15A V.S.A. § 3-301: Standing to petition to adopt

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, the only persons who have standing to petition to adopt a minor under this article are:

(1) a person with whom a minor has been placed for adoption or who has been selected as a prospective adoptive parent by a person authorized under this title to place the minor for adoption; or

(2) a person with whom a minor has not been placed for adoption or who has not been selected or rejected as a prospective adoptive parent pursuant to Article 2, Part 1 and Part 2 of this title, but who has had physical custody of the minor for at least six months immediately before seeking to file a petition for adoption and is allowed to file the petition by the court for good cause shown.

(b) The spouse of a petitioner shall consent to the petition unless judicially declared incompetent.

(c) A petition for adoption of a minor stepchild by a stepparent may be filed under Article 4 of this title and a petition for adoption of an emancipated minor may be filed under Article 5 of this title.