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JV-321Mandatory

Request for Prospective Adoptive Parent Designation

California · Judicial Council of California · Effective September 1, 2020

This form is used to ask the court to officially name the child's current caregiver as a prospective adoptive parent. It asks for details about the child, the people involved, and steps taken toward adoption.

The court describes it as: Ask in writing that the court make the child’s current caregiver a prospective adoptive parent. For information on the process for giving notice of this request, read Instructions for Notice of Prospective Adoptive Parent Hearing (form JV-326-INFO).

Open the official PDFfrom Judicial Council of California

Where this fits in a case

Motions

Stage: Motions

This form is used when someone wants to ask the court to designate the child's current caregiver as a prospective adoptive parent. The form notes that the person should wait until a specific hearing has been scheduled before filing it.

Either party may file.

Official instructions

How-to guides published by the court for this form.

Common questions

Who should fill out this form?
The form asks for information from the person requesting the designation, the child's attorney, and the child's attorney if the filer is not the child's attorney.
What must happen before filing this form?
The person filling out this form should not file it until a Welfare and Institutions Code section 366.26 hearing has been scheduled.
What does the form ask about the child?
It asks for the child's name and date of birth, and notes that the child must be living with the person who wants to be designated as the parent.

Revision history

No changes recorded since we started tracking this form on October 9, 2026. The current version took effect September 1, 2020.

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