A Pennsylvania Adoption Petition is a legal document that must be filed in the Court of Common Pleas in order to start the adoption process in Pennsylvania. The Petition is a request for the Court to grant permission to the prospective adoptive parents to adopt a child. It must include basic information about the adoptive parents and the child, as well as the reason for the adoption. There are two types of Pennsylvania Adoption Petition: direct placement adoption and agency adoption. In a direct placement adoption, the prospective adoptive parents and the child's birth parents will negotiate and agree upon the adoption privately. In an agency adoption, the adoption is arranged through a licensed child-placing agency. In either case, the prospective adoptive parents must file a Petition for Adoption with the Court in order to begin the adoption process.