Other requirements: 

The family must have fewer than five children under the age of 18, and the youngest is at least one year old (those adopting children with special needs are exempted from this requirement).

Checking whether the adopters have ever been subjected to any criminal punishment is an important part for evaluating their ability to bring up and educate the adoptee. Neither partner may have a significant criminal record, and both must have a history of honorable behavior and good moral character with no evidence of:

1) Domestic violence, sexual abuse, abandonment or abuse of children;

2) Use of narcotics or any potentially addictive medication prescribed for mental illness;

3) Alcohol abuse, unless the individual can show she/he has been sober for at least ten years.

Note: Applications from persons with past criminal records will be considered on a case-by-case basis if the individual has fewer than three minor criminal convictions (none in the last ten years) and fewer than five minor traffic violations.

The prospective parents must demonstrate the ability to provide a warm family environment capable of meeting the needs of an orphaned child and providing for her/his development, and an understanding of the special risks (including potential diseases, developmental delays, and post-placement maladjustment) that could come with inter-country adoption.

II. Eligibility of adoptees

According to Article 4 in Adopting Law of the People's Republic of China, minors under the age of 14, as enumerated below, may be adopted:

(1) Orphans bereaved of parents, refers to those children whose biological parents have already died or have already been declared died by the court;

(2) Abandoned infants or children whose biological parents cannot be ascertained or found, refers to those children or infants who are abandoned by their biological parents or whose biological parents cannot be found. 

(3) Children whose parents are unable to rear them due to unusual difficulties, refers to those children whose biological parents are in extreme poverty that do not have ability to rear them because of disability, serious illness, or some other reason.