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Read. Follow. Verify.Ohio HB 713 Establishes Civil Penalties and Tightens Rules on Adoption Advertising and Facilitation
Last action · February 25, 2026: Referred to JudiciarySponsors: Anita Somani and 4 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Ohio House Bill 713 prohibits uncertified entities and individuals from arranging adoptions or providing compensated adoption services, while creating a new private civil right of action allowing affected parties to recover at least $5,000 per violation plus punitive damages and attorney's fees. The legislation also increases criminal penalties for unlawful adoption advertising and restricts agencies from referring clients to uncertified or out-of-state prohibited providers.
Prospective adoptive parents, birth parents, and adoption agencies face new legal liabilities and minimum statutory damages of $5,000 for unlawful advertising or facilitation, alongside revised criminal offenses and felony fine structures.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Prospective adoptive parents
Must navigate updated advertising permissions, utilize certified agencies or attorneys, and gain the right to bring civil actions for statutory damages against unlawful facilitators.
Birth parents
Retain rights to advertise child availability to qualified adoptive parents while facing prohibitions against requesting money or things of value in exchange for placement.
Adoption agencies and attorneys
Subject to strict prohibitions against client referrals to uncertified or out-of-state prohibited providers and governed by clear operational representation boundaries.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is legally permitted to arrange an adoption in Ohio under this bill?
What are the financial consequences for violating adoption advertising and facilitation laws?
Can biological parents advertise their child for adoption?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- Feb 25, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred to Judiciary
- Feb 24, 2026HouseIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Creation of Specific Private Right of Action
The bill introduces section 2307.68 to explicitly establish a civil right of action with a statutory floor of $5,000 per violation for illegal adoption advertising and facilitation.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legislature.ohio.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy45Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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