81-14 - Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act
Title 81 > 81-14
Sections (19)
General Provisions
81-14-101 - Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1) “Child-placing agency” means a person with authority under other law of this state to identify or place a minor child for adoption.”Child-placing agency” does not include a parent of a minor child.
(2) “Custody” means the exercise of physical care and supervision of a minor child.
(3) “Intercountry adoption” means an adoption or placement for adoption of a minor child who resides in a foreign country at the time of adoption or placement.”Intercountry adoption” includes an adoption finalized in the minor child’s country of residence or in a state.
(4) “Person” means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit entity, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or other legal entity.
(5) “Record” means information:inscribed on a tangible medium; orstored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in perceivable form.
(6) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any other territory or possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.”State” includes a federally recognized Indian tribe.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-102 - Limitations on applicability.
This chapter does not apply to custody of an Indian child, as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903, to the extent governed by the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 through 1963.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
Prohibition of Unregulated Custody Transfer
81-14-201 - Definitions for part.
As used in this part:
(1) “Guardian” means a person recognized as a guardian under other law of this state.
(2) “Intermediary” means a person that assists or facilitates a transfer of custody of a minor child, whether or not for compensation.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-202 - Applicability.
This part does not apply to a transfer of custody of a minor child by a parent or guardian of the minor child to:
(1) a parent of the minor child;
(2) a stepparent of the minor child;
(3) an adult who is related to the minor child by blood, marriage, or adoption;
(4) an adult who, at the time of the transfer, had a close relationship with the minor child or the parent or guardian of the minor child for a substantial period, and whom the parent or guardian reasonably believed, at the time of the transfer, to be a fit custodian of the minor child;
(5) an Indian custodian, as defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903, of the minor child; or
(6) a member of the minor child’s customary family unit recognized by the minor child’s indigenous group.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-203 - Prohibited custody transfer.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), a parent or guardian of a minor child, or an individual with whom a minor child has been placed for adoption, may not transfer custody of the minor child to another person with the intent, at the time of the transfer, to abandon the rights and responsibilities concerning the minor child.
(2) A parent or guardian of a minor child or an individual with whom a minor child has been placed for adoption may transfer custody of the minor child to another person with the intent, at the time of the transfer, to abandon the rights and responsibilities concerning the minor child only through:adoption or guardianship;judicial award of custody;placement by or through a child-placing agency;other judicial or tribal action; orsafe relinquishment under Title 80, Chapter 4, Part 5, Safe Relinquishment of a Newborn Child.
(3) A person may not receive custody of a minor child, or act as an intermediary in a transfer of custody of a minor child, if the person knows or reasonably should know the transfer violates Subsection (1).This subsection does not apply if the person as soon as practicable after the transfer, notifies the Division of Child and Family Services of the transfer or takes appropriate action to establish custody under Subsection (2).
(4) A violation of this section is a class B misdemeanor.
(5) A violation of Subsection (1) is not established solely because a parent or guardian that transfers custody of a minor child does not regain custody.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-204 - Authority and responsibility of the Division of Child and Family Services.
(1) If the Division of Child and Family Services has a reasonable basis to believe that a person has transferred or will transfer custody of a minor child in violation of Subsection 81-14-203(1), the Division of Child and Family Services may conduct a home visit as provided by other law of this state and take appropriate action to protect the welfare of the minor child.
(2) If the Division of Child and Family Services conducts a home visit for a minor child adopted or placed through an intercountry adoption, the Division of Child and Family Services shall:prepare a report on the welfare and plan for permanent placement of the minor child; andprovide a copy of the report to the United States Department of State.
(3) This chapter does not prevent the Division of Child and Family Services from taking appropriate action under law of this state.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-205 - Prohibited soliciting or advertising.
(1) A person may not solicit or advertise to:find a person to which to make a transfer of custody in violation of Subsection 81-14-203(1);identify a minor child for a transfer of custody in violation of Subsection 81-14-203(3); oract as an intermediary in a transfer of custody in violation of Subsection 81-14-203(3).
(2) A violation of this section is a class B misdemeanor.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
Information and Guidance
81-14-301 - Definitions for part.
As used in this part, “prospective adoptive parent” means an individual who has been approved or permitted under other law of this state to adopt a minor child.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-302 - Scope.
This part applies to placement for adoption of a minor child who:
(1) has been or is in foster or institutional care;
(2) previously has been adopted in a state;
(3) has been or is being adopted under the law of a foreign country;
(4) has come or is coming to a state from a foreign country to be adopted;
(5) is not a citizen of the United States;
(6) has an attachment or trauma-related disorder; or
(7) suffered from prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-303 - General adoption information.
(1) Within a reasonable time before a child-placing agency places a minor child for adoption with a prospective adoptive parent, the child-placing agency shall provide or cause to be provided to the prospective adoptive parent general adoption information.
(2) The information under Subsection (1) shall address:possible physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral issues concerning:identity, loss, and trauma that a minor child might experience before, during, or after adoption; anda minor child leaving familiar ties and surroundings;the effect that access to resources, including health insurance, might have on the ability of an adoptive parent to meet the needs of a minor child;causes of disruption of an adoptive placement or dissolution of an adoption and resources available to help avoid disruption or dissolution; andprohibitions under Sections 81-14-203 and 81-14-205.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-304 - Information about a minor child.
(1) Except as prohibited by other law of this state, within a reasonable time before a child-placing agency places a minor child for adoption with a prospective adoptive parent, the agency shall provide or cause to be provided to the prospective adoptive parent information specific to the minor child that is known or reasonably obtainable by the child-placing agency and material to the prospective adoptive parents informed decision to adopt the minor child.The information under Subsection (1)(a) shall include:the minor child’s family, cultural, racial, religious, ethnic, linguistic, and educational background;the minor child’s physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral health;circumstances that may adversely affect the minor child’s physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral health;the minor child’s medical history, including immunizations;the medical history of the minor child’s genetic parents and siblings;the history of an adoptive or out-of-home placement of the minor child and the reason the adoption or placement ended;the minor child’s United States immigration status;medical, therapeutic, and educational resources, including language-acquisition training, available to the adoptive parent and minor child after placement or adoption to assist in responding effectively to physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral issues; andavailable records relevant to the information in Subsections (1)(b)(i) through (viii).
(2) If, before an adoption is finalized, additional information under Subsection (1) that is material to a prospective adoptive parent’s informed decision to adopt the minor child becomes known or reasonably obtainable by the child-placing agency, the child-placing agency shall provide the information to the prospective adoptive parent.
(3) If, after an adoption is finalized, additional information under Subsection (1) becomes known to the child-placing agency, the child-placing agency shall make a reasonable effort to provide the information to the adoptive parent.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-305 - Guidance and instruction.
(1) A child-placing agency placing a minor child for adoption shall provide or cause to be provided to the prospective adoptive parent guidance and instruction specific to the minor child to help prepare the parent to respond effectively to needs of the child that are known or reasonably ascertainable by the child-placing agency.
(2) The guidance and instruction under Subsection (1) shall address, if applicable:the potential effect on the minor child of:previous adoption or out-of-home placement;multiple previous adoptions or out-of-home placements;trauma, insecure attachment, fetal alcohol exposure, or malnutrition;neglect, abuse, drug exposure, or similar adversity;separation from a sibling or significant caregiver; anda difference in ethnicity, race, or cultural identity between the minor child and the prospective adoptive parent or other minor child of the parent;information available from the federal government on the process for the child to acquire United States citizenship; andany other matter the child-placing agency considers material to the adoption.
(3) The guidance and instruction under Subsection (1) shall be provided:for adoption of a minor child residing in the United States, a reasonable time before the adoption is finalized; orfor an intercountry adoption, in accordance with federal law.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-306 - Information about financial assistance and support services.
On request of a minor child who was placed for adoption or the minor child’s adoptive parent, the child-placing agency placing the minor child or the Division of Child and Family Services shall provide information about how to obtain financial assistance or support services:
(1) to assist the minor child or parent to respond effectively to adjustment, behavioral, and other challenges; and
(2) to help preserve the placement or adoption.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-307 - Child-placing agency compliance.
(1) The Division of Licensing and Background Checks, created in Section 26B-2-103, may investigate an allegation that a child-placing agency has failed to comply with this part and commence an action for injunctive or other relief or initiate administrative proceedings against the child-placing agency to enforce this part.
(2) The Office of Licensing may initiate a proceeding to determine whether a child-placing agency has failed to comply with this part.If the Office of Licensing finds that the child-placing agency has failed to comply, the Office of Licensing may suspend or revoke the child-placing agency’s license or take other action permitted by law of the state.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-308 - Rulemaking by Division of Licensing and Background Checks.
The Division of Licensing and Background Checks, created in Section 26B-2-103 , may adopt rules under Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to implement Sections 81-14-303 , 81-14-304 , 81-14-305 , and 81-14-306 .
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
Applicability and Severability Provisions
81-14-401 - Uniformity of application and construction.
In applying and construing this chapter, a court shall consider the promotion of uniformity of the law among jurisdictions that enact the uniform act.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-402 - Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
This chapter modifies, limits, or supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7003(b).
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-403 - Transitional provisions.
(1) Part 2, Prohibition of Unregulated Custody Transfer, applies to:a transfer of custody on or after May 4, 2022; andsoliciting or advertising on or after May 4, 2022.
(2) Part 3, Information and Guidance, applies to placement of a minor child for adoption more than 60 days after May 4, 2022.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session
81-14-404 - Severability.
If a provision of this chapter or the provision’s application to a person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect another provision or application that can be given effect without the invalid provision.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426, 2025 General Session