Who can foster: eligibility and requirements in the UK

The short answer

Far fewer people are ruled out of fostering than most assume. The law sets only a handful of hard limits; almost everything else is decided through an assessment of you, your home and the people you live with. Each fostering service, council or independent, adds its own policies on top, so the honest answer to many questions is: it depends on the service and the type of fostering.

Age: a minimum, but no maximum

Government guidance for England says you must be at least 18, though most services want you to be at least 21. Scotland's mygov.scot guidance is the same: 18 or over, with some agencies not accepting anyone under 21. The Fostering Network notes there is no legal lower age limit as such, so a service turning away someone aged 18 or over purely on age should be able to justify it. Services can set their own bar; Surrey County Council, for example, asks for over 21.

There is no upper age limit anywhere in the UK: The Fostering Network says there is no legal maximum, and guidance for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland says the same. What is assessed is whether you are fit and well enough to meet the needs of the children you would care for, not your date of birth.

Housing and the spare room question

You do not need to own your home. Renting is fine if your tenancy is secure; services typically want a stable tenancy agreement and may ask for your landlord's written permission. A large house is not required. The assessment looks for a safe, stable home with space for a child.

The spare bedroom is the requirement people most often stumble on, and for most fostering it is a real one. In England the national minimum standards say each fostered child over the age of three should have their own bedroom. Sharing is allowed only where a separate room is genuinely not possible, the child's responsible authority agrees and each child has their own area within the room, after the service has weighed any risk of bullying, any history of abuse and the children's wishes. A baby under two can sleep in the carers' bedroom. Short-break carers may only need a room for the nights a child stays, and in Scotland some councils make exceptions depending on the child's age. If your spare room is small or doubles as an office, raise it early rather than assuming you are ruled out.

Relationship status and family

You can foster whether you are single, married, in a civil partnership, cohabiting, divorced or widowed. Single applicants are assessed on the same basis as couples, with attention to the support network around them. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not relevant; Scottish guidance says fostering is open to you regardless of any protected characteristic under the Equality Act, such as marital status, sexual orientation or religion. A new partner is not a problem in itself, but any partner involved in caring for a child must be assessed and approved alongside you. You do not need children of your own, though services want to see some relevant experience of children.

Work, income and benefits

Whether you can keep working depends on the child's circumstances and the service. Part-time work is often workable, particularly with school-age children, but full-time day care for a fostered child is not usually considered appropriate, and for babies, pre-school children and parent-and-child placements some services require one carer at home full time. Supported lodgings and short breaks sit more comfortably alongside a full-time job.

Being unemployed or on benefits does not stop you fostering. Services look at your finances for stability rather than a salary threshold. Three practical points: there is no statutory right to time off work for fostering; councils such as Surrey ask carers to register as self-employed with HMRC; and a fostering allowance can affect some benefit claims, so check with the service and the relevant benefits office first.

Health and disability

Every applicant has a medical, normally a confidential GP report to the service's medical adviser. Its purpose is to check you are physically and emotionally well enough to look after a child day to day, not to find perfect health. A long-term condition, regular medication, a disability or a history of mental health difficulties does not disqualify you; the report is one part of the assessment, and some councils actively encourage disabled applicants.

Criminal record checks: DBS, Disclosure Scotland and AccessNI

Every service must run criminal record checks on you and the other adults in your household. In England this is an enhanced DBS check including the children's barred list, which the regulations require for the applicant and every household member aged 18 or over; Wales uses the same DBS system. In Scotland foster carers join Disclosure Scotland's PVG scheme, and councils also run enhanced checks on household members aged 16 or over. In Northern Ireland it is an enhanced AccessNI check alongside a social services check.

An enhanced check shows spent as well as unspent convictions, cautions and other non-court disposals, relevant police information, and whether you are barred from working with children. Some old and minor matters are filtered out, and fixed penalty tickets and parking fines are not included.

What does and does not rule you out

In England the law is specific. A service must not approve you if you, or an adult in your household, has a conviction or caution for a specified offence committed at 18 or over: an offence against a child, an offence listed in Schedule 4 of the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 (rape and other serious sexual offences, including indecent images of children), or any other offence involving bodily injury to a child other than common assault or battery. The only exception is where a particular child's welfare requires it and you are a relative of that child or already their foster carer.

Everything else is judged on its merits. The Fostering Network says minor offences should not count against you; Scottish government guidance says convictions will not necessarily prevent approval but need careful consideration; and councils such as Surrey and South Lanarkshire say the same, though Surrey's own policy also bars serious violent crime. What matters is what happened, how long ago, what has changed and whether you were honest. Enhanced checks show spent convictions, so declare everything at the start: an undisclosed matter that later surfaces is a far bigger problem than the offence itself.

Pets

Having a pet does not stop you fostering. Each animal is assessed for temperament and behaviour as part of the home assessment, and a pet that is aggressive or has harmed someone may affect approval. Otherwise services generally see pets as a positive part of family life.

Smoking and vaping

There is no UK-wide rule; each service sets its own policy, and Foster Wales notes that these cover e-cigarettes and vaping too. The consistent expectation is a smoke-free home. In practice many services will not place children under five, or children with certain health conditions, with a household where anyone smokes; Surrey, for example, allows older children only where smoking or vaping happens strictly outside and away from children. Smokers are usually offered help to stop.

Immigration status and residency

You do not need to be a British citizen. The requirements set out for England and by The Fostering Network are that you live in the UK and have the right to work here, and services generally expect a full-time UK resident; some councils spell this out as indefinite leave to remain, settled status or permanent residency. If your leave is time-limited a service may still consider you, but will weigh the time and cost of approving someone who may not be able to stay. You need not be a native English speaker, but you will need a good level of spoken and written English. A fostering service cannot advise on your immigration position; for that you need a regulated immigration adviser or solicitor.

Myths that stop people applying

Most people who never apply are stopped by something they assume rather than something they have checked.

• "I'm too old." There is no upper age limit anywhere in the UK.
• "I'd need to own a big house." You can rent, and size matters far less than a safe spare room.
• "I have to be in a couple." Single people foster and are assessed on the same basis.
• "I need to have raised my own children." Not required; relevant experience of children helps.
• "I'm gay, or trans, so I won't be considered." Sexual orientation and gender identity are not factors.
• "I don't drive." Not required if you have good public transport or support for school runs and appointments.
• "My religion will count against me." It will not; carers of all faiths and none foster.
• "Any criminal record rules me out." Only a narrow set of offences does.
• "I'm on benefits." Receiving benefits does not stop you fostering.
• "I have a health condition." What is assessed is whether you are well enough for the role.

Next steps

If nothing here has ruled you out, speak to more than one fostering service, ask each directly about its policies on the points above, and be candid about anything you are unsure of. Honesty at the enquiry stage saves months later.

Across the UK

England

Government guidance: at least 18 (most services require 21), the right to work in the UK and usually a spare bedroom. The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 set the mandatory bar for specified offences and require an enhanced DBS check for the applicant and every household member aged 18 or over, plus a medical report and two personal referees. National minimum standards expect each fostered child over three to have their own bedroom unless sharing is formally agreed.

Scotland

mygov.scot: 18 or over (some agencies insist on 21), no upper age limit, full-time UK resident, and a spare bedroom, with some councils making exceptions by the child's age. The assessment covers medical history, criminal record, finances and home, can take 6 to 12 months and ends with a fostering panel; reviews follow after the first year and then every two years. Checks run through Disclosure Scotland's PVG scheme, and councils also check household members aged 16 or over.

Wales

Foster Wales: no upper age limit, rent or own, a spare room needed, pets assessed rather than barred, and single, LGBTQ+, working and unemployed applicants all welcome. It sets no national minimum age, and smoking and vaping policies vary by local authority, so ask your local Foster Wales team. Criminal record checks use the DBS, as in England.

Northern Ireland

nidirect: no maximum age; single, married or living with a partner; with or without your own children; in or out of work; owning or renting; whatever your race, religion or sexuality. Applicants have a GP medical, an enhanced AccessNI check and a social services check, give references and are assessed by a social worker before a fostering panel makes a recommendation. Fostering is provided by the five HSC trusts and independent providers such as Barnardo's and Action for Children.

Common questions