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HB1692 • 2026

Adoption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 36 and Title 37, relative to adoption.

Children Labor
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Reneau, Haile
Last action
2026-04-10
Official status
Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation includes details about writing down reasons why skipping the home study would be in the child's best interest, but this is not explicitly stated in the provided official source material.

Adoption Changes in Tennessee

This bill changes Tennessee's adoption laws to allow courts to waive home study requirements and waiting periods if a child has lived with prospective adoptive parents for six months or more.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows the court to skip the home study requirement when a child has been living in the home of their prospective adoptive parents for at least six months.
  • Removes the need for a waiting period before an adoption can be finalized if the child has lived with the prospective adoptive parents for at least six months and the court is satisfied that the adoption is best for the child.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Children who have lived with their prospective adoptive parents for at least six months.
  • Prospective adoptive parents whose children have been living with them for at least six months.

Terms To Know

Home study
A review of the home and family life of people who want to adopt a child, done by a licensed agency or social worker.
Waiting period
The time between when an adoption petition is filed and when the final order can be made, usually six months in Tennessee.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not require courts to waive home studies or waiting periods; it only allows them to do so under certain conditions.
  • It's unclear how this change will affect adoption processes for children who have lived with their prospective adoptive parents but less than six months.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to HB1692

Plain English: This amendment allows courts in Tennessee to waive the requirement for a home study when adopting a child who has lived with the prospective adoptive parents for at least one year and was placed there by court order.

  • Courts can now choose not to require a home study if certain conditions are met, such as the child having lived in the home of the prospective adoptive parent(s) for over a year and being placed there through a court order.
  • The amendment does not specify all details about how the waiver decision is made or what happens if the conditions are not fully met, which may leave some questions unanswered.
Amendment 1-0 to SB1751

Plain English: The amendment changes Tennessee's adoption laws by allowing courts to waive certain requirements when adopting related children or when a child has already lived with their prospective adoptive parents for six months under a court order.

  • Adds an exception that allows the court to waive certain requirements if the child has been living in the home of the people who want to adopt them for at least six months, as ordered by a previous court decision.
  • Modifies existing laws to include situations where prospective adoptive parents are related to the child or have had the child live with them under a court order.
  • The exact impact of these changes on adoption processes is not fully explained in the amendment text.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  2. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 25, Nays 2, PNV 2

  3. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0759)

  4. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  5. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  6. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  7. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  8. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  9. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  10. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., as am., Ayes 86, Nays 7, PNV 2

  11. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0980)

  12. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/9/2026

  13. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/8/2026

  14. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026

  16. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass. if am., ref. to Calendar & Rules Committee

  17. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 4/1/2026

  18. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 4/1/2026

  19. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/23/2026

  20. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026

  21. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 6, Nays 2 PNV 0

  22. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/17/2026

  23. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026

  24. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/18/2026

  25. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026

  26. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec for pass if am by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  27. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee for 3/10/2026

  28. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  29. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

    Action Def. in s/c Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee to 3/10/2026

  30. 2026-03-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  31. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee for 3/3/2026

  32. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee

  33. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  34. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  35. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  36. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  37. 2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  38. 2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law generally requires prospective adoptive parents to contact a licensed child-placing agency, or a licensed clinical social worker, and request a home study concerning the suitability of their home and themselves as an adoptive parent. However
, the court may waive this requirement when the adoptive parents are related persons. This bill expands the exception by allowing the court to also waive the home study requirement when a child has lived in the home of the prospective adoptive parents fo
r
at least six months.

Present law generally prohibits the court from entering a final order of adoption until a home study has been filed with the court and before the petition has been on file for at least six months. However, when the child is related to the prospective ad
optive parents, there is no such requirement for a home study or waiting period. This bill expands the exception by waiving the home study and waiting period requirements when a child has lived in the home of the prospective adoptive parents for at least
s
ix months, if the court has received the final court report concerning the circumstances of the child and is satisfied that the adoption is in the best interest of the child.

ON APRIL 8, 2026, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 1692, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, clarify that a
court
is authorized to
waive the requirement for a home study in an adoption when the prospective adoptive parent or parents are not related to the child if
all of the following requirements are met:



The child has resided in the home of the prospective adoptive parent or parents for at least 12 months
.



The prospective adoptive parent or parents were granted custody of the child pursuant to a final order entered by a court of competent jurisdiction following a full adjudication on the merits
.



The petition to waive the home study includes a current criminal history background check conducted through the Tennessee bureau of investigation and a current search of the Tennessee sexual offender and violent sexual offender registry.

This amendment requires t
he court t
o
enter a written order making specific findings to support a determination that waiving the home study is in the best interest of the child.

Additionally, this amendment
does not require a court to waive a home study. The decision to waive a home study remains within the sound discretion of the court.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 1751
By Haile

HOUSE BILL 1692
By Reneau
HB1692
010250
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 36
and Title 37, relative to adoption.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-1-116(a)(1), is amended by
deleting the language "provided, that the court may waive this requirement when the child is to
be adopted by related persons" and substituting:
provided, that the court may waive this requirement when the child is to be adopted by
related persons or the child has already resided in the home of the petitioners for six (6)
months
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-1-116(e)(1), is amended by
deleting the language "for prospective adoptive parents who are related to the child" and
substituting:
for prospective adoptive parents who are related to the child or in whose home the child
has already resided for six (6) months
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-1-119(a), is amended by deleting
the language "Unless the child is related to the petitioners" and substituting the language
"Unless the child is related to the petitioners or has already resided in the home of the
petitioners for six (6) months".
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-1-119(c), is amended by adding
the following new subdivision:
(3) If the child has already resided in the home of the petitioners for six (6)
months, the court has received the final court report concerning the circumstances of the
child and the petitioners, and the court is satisfied that the adoption will be in the best

- 2 - 010250

interest of the child, then the court may waive the preliminary home study, home study,
and six-month waiting period after the filing of the adoption petition and may enter an
order of adoption.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.