What eligibility requirements must I meet to become a foster carer?

Foster carer eligibility is assessed on your overall ability to meet a child’s needs, rather than on a single personal characteristic. In England, applicants generally need to be at least 21, have the right circumstances to care for a child, and be able to work openly with the fostering agency and other professionals. There is no single type of person or family who can foster.

You may be able to apply if you are:

• single, married, civil partnered or living with a partner;
• part of a same-sex or opposite-sex couple;
• a homeowner or tenant, provided your accommodation meets the required standards;
• working, self-employed, retired or receiving benefits, subject to an assessment of your financial circumstances; or
• already a parent, provided fostering can be managed alongside the needs of children in your family.

If you apply as a couple, both partners will usually be assessed because fostering affects the whole household. The agency will consider your relationship, each person’s understanding of fostering and how you make decisions together. You do not normally need to be married or in a long-term relationship to apply.

Your home and household will be considered in practical detail. The agency needs to establish that a foster child will have appropriate personal space, privacy and safe access to the facilities they need. A separate bedroom is usually expected, although the precise arrangements can depend on the child’s age, their needs and whether siblings are being placed together. The assessment will also consider other children or adults living in the home, pets, smoking, visitors and any factors that could affect a child’s safety or wellbeing.

Health and wellbeing are considered in relation to the demands of fostering, not against an assumption that applicants must have perfect health. You may be asked to complete a medical assessment so that the agency can understand whether any physical or mental health condition, disability or treatment affects your capacity to foster. A health condition does not automatically prevent approval; the relevant question is whether appropriate arrangements can be made to meet the child’s needs safely and reliably.

Background screening is a formal part of the assessment. This commonly includes Disclosure and Barring Service checks, local authority checks, references, identity checks and checks on previous addresses. Other adults in the household may also need to undergo checks. A criminal record does not automatically mean that an application will be refused, but offences involving violence, sexual harm or children are treated particularly seriously. The agency will consider the nature of an offence, when it happened, the circumstances and any evidence of changed behaviour.

Financial circumstances must be stable enough to support fostering. You do not usually need to be wealthy or have a particular level of income, but the agency will want to see that fostering is not being pursued as a way to resolve serious financial difficulties. Foster carers receive financial support linked to approved fostering arrangements, but this should not be treated as a guaranteed salary. Any effect on employment, benefits, tax or household budgeting should be discussed before applying.

Your employment and other commitments will also be examined. Some children need regular appointments, supervision, school transport or attendance at meetings, so the agency will consider whether your routine allows you to give fostering the necessary time. This does not always mean that one adult must stop work, but you should be able to explain how work, childcare and fostering responsibilities would fit together.

You will need a suitable support network. This might include a partner, relatives, friends or other trusted adults who understand the responsibilities involved. The agency may ask how you would manage practical demands, maintain boundaries and respond if a placement becomes challenging. Supporters cannot replace your own responsibilities as a foster carer, and anyone providing regular help may need to be identified and checked.

Eligibility is not the same as approval. After an initial enquiry, the agency normally gathers information, completes checks, arranges preparation training and carries out a full assessment. You will be asked about your childhood, relationships, parenting or caring experience, attitudes to behaviour, identity, safeguarding and the reasons you want to foster. You should answer honestly: withholding relevant information can create difficulties later, whereas openness allows the assessment to consider appropriate support and matching.

The final decision is made after the assessment has been presented through the agency’s approval process. It considers whether your skills, circumstances and household can meet the needs of the type of children you wish to foster. If you are unsure about one aspect of your circumstances, it is usually better to discuss it with a fostering agency at the enquiry stage rather than assuming that you cannot apply.