Necessary consent to adoption or relinquishment for adoption of a minor child -- Implied consent.
Utah Code § 81-13-212
in effect81-13-212. Necessary consent to adoption or relinquishment for adoption of a minor child -- Implied consent.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), the following persons are required to consent to an adoption of a minor child, or to relinquishment of a minor child, before an adoption of the minor child is granted:
(a) if the child adoptee is 12 years old or older, the child adoptee unless the child adoptee does not have the mental capacity to consent;
(b) a man or woman who:
(i) by operation of law under Section 81-5-201, is recognized as the father or mother of the proposed adoptee, unless:
(A) the presumption is rebutted under Section 81-5-607;
(B) at the time of the marriage, the man or woman knew or reasonably should have known that the marriage to the mother of the proposed child adoptee was or could be declared invalid; or
(C) the man or woman was not married to the mother of the proposed child adoptee until after the mother consented to adoption, or relinquishment for adoption, of the proposed child adoptee; or
(ii) is the parent of the child adoptee by a previous legal adoption;
(c) the birth mother of the child adoptee;
(d) an individual who has been adjudicated to be the child adoptee's parent by a court with jurisdiction before the birth mother's execution of consent to adoption or the birth mother's relinquishment of the child adoptee for adoption;
(e) consistent with Subsection (3), an individual who has executed and filed a voluntary declaration of paternity with the office in accordance with Chapter 5, Uniform Parentage Act, before the birth mother's execution of consent to adoption or the birth mother's relinquishment of the child adoptee for adoption;
(f) an unmarried biological father of the child adoptee, whose consent is not required under Subsection (1)(d) or (1)(e), only if the unmarried biological father fully and strictly complies with the requirements of Section 81-13-213; and
(g) the person or agency to whom an adoptee has been relinquished and that is placing the child adoptee for adoption.
(2) The consent or relinquishment of an individual described in Subsections (1)(b) through (f) is not required if the individual's parental rights relating to the child adoptee have been terminated by a court.
(3) For purposes of Subsection (1)(e), a voluntary declaration of paternity is considered filed when the voluntary declaration is entered into a database that:
(a) can be accessed by the Department of Health and Human Services; and
(b) is designated by the office as the official database for voluntary declarations of paternity.
(4)
(a) Except as provided in Subsection (4)(b), a person described in Subsection (1) may execute a consent or relinquishment at any time, including before the birth of the child adoptee.
(b) A birth mother may not consent to the adoption of the child adoptee, or relinquish control or custody of the child adoptee, until at least 24 hours after the birth of the child adoptee.
(c) A child adoptee may not execute a consent to an adoption until the child adoptee is at least 12 years old.
(5)
(a) A birth parent who is younger than 18 years old has the power to:
(i) consent to the adoption of the birth parent's minor child; and
(ii) relinquish the birth parent's control or custody of the minor child for adoption.
(b) The consent or relinquishment described in Subsection (5)(a) is valid and has the same force and effect as a consent or relinquishment executed by a birth parent who is an adult.
(c) A birth parent, who is younger than 18 years old and has executed a consent or relinquishment, cannot revoke that consent or relinquishment upon reaching 18 years old or otherwise becoming emancipated.
(6)
(a) A birth parent may revoke the birth parent's consent or relinquishment for any reason within 72 hours after the birth parent consents or relinquishes the child adoptee.
(b) A birth parent may waive in writing the revocation period described in Subsection (6)(a).
(c) A birth parent may revoke the birth parent's consent or relinquishment before a final decree of adoption has been entered if a court determines that the consent or relinquishment was given under duress, fraud, or undue influence by the child-placing agency.
(d) A birth parent may not sign a consent or relinquishment while under the effects of anesthesia or medication that impacts the birth parent's ability to think clearly.
(e) Subsections (6)(a) through (d) does not apply to a voluntary relinquishment that is executed in juvenile court in accordance with Section 80-4-307.
(7)
(a) As used in this Subsection (7):
(i) "Abandonment" means failure of a birth parent, with reasonable knowledge of the pregnancy, to offer and provide financial and emotional support to the birth mother for a period of 180 days before the day on which the child adoptee is born.
(ii) "Emotional support" means a pattern of statements or actions that indicate to a reasonable person that a birth parent intends to provide for the physical and emotional well-being of an unborn child adoptee.
(b) A consent or relinquishment required by Subsection (1) may be implied by any of the following acts:
(i) abandonment;
(ii) leaving the child adoptee with a third party for 30 consecutive days without providing the third party with the birth parent's identification;
(iii) knowingly leaving the child adoptee with another person for 180 consecutive days without providing for support, communicating, or otherwise maintaining a substantial relationship with the child adoptee; or
(iv) receiving notification of a pending adoption proceeding as described in Section 81-13-207, or of a termination proceeding described in Section 81-13-205, and failing to respond as required.
(c) For purposes of this Subsection (7), a court may not:
(i) determine that a birth parent abandoned the birth mother if the birth parent failed to provide financial or emotional support because the birth mother refused to accept support; or
(ii) find that the birth parent failed to provide emotional support if the individual's failure was due to impossibility of performance.
(d) Implied consent under this Subsection (7) may not be withdrawn.
(e) Nothing in this Subsection (7) negates the requirements of Section 81-13-213 for an unmarried biological father.
(8) Nothing in this section establishes new requirements for an individual relinquishing a child in accordance with Section 80-4-502.
Amended by Chapter 390, 2026 General Session
Source: Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel (le.utah.gov)URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title81/Chapter13/81-13-S212.html?v=C81-13-S212_2026050620260506Fetched: 10/26/2026