The U.S. Embassy in El Salvador has confirmed that the El Salvadorian Government has promulgated new regulations regarding the authorization of accredited agencies for international adoption. According to the new regulations, any accredited adoption services provider (ASP) currently facilitating or wishing to facilitate adoptions with El Salvador  must  receive authorization from the Board of Directors of Office for Adoptions (OPA), the competent authority that approves the operation of the accredited agencies in El Salvador. We encourage ASPs interested in providing adoption services in El Salvador to reach out to OPA or El Salvador’s Central Authority for more information on its authorization procedures. You may find the contact information for the Central Authority on the country-specific page, under the “Contact Information” tab.

Prospective adoptive parents who are currently in the process of adopting from El Salvador should work closely with their ASP to understand the potential processing time for authorization and the impact this will have on their specific adoption.

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information on intercountry adoption in El Salvador. For questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children’s Issues at Adoption@state.gov.