Adoption leave in India sits inside the Maternity Benefit Act rather than a separate law, and it changed significantly in early 2026, a change worth knowing about since a lot of existing guidance online still describes the older, narrower version.

The entitlement, and what recently changed

Under the Maternity Benefit Act, an adopting mother is entitled to 12 weeks of leave from the date the child is handed over to her. As originally enacted in 2017, this only applied where the adopted child was under three months old at the time of adoption, which excluded a large share of real adoptions in India, where the adopted child is very often older than that. In March 2026, the Supreme Court struck down that age restriction as unconstitutional. Adoptive and commissioning mothers are now entitled to the full 12 weeks regardless of the adopted child’s age, a meaningful expansion of who actually qualifies.

Frequently asked questions

Does the 12-week adoption leave apply to commissioning mothers too?

Yes, commissioning mothers, those who have a child through a surrogacy arrangement, are covered under the same provision and the same recent Supreme Court ruling.

Is adoption leave paid the same way as maternity leave?

Yes, it’s paid at the employee’s regular salary rate for the 12-week period, on the same basis as standard maternity leave under the Act.

Does an adopting father get any statutory leave?

Not under the Maternity Benefit Act specifically, which is framed around the adopting or commissioning mother. Any leave for an adopting father would fall under a company’s own paternity leave policy, if one exists.

Does the old 3-month age limit still apply anywhere?

No. Following the Supreme Court’s March 2026 ruling, the age restriction has been struck down, so the 12-week entitlement now applies regardless of the child’s age at adoption.

See the related entitlement for a birth mother in our note on maternity leave.