The former City player was thrust into a caretaker role at the end of the recent Barclays Premier League season after the sacking of Chris Hughton, but he was unable to halt their slide into the Sky Bet Championship.
A return of one point from 15 has not deterred the Norwich board from appointing him on a full-time basis, though, with the news confirmed on the club's official website.
The news ends talk that former Norwich player Malky Mackay would take the job, and immediately ends suggestions Neil Lennon - fresh from leaving Celtic - was in the running
A statement on Norwich's website said Adams has "the full and unanimous support of the board" while Adams added: "It is a huge honour and I am immensely proud to be confirmed as the club's manager going forward, and work starts straight away on putting into place the necessary requirements for next season.
"The priority is to ensure that attacking, attractive and winning football is once again the norm for supporters of this club, and it is essential that we now have everyone pulling in the same direction for the challenges that lie ahead.
"I thank the board of directors for giving me this opportunity as well as the amazing support that I and the team received from the fans during the last five games of last season and also in the time since, and I can assure everyone that we will all be working as hard as possible to achieve our objective of returning this club back to where it belongs."
Four of the games Adams was in charge for were against Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United and chief executive David McNally highlighted Adams' work during that spell as a deciding factor.
"Neil impressed us when he stepped up to the plate for the last five games of the season in the most trying of circumstances and he's continued to impress us during a very rigorous round of talks about the full-time managerial position," he said.
"He is a very talented coach who is hungry to succeed at Norwich City, playing the kind of football we want to see.
"The club is in a strong position off the pitch, with no external debt and capacity crowds expected at Carrow Road yet again next season
We have the nucleus of an excellent squad and Neil will be given funds to refresh and strengthen the squad where required."
Adams made 206 appearances for Norwich as a player and had been coaching their academy.
Source : PA
Source: PA