Simple adoption and plenary adoption: what differences?
Verified 01 January 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The 2 forms of adoption differ on a number of topics: ties to the family of origin, parental authority, name of adopted person, inheritance,...
Subject | Simple adoption | Plenary adoption |
|---|---|---|
Link to the original family | The adopted maintains all links with his family of origin. | The adopted person acquires a news parentage which replaces the original one. |
Parental authority | Parental authority is exclusively and fully attributed to the adoptive parent(s), unless adoption of a child of the spouse, Civil partnership partner or cohabiting partner. In this case, the latter retain sole exercise of parental authority unless jointly declared before the Registrar of the Court of Justice. | Parental authority is exclusively and in full assigned to the adoptive parent(s). In the case of adoption of the child of the Civil partnership, partner or cohabiting partner, it shall be carried out jointly. |
Maintenance obligation | The adopter(s) shall food to the adopted and vice versa. The biological parent(s) of the adoptee are only required to provide food to the adoptee if the adoptee is unable to obtain it from the adoptee. The adopted person does not owe food to his biological parents if he has been admitted as a ward of the State or taken care of by the social welfare authorities. | The adoptive parent owes the adoptive parent food and reciprocalliar. |
Name of the adopted person | The name of the adopter shall be added to the adopted person's name or replace it. Under certain conditions, the original name may be retained. | The adopted person automatically takes the name of the adoptant |
First name of the adopted person | It is possible to ask the judge for a change of name of the adopted person | It is possible to ask the judge for a change of name of the adopted person |
Nationality | Simple adoption doesn't adopted children of to become French. The adoptive parent(s) of the child must apply for it by making a declaration. The adopted adult must apply for naturalization to become French. | The child adoptse during his minority becomes automatically french if one of the parents (adoptive parents) is a French national. He is considered French from birth. |
Right to succession | The adopted inherits the 2 families : of his family of origin and his adoptive family. The adopted person does not benefit from the transfer duty free in his adoptive family. It pays the same fees as unrelated persons (60%) except in certain cases (child of the spouse, ward of the State ...). He's not heir in title in respect of his adoptive grandparents (who may disinherit him) | The adopted child inherits from his adoptive parents. He's the heir to the reservation. He doesn't inherit from his family. |
Revocation | Simple adoption can be revoked by judgment for serious grounds. | The plenary adoption is irrevocable |
Who can help me?
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- Telephone administrative information - Allo Public Service
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Cost: free service
Service available at the following times:
- Monday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
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- Wednesday: 8:30 to 12:15
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- Civil Code: Articles 343 to 343-1Conditions for the adopter
- Civil Code: Articles 344 to 345-2Conditions for adoption
- Civil Code: Articles 346 to 347Relationship between the adopter and the adopted
- Civil Code: Articles 348 to 350Consent to adoption
- Civil Code: Article 355Effects: provisions common to simple and plenary adoption
- Civil Code: Articles 356 to 359Effects of the plenary adoption
- Civil Code: Articles 360 to 369-1Effects of simple adoption
- Civil Code: Articles 20 to 20-5Effects of adoption on nationality
- Civil Code: Articles 370-1 to 370-1-2Provisions common to the adoption
- Civil Code: Articles 371-1-3 to 370-1-5Full adoption of the child of the other member of the couple
- Civil Code: Articles 370-1-6 to 370-1-8Simple adoption of the child of the other member of the couple
- Civil Code: Article 21French nationality
- Civil Code: Articles 21-12 to 21-14Declaration of nationality following simple adoption (Article 21-12)
- General Tax Code: Articles 779 to 787 CNot taking into account the relationship resulting from the simple adoption for the collection of transfer duties free of charge (Article 786)
- AdoptionService-Public.fr
- Website of the French Adoption Agency (Afa)French Adoption Agency (Afa)
- Adoption.gouv.frMinistry for Europe and Foreign Affairs