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SB1751 • 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
Haile, Reneau
Last action
2026-04-09
Official status
Sponsor(s) Added.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary text indicates a significant change from the original candidate explanation, particularly regarding the requirement of twelve months' residence instead of six months as initially stated. However, this information does not align with the official digest and bill text provided.

Adoption Changes in Tennessee

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

What This Bill Does

  • Allows the court to skip the home study requirement when a child has been living in the home of their potential new parents for six months or more.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Children who have lived with their potential 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 process where a social worker visits the home of prospective adoptive parents to ensure it is suitable for raising an adopted child.
Waiting period
The time between filing an adoption petition and finalizing the adoption, which helps ensure that all necessary steps are taken before the adoption becomes official.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify what happens if a court decides not to waive the home study requirement.
  • It is unclear how this change will affect children who have lived with their potential adoptive parents for 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: The amendment allows courts to waive the requirement for a home study in adoption cases if certain conditions are met.

  • Courts can now choose not to require a home study when adopting a child who has lived with the adoptive parents for at least one year and was placed there by court order, provided that the petition includes current background checks.
  • The exact circumstances under which courts will waive the requirement are unclear without further guidance on how to interpret 'in the best interest of the child'.
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 petitioners for at least six months due to a previous court order.
  • Modifies existing language about related persons to include situations where a child has lived with their prospective adoptive parents under a court order.
  • The exact circumstances and conditions under which these changes apply are not fully detailed in the amendment text.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  2. 2026-04-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  3. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  4. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  5. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate, Ayes 25, Nays 2, PNV 2

  6. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Amendment withdrawn. (Amendment 1 - SA0759)

  7. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  8. 2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  9. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  10. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  11. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  12. 2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. adopted am. (Amendment 1 - HA0980)

  13. 2026-04-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/9/2026

  14. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  15. 2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  16. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  17. 2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  18. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  19. 2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  20. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  21. 2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  22. 2026-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  23. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  24. 2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  25. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  26. 2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  27. 2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  28. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  29. 2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  30. 2026-03-03 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  31. 2026-03-02 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  32. 2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

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

  33. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  34. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee

  35. 2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee

  36. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  37. 2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  38. 2026-01-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  39. 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 
HOUSE BILL 1692
By Reneau

SENATE BILL 1751
By Haile
SB1751
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.