Skyrim: How Many Kids Can You Adopt?

If you’ve reached the point in your The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim playthrough where you would like to undertake more responsibilities, then adopting a child could be a suitable option. There are a few requirements to be met before you can adopt a child, and in this guide we’ve outlined how to fulfill the adoption process as well as how many kids you can adopt in Skyrim.

How many kids can you adopt in Skyrim?

The second Skyrim add-on Hearthfire will only allow you to adopt two children, regardless of which property you use.

Children available for adoption

The four children available to adopt are:

Alesan

Alesan is a Redguard orphan located at the Windpeak Inn on the outskirts of Dawnstar, close to the mines. You will find him sleeping on the floor of the inn.

Blaise 

This Breton orphan lives at Katla’s Farm in Solitude, and can be found sleeping in the stables with the animals. 

Lucia 

Lucia is an Imperial child who can be found sitting on one of the benches in Whiterun, located near the Gildergreen tree.

Sofie 

This Nord child can be identified in Windhelm by the flower basket she carries. She can also be found sleeping outside of Niranye’s house next to a barrel.

There are four additional children available for adoption by default from the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften:

Runa Fair-Shield
Hroar
Samuel
Francois Beaufort

You must complete the Dark Brotherhood quest ‘Innocence Lost’ before you can adopt from this orphanage.

How to adopt a child

Before the Dragonborn can adopt a child, there are a few prerequisites in place.

You must own a house with a children’s bedroom or a furnished homestead with a bed and chest.

If you have a homestead, a child’s bed can either be in the Bedrooms or you can have a single bed in the Main Hall. If you plan to have two children, you must have two chests accompanying the two beds, otherwise, adoption will not be allowed.

A grim alternative prompts other children to be sent to the orphanage once their parents die.

The Dragonborn can opt to kill the parents in order to send the child to the orphanage, but the crime must not be observed by a guard or the child.

The following table lists the available children, their location, and the parents you have to kill in order for them to be put up for adoption: