Child Adoption Leave for Central Government Employees

Child adoption leave is 180 days at full pay for a woman central government employee adopting a child below one year, under Rule 43-B. Conditions and pay.

Updated 19 July 2026 · Reviewed by Salary-Calculator.in

Child adoption leave is a 180-day leave for a female central government employee with fewer than two surviving children, granted under Rule 43-B of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972 on the valid adoption of a child below the age of one year, on full pay and without being debited to the leave account; a matching 15-day leave is granted to an adopting father under Rule 43-AA.

Child adoption leave is the adopting mother’s counterpart to maternity leave. Where maternity leave supports the woman who gives birth, child adoption leave gives the woman who adopts an infant the same 180 days to settle the child into the home, at the same full salary and on the same terms outside the ordinary leave account. It is a real and protected entitlement, not a concession drawn from earned leave, and it sits inside a defined set of conditions: the adopter must be a woman, she must have fewer than two surviving children, and the adopted child must be below one year on the date of the adoption. This article sets out those conditions, the pay, the leave that can follow it, what the rules treat as a valid adoption, the adopting father’s provision, and how the leave fits among the other parental leaves.

The framework of all the parental leaves is in the maternity leave article, which covers the mother’s birth leave and summarises the adoption and paternity heads; this article is the detail on child adoption leave. The wider leave code, and the place of each head within it, is in the CCS (Leave) Rules article.

What child adoption leave is

Child adoption leave is a recognised leave under Rule 43-B of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972. It is granted to a female government servant on the valid adoption of a child below the age of one year, so that the adopting mother can be at home to settle the infant into the family in the way a birth mother would. It is fixed at 180 days, it is paid at full salary, and it is not linked to any leave balance the employee has built up: it is a standalone entitlement that arises on the adoption, not a draw on the earned leave or the half pay leave account.

Its purpose puts it alongside maternity leave rather than the leaves that answer illness or planned absence. Where earned leave is the planned holiday and half pay leave the reserve for a long illness, child adoption leave is an occasion leave, tied to the specific event of adopting an infant and available only around it. The event that triggers it is the valid adoption of a child below one year, and the leave runs from the date of that adoption, which is why the child’s age is read as on the date the adoption becomes valid rather than at any later point.

The conditions: a woman, fewer than two children, a child below one year

Three conditions define who gets child adoption leave. The first is that the servant is a woman: the leave is the adopting mother’s provision, the counterpart of the birth mother’s maternity leave, and the adopting father is dealt with separately under Rule 43-AA. The second is the family-size condition: child adoption leave is granted to a female employee with fewer than two surviving children. A woman who already has two or more surviving children is outside the provision, in line with the small-family norm that runs through the parental-leave rules, the same condition that governs maternity leave and paternity leave.

The third condition is the age of the child. Child adoption leave is admissible only on the adoption of a child below the age of one year. The adoption of an older child does not attract the 180 days, however genuine the adoption. This age cut-off is the condition most often misread, because the child care leave that a parent can take to rear a child runs all the way to the child’s eighteenth year, and the two are easy to conflate. A woman who adopts an infant below one year gets both the 180 days of child adoption leave and, later, access to the child care leave pool; a woman who adopts a child of one year or above gets no child adoption leave but can still draw child care leave to look after the child.

Within those conditions the quantum is fixed at 180 days, and it does not vary with the length of service, the pay level, or which child is being adopted, as long as the conditions are met. There is no accrual or accumulation, because child adoption leave is not earned over time but arises on the adoption.

The 180 days, and the enhancement from 135

The 180-day figure is the enhanced one. Child adoption leave was earlier 135 days, matching the earlier maternity leave figure. Both were raised to 180 days by the Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 13018/1/2009-Estt.(L) dated 22 July 2009, which enhanced child adoption leave to 180 days and, in the same order, introduced the 15 days of paternity leave for an adopting father under Rule 43-AA. An adopting mother should therefore plan on 180 days, and treat the older 135-day figure, which still circulates in summaries drawn from before 2009, as superseded.

The leave is counted in days, not months, and runs continuously from the date it begins. It begins from the date of the valid adoption, or from a later date the woman chooses within the period the leave remains available, and it is taken in a single spell rather than split across the year, since it is the settling-in leave for the new infant.

Full pay, and not debited

Child adoption leave is generous in the two ways that matter for the pay slip. It is paid at full leave salary, the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on the leave, under Rule 40, so the 180 days carry the full salary and not a reduced rate. This is a clean contrast with half pay leave , which pays half of basic pay plus the dearness allowance on that half, and with extraordinary leave , which carries no leave salary at all. On child adoption leave the woman draws her pay.

It is also not debited against the leave account. Taking child adoption leave does not reduce the earned leave or the half pay leave balance, so those continue to accrue, and the earned leave available for encashment at retirement is untouched, a point the leave encashment article develops. The 180 days sit outside the ordinary leave account entirely, tracked as authorised leave on full pay rather than charged against a quota, which is why they cost the woman nothing in the leave she has built up.

Leave in continuation

Child adoption leave can be followed by more leave. In continuation of the 180 days, leave of the kind due and admissible may be granted for a period up to one year reduced by the age of the adopted child on the date of the valid adoption, or the date the leave is availed, whichever is earlier. So the total leave around the adoption, the child adoption leave plus the continuation leave, is capped by reference to a one-year window measured from the child’s age, and the older the child at adoption, the shorter the continuation leave that can follow.

The leave that fills the continuation is the ordinary leave the woman has to her credit, earned leave , commuted leave on a medical certificate, or leave not due , and it is granted on the normal terms for that leave. In practice a woman more often takes child care leave after her child adoption leave to continue caring for the child, since child care leave draws on a separate 730-day whole-service pool rather than on her earned or half pay leave, and it does not run down the balances she wants to keep for encashment. The child adoption leave and the child care leave are separate pools, so taking the adoption leave does not consume the child-care-leave quota, and a woman can take one after the other around the adoption of an infant.

What counts as a valid adoption

Child adoption leave turns on a valid adoption, and the word valid does work. The leave is admissible where the government servant has become the legal parent of the child through an adoption made under a law in force, not merely where a child is being cared for informally. The sanctioning authority looks for the document that establishes the legal relationship, the adoption deed or the court order, and reads the child’s age as on the date that adoption becomes valid.

For most adoptions in India the route is the one administered by the Central Adoption Resource Authority , the statutory body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development that regulates and monitors in-country and inter-country adoption under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015. An adoption completed through that process, ending in the court order that vests the child in the adoptive parent, is a valid adoption for the leave. An adoption under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956, which governs adoption among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs and takes effect through a registered adoption deed, is equally a valid adoption. What the rule does not cover is a pre-adoption foster placement that has not yet become a legal adoption. On the father’s side, Rule 43-AA was widened in 2023 to bring pre-adoption foster care within the paternity leave on adoption, with a recovery if the foster care does not lead to a valid adoption, but the woman’s child adoption leave under Rule 43-B stays keyed to the valid adoption itself.

The adopting father: Rule 43-AA

The adopting father is provided for separately, under Rule 43-AA. A male government servant with fewer than two surviving children who validly adopts a child below the age of one year is granted 15 days of paternity leave , to be availed within six months from the date of the valid adoption. It mirrors ordinary paternity leave in quantum, pay and the fewer-than-two-children condition, with the triggering event being the adoption rather than a birth and the window running from the date of the adoption.

The two adoption leaves were introduced together. The Office Memorandum dated 22 July 2009 that raised the woman’s child adoption leave to 180 days also created the adopting father’s 15 days under Rule 43-AA, so that an adopting couple in central service draws the same shape of leave as a couple on a birth: 180 days for the mother, 15 for the father. The 2023 amendment then extended the father’s provision to a child taken in pre-adoption foster care, with the condition that if the foster care is not followed by a valid adoption the paternity leave already availed is debited to the father’s other leave. The mother’s leave was not extended to foster care in the same way and remains tied to the valid adoption.

Child adoption leave and child care leave

The leave most often confused with child adoption leave is child care leave , and keeping the two apart is the practical key for an adopting parent. Child adoption leave under Rule 43-B is the one-off 180 days on the adoption of an infant below one year, at full pay, for the mother. Child care leave under Rule 43-C is the long leave, up to 730 days across the whole service, to look after a child up to the age of eighteen, available to a woman government servant and to a single male government servant, paid at 100 per cent for the first 365 days and 80 per cent for the next 365.

They differ in almost every dimension: the trigger (an adoption below one year against the ongoing care of a child up to eighteen), the length (180 days against 730), the pay (full throughout against a step down to 80 per cent in the second year), and the pool (a one-off entitlement against a career reserve drawn in spells). An adopting mother of an infant typically uses them in sequence: the 180 days of child adoption leave to settle the child in, then child care leave from the 730-day pool as the child grows and needs care. Because the two draw on separate pools, using the adoption leave does not touch the child-care-leave reserve, and a woman keeps the full 730 days for the rearing years.

Applying for child adoption leave

Child adoption leave is applied for and sanctioned like any other leave, but its occasion and its condition on a valid adoption shape the application. A woman applies to the leave-sanctioning authority for the 180 days, stating the date of the valid adoption and the age of the child, and supports the claim with the adoption order or deed that establishes the legal relationship and the child’s date of birth, so the authority can confirm that the child was below one year on the date of the adoption. The leave is then sanctioned from the date of the adoption, or from a later date the woman chooses within the period it remains available.

Where the woman means to take leave beyond the 180 days, she applies for the continuation leave at the same time or before the 180 days end, specifying the kind of leave she wants in continuation, whether earned leave, commuted leave on a medical certificate, or child care leave. The continuation is granted on the terms of the leave chosen, and, for the leave of the kind due and admissible, within the one-year-reduced-by-the-age-of-the-child cap. Planning the whole absence at the outset, the 180 days and whatever follows, avoids a gap between the adoption leave running out and the next spell being sanctioned.

Where child adoption leave sits among the parental leaves

Child adoption leave is one of a family of parental leaves in the CCS (Leave) Rules, and seeing them together prevents the common confusions. The table sets out the set.

Leave	Rule	Quantum	Who	Pay
Maternity leave	43	180 days	Woman, on the birth of a child, fewer than two surviving children	Full pay
Miscarriage or abortion	43(3)	Up to 45 days in the whole service	Woman (no two-child bar)	Full pay
Special maternity leave	OM 2 Sep 2022	60 days	Woman, on the death of a child soon after birth or a stillbirth	Full pay
Paternity leave	43-A	15 days	Man, on the birth of a child, fewer than two surviving children	Full pay
Child adoption leave	43-B	180 days	Woman, on adoption of a child below one year, fewer than two surviving children	Full pay
Paternity leave (adoption)	43-AA	15 days	Man, on adoption of a child below one year, fewer than two surviving children	Full pay
Child care leave	43-C	Up to 730 days in the whole service	Woman or single man, to rear a child up to eighteen	100 per cent, then 80 per cent

Child adoption leave is the adoption-side twin of maternity leave: the same 180 days, the same full pay, the same fewer-than-two-children condition, the same non-debit, with the trigger being a valid adoption of an infant rather than a birth. A woman does not draw both maternity leave and child adoption leave for the same child, since one arises on a birth and the other on an adoption. The special maternity leave on the death of a child soon after birth or a stillbirth, and the up-to-45-day leave for a miscarriage, round out the birth-side heads and are covered in the maternity leave article.

One boundary is worth drawing clearly, because it catches adopting parents. Surrogacy is a separate route brought within the leave rules by the CCS (Leave) (Amendment) Rules 2024, which gave a commissioning mother a maternity-type leave and a commissioning father a paternity-type leave for a child born through surrogacy. Surrogacy is not adoption: a child born to the couple through a surrogacy arrangement is dealt with under the 2024 surrogacy provisions, while a child taken into the family through a legal adoption is dealt with under Rule 43-B. The route to the child decides which head applies.

Child adoption leave, pay and service

For the pay slip and the service record, child adoption leave is treated kindly. The 180 days are paid at full salary, and that salary is part of the ordinary pay for the period, taxable as salary in the normal way, with no special income-tax exemption and none needed, since the woman is simply paid her pay for the six months. There is no leave salary computed at a reduced rate, as there is for half pay leave, because child adoption leave is full-pay leave throughout.

For service, the key is that child adoption leave is not debited to the leave account and is not a break in service. Because it is not charged to earned leave or half pay leave, those balances are untouched, which protects the earned leave available for encashment at retirement and the half pay leave reserve. And because the period is treated as authorised leave on full pay, it counts for the continuity of service and does not disturb the increment or the pension, so an adopting mother loses nothing in her pay progression or her retirement benefits by taking the 180 days. Child adoption leave is, in this respect, a cost-free half-year: full pay, no leave debited, and no effect on the increment or the pension, the same treatment maternity leave carries for a birth.

Applicability

Rule 43-B applies to central government civilian employees governed by the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972. Employees under other leave codes are governed by their own rules, which broadly mirror the provision but are separate instruments: members of the All India Services are under the All India Services (Leave) Rules 1955, railway servants under the Railway Servants (Leave) Rules, and staff of some autonomous bodies under rules that adopt or track the central provision. An adopting mother should confirm the entitlement under the leave rules that govern her own service, though for the great majority of central government civilian employees it is the 180 days of Rule 43-B set out here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How many days of child adoption leave does a woman central government employee get?

180 days, under Rule 43-B of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972. It is granted to a female government servant with fewer than two surviving children, on the valid adoption of a child below the age of one year, at full pay. It is not debited to the leave account, so it does not reduce the earned leave or half pay leave balance. The 180-day figure was set by the Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum dated 22 July 2009, which raised it from 135 days.

What is the age limit of the child for child adoption leave?

The child must be below the age of one year on the date of the valid adoption. Child adoption leave under Rule 43-B is not admissible for the adoption of an older child. A woman who adopts a child of one year or above does not get the 180 days, though she may be eligible for child care leave under Rule 43-C to rear the child, since that leave runs up to the child’s eighteenth year.

Is child adoption leave paid at full salary?

Yes. Child adoption leave is paid at the leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave, that is full pay, under Rule 40. It is also not debited to the earned leave or half pay leave account, so those balances keep accruing during it and the earned leave available for encashment at retirement is untouched.

Can leave be taken after the 180 days of child adoption leave?

Yes. In continuation of the child adoption leave, leave of the kind due and admissible may be granted for a period up to one year reduced by the age of the adopted child on the date of the valid adoption, or the date the leave is availed, whichever is earlier. In practice a woman often takes child care leave after the adoption leave to continue caring for the child, drawing on the separate 730-day child care leave pool.

Does an adopting father get any leave?

Yes. Under Rule 43-AA, a male government servant with fewer than two surviving children who validly adopts a child below the age of one year is granted 15 days of paternity leave, to be taken within six months of the date of the valid adoption. It mirrors ordinary paternity leave in quantum and pay. The woman’s 180-day child adoption leave and the man’s 15-day paternity leave on adoption were introduced together by the 22 July 2009 Office Memorandum.

What counts as a valid adoption for child adoption leave?

An adoption made under a law in force, so that the government servant becomes the legal parent of the child. For most adoptions this means an adoption processed through the Central Adoption Resource Authority under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, or an adoption under the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act 1956. The sanctioning authority looks for the adoption deed or court order that establishes the legal relationship, and the child’s age is read as on the date of that valid adoption.

Is child adoption leave available if I already have two children?

No. Like maternity leave and paternity leave, child adoption leave carries the fewer-than-two-surviving-children condition. A woman who already has two or more surviving children is outside Rule 43-B, whatever the circumstances of the adoption, in line with the small-family norm that runs through the parental-leave rules.

Is child adoption leave the same as maternity leave?

They are separate heads with the same length. Maternity leave under Rule 43 is 180 days for a woman on the birth of a child; child adoption leave under Rule 43-B is 180 days for a woman on the valid adoption of a child below one year. Both are at full pay and neither is debited to the leave account. A woman does not get both for the same child, since one arises on a birth and the other on an adoption.

External references

References

Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 43-B (child adoption leave): 180 days for a female government servant with fewer than two surviving children on the valid adoption of a child below one year.
Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 43-AA (paternity leave on adoption): 15 days for an adopting father, widened by the CCS (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2023 to cover pre-adoption foster care.
Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum No. 13018/1/2009-Estt.(L) dated 22 July 2009 (child adoption leave enhanced to 180 days; paternity leave on adoption introduced).
Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 40 (leave salary at full pay) and Rule 43-C (child care leave).
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and the Central Adoption Resource Authority adoption regulations (valid adoption route); Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act, 1956.
CCS (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2024 (notified 18 June 2024): leave provisions for a commissioning mother and father on a child born through surrogacy.