Embassy of the United States

Fees and advertisement prohibitions:

Adoption Fees: The U.S. Embassy in Kenya discourages the payment of any fees that are not properly receipted, “donations,” or “expediting” fees, that may be requested from PAPs.  Such fees have the appearance of “buying” a baby and put all future adoptions in Kenya at risk.

Kenyan law prohibits financial transactions between individuals involved in an adoption proceeding. Some payments are permitted, for example, to an adoption society for maintenance of the child, or to an attorney who acts for any of the parties or in connection with an application for an adoption order. Any payment or reward made by PAPs or a third party facilitating the adoption for the purpose of making an adoption order is considered illegal.

• Advertisement Prohibition: It is illegal to publish an advertisement indicating that a parent or guardian desires to place a child up for adoption, that a person wishes to adopt a child, or that a person (who is not an adoption society) is willing to facilitate the adoption of a child.