment in the name of Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara Malaysia. The file holds:

• Form JPN.AA04, signed and stamped by the appointed lawyer.
• The court’s original cover letter, and the original order with the Schedule under section 25(2).
• The child’s original birth certificate, and MyKid if there is one.
• Copies of the adoptive parents’ IC or passport and visa, and their marriage certificate, certified by the lawyer.
• Form BMK-81A with passport-size photos and a recent 4R colour family photo.
• The lawyer’s certified IC copy, the firm’s cover letter and a valid practising certificate.

What the order changes

Under section 25A the child receives a new birth certificate that must not carry the words “adopted”, “adopter” or “adoptive”, and that certificate replaces the one issued under the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957. On an intestacy the child inherits as the adopter’s child born in lawful wedlock, and section 29 reads “child” in intestacy laws to include an adopted child — the rules on who inherits what are in our guide to estate distribution without a will. For marriage law, the adopter, the adopted child and the adopter’s other children are treated as within the prohibited degrees.

If that birth certificate is later lost or damaged, JPN Headquarters issues an extract on Form JPN.AA04 for RM5.00, on application by the adoptive parents, adoptive siblings, the certificate’s owner or a law firm.

Court filing fees and lawyers’ fees are not published by JPN or JKM, and a search of the judiciary’s website returns no page on adoption, so this guide prints no figure.

Where JKM Comes In

JKM appears on both routes, and at a third door that is not adoption at all; its legislation page lists both Adoption Acts among the laws related to its jurisdiction. Beyond the week-one notice, it writes the social report when the biological parents have not consented to a JPN registration — JPN refers applications only then, though its Registrar may refer others, and its FAQ says it knows of no case in which a child was withdrawn into JKM care after such a referral. On the court route, JKM is the office that must receive the applicant’s written notice at least 3 months before the order.

Fostering through JKM

The third door is fostering. JKM’s foster child is a child the Court for Children has placed with foster parents under section 30(1)(c)(i) of the Child Act — a child with no parent or guardian, or one who has been abandoned — for 2 years or until 18, whichever is shorter. If no parent or guardian comes forward in that period, section 30(4) lets the Court order the child given up for adoption by the foster parent or anyone wishing to adopt, with the parents’ consent dispensed with.

To join JKM’s list of foster parents you apply online through Sistem ANAK: register an account, fill in the details, upload the documents as PDF, and take part in an interview and a home visit. JKM’s conditions are: a citizen, or a non-citizen living in Malaysia; one applicant aged 25 and at least 18 years older than the child; married for at least 5 years if married, with shorter marriages considered where there are reproductive-health complications or the marriage was late; single applicants may be considered; an income that can support the family; good health; and a safe, suitable home.

The Child (Family Based Care) Regulations 2017 put the citizenship rule more tightly — a citizen or permanent resident, with a non-citizen allowed for a non-citizen child — so ask your JKM office which applies to you. An accepted application stays on the list for 2 years, with a 1 year extension; with no offer after those 3 years, you apply again.

Behind these pages, JKM’s Children Division became the Department of Child Development (Jabatan Pembangunan Kanak-Kanak, JPKK) on 1 September 2023, and the Sistem ANAK portal now carries JPKK’s name; the foster procedure is still published on JKM’s website.

For Muslim Families: What the Official Texts Say

This section reports what the Acts and the agencies say, and nothing more. Questions of religious law belong to your state religious authority and the Syariah court.

The Adoption Act does not apply to any person who professes Islam — neither to permit an adoption by a Muslim, nor to permit the adoption of a child who is a Muslim under Islamic law. The Registration of Adoptions Act has no such exclusion, and JPN states that it applies to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

JPN’s FAQ gives two answers on religion. A Muslim child cannot be adopted by non-Muslim adoptive parents — JPN says this rule comes not from Act 253, which is silent on it, but from the Registration of Adoptions Instruction Book 1952. A non-Muslim child can be adopted by Muslim adoptive parents.

On lineage and naming, the 57th meeting of the National Fatwa Committee, held on 10 June 2003, discussed combining an adopted child’s name with the adoptive father’s name on the adoption certificate and identity card. JAKIM’s published compilation records the decision in these words: mana-mana anak angkat yang diangkat oleh orang Islam tidak boleh dinasabkan kepada bapa angkatnya — any adopted child adopted by a Muslim may not be attributed by lineage to the adoptive father. How that is applied to a particular child’s documents, and anything beyond it, is for your state religious authority.

In Sabah, JPN sends Muslim applicants to the Syariah High Court for the adoption order before registration. For Peninsular Malaysia, searches of the national Syariah judiciary department’s website and of JAKIM’s website returned no step-by-step adoption procedure, and this guide does not supply one.

Sabah and Sarawak Work Differently

Neither federal Adoption Act applies in Sabah or Sarawak. In Sabah, JPN says the adoption order comes first, from the court that matches your category: the Native Court for Sabah natives, the High Court for non-citizens and non-natives, and the Syariah High Court for Muslims. The order is then taken to JPN’s Sabah state headquarters, which charges no fee. JPN names the Adoption Ordinance 1960 (Sabah No. 23 of 1960), the Native Adoption Regulations 1961 and the Sabah Syariah court rules on adoption of 2006.

In Sarawak, the Adoption Ordinance (Cap. 91) is administered by the state government through the District Office. JPN’s Sarawak page asks for the original adoption certificate issued by the District Office, and charges RM3.00. The Kuching Division’s own FAQ says a child under the Ordinance is an unmarried person under 18, that a single woman may adopt a boy with a 21-year age gap, that a single man may adopt a girl only in exceptional and special circumstances, and that adoption does not change a non-citizen child’s citizenship.

After the Adoption: Birth Certificate, MyKad and Citizenship

Which document the child ends up with depends on the route. A court order under Act 257 produces a new birth certificate that replaces the original. A registration under Act 253 produces an Adoption Certificate, which JPN treats as having the same standing as a birth certificate. JPN’s page for the MyKad at 12 lists the adoption certificate (Sijil Anak Angkat) among the documents it accepts.

Citizenship is a separate matter. JPN’s FAQ answers the question — can a child’s citizenship be determined through adoption? — with one word: no. Where a child is not a citizen, the application JPN runs for a person under 21 in special circumstances is under Article 15A of the Federal Constitution; its checklist accepts an adoption certificate and asks that the application be made by a parent, or by a guardian who is a relative. The form, the fees and what “special circumstances” does and does not mean are set out in our guide to citizenship for a child born abroad.

Money, Middlemen and Adverts: What the Law Says

Three provisions are worth knowing before anyone offers to “arrange” a child.

• Section 6(c), Adoption Act: before an adoption order, the Court must be satisfied that no payment or other reward has been made or agreed in consideration of the adoption, except as the Court sanctions.
• Section 26, Adoption Act: advertising that a parent wants a child adopted, that someone wants to adopt, or that anyone other than the Director General of Social Welfare will arrange an adoption is an offence — imprisonment for 6 months, a fine of RM250, or both.
• Section 48, Child Act 2001: taking part in a transaction to transfer the possession, custody or control of a child for valuable consideration is an offence carrying a fine of up to RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both. The section provides a defence where the transfer was for a bona fide adoption and a parent or guardian expressly consented to it.

This guide draws no conclusion about any particular arrangement; if money is involved, speak to a lawyer or the Legal Aid Department before anything is signed.

Getting Legal Help

JPN names two ways to register a court order: a law firm appointed by the adoptive parents, or the Legal Aid Department (Jabatan Bantuan Guaman, JBG). JBG’s list of the civil matters it covers includes rights and liabilities under the Adoption Act 1952, the Sabah Adoption Ordinance 1960, and proceedings under the Sarawak ordinance. The Registration of Adoptions Act is not named on that list.

JBG’s means test is for Malaysian citizens. Annual financial resources of RM50,000 and below pay a RM10 registration fee and no contribution; higher bands pay a contribution; above RM70,001 needs the Minister’s approval. JBG says it processes an application in not more than 3 days.

For questions to JPN itself, its e-Pertanyaan (SISPAA) channel is at jpn.spab.gov.my and its customer service line is 03-80008000.

What May Change

Both Acts have stood still for a long time: the Adoption Act was last amended by Act A1098, in force 2 May 2001, and the Registration of Adoptions Act by P.U. (A) 133/82, in force 17 September 1981. That may not last. A 2023 report of Parliament’s select committee on women, children and community development planned for JPKK to amend a list of Acts in 2024 and 2025, including both Adoption Acts, and recommended that the Home Ministry table amendments to them. When this guide was checked, the Dewan Rakyat’s bill list for 2025 and 2026 contained no bill amending either Act.

Walaoeh Verdict

Choose the route by the paper you will need, and start the file on the day the child arrives. In Peninsular Malaysia, if the child has been with you, or will be, for 2 years, JPN registration is decided at a JPN counter rather than in court, and it is open to Muslim and non-Muslim applicants alike who meet the conditions above — confirm your own eligibility with JPN, a lawyer or JBG; it gives the child an Adoption Certificate that JPN treats like a birth certificate. If you are non-Muslim and want the full legal transfer — a new birth certificate, inheritance on intestacy as your own child — the court route is the one the Act built for that, and JPN registers the resulting order only through a lawyer or JBG.

Either way the first move is the same, and it has a deadline: tell JKM within one week. That notice, and the Form 13 that follows, is the paper that shows when the handover happened — and JPN counts the 2 years from the handover, not from the day someone signed a declaration.

Where the official pages disagree with each other — the relative’s minimum age at JPN, the foster citizenship rule at JKM — ask the counter which one it applies before you file.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Sources

Every figure here comes from an official Malaysian source, fetched and read on 23 September 2026. JPN’s English service pages are machine translations, so quotations were taken from the Malay pages; the Acts are quoted from the Attorney General’s English text.

• Attorney General’s Chambers — Act 257 (as at 1 January 2013) and Act 253 (as at 1 August 2014)
• JPN — Registration of adoption (de facto) in Peninsular Malaysia
• JPN — Adoption through court order in Peninsular Malaysia
• JPN — Adopted child FAQ (Soalan Lazim Anak Angkat)
• JPN — Extract of an adopted child’s birth certificate
• JPN — Search and extract of the adoption register (de facto)
• JPN — Amendment of the adoption register (de facto)
• JPN — Adoption in Sabah
• JPN — Adoption in Sarawak
• JPN — MyKad for children aged 12
• JPN — Citizenship under Article 15A
• JPN — Client charter
• KPWKM — Child Act 2001 (Act 611), reprint as at 1 July 2023
• JKM — Taking a child into care under section 35
• JKM — Foster child application (Sistem ANAK)
• JKM — Legislation
• Child (Family Based Care) Regulations 2017, P.U. (A) 287
• JAKIM — National Fatwa Committee decisions (item 28)
• Legal Aid Department — Services and means test
• Legal Aid Department — How to apply
• Kuching Division — Adoption FAQ (Sarawak)
• Parliament — D.R. 21 of 2023 (JPKK)
• Parliament — Dewan Rakyat bills list