To support the viability of intercountry adoption as a permanency option for children in Belgium, the Office of Children’s Issues and the U.S. Embassy in Brussels sought information from the Belgian Central Authority regarding its legal requirements for the authorization of adoption service providers (ASP), pursuant to Article 12 of the Hague Adoption Convention.

Belgium ratified the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Convention) on May 26, 2005.  The Convention entered into force on September 1, 2005.  The Belgian Central Authority for Intercountry Adoption is the Service de l'Adoption internationale established within the Service Public Fédéral Justice.

ASPs with questions about the information below or about pursuing authorization in Belgium should contact the Belgian Central Authority, Service de l'Adoption international,

Service public fédéral Justice, Direction générale de la Législation et des Libertés et Droits fondamentaux, Boulevard de Waterloo, 115 B-1000 BRUSSELS, Belgium, Phone: +32 542 75 72 (Fr) / +32 54271 61 (Nl), E-mail: adoption.int.adoptie@just.fgov.be, Internet:  http://justice.belgium.be/fr/themes_et_dossiers/personnes_et_familles/adoption/  (FR)

http://justitie.belgium.be/nl/themas_en_dossiers/personen_en_gezinnen/adoptie/  (NL)

Contact person: Ms. Marleen Grauls (Conseiller)

The Belgian Central Authority confirmed that it does not have any specific authorization requirements but that any ASP working on an intercountry adoption in Belgium would need to work with the relevant federal or community authorities to understand specific requirements in the region where the child is residing.

For additional information, ASPs may wish to review the Belgium country-information page.