It's difficult to create a road map for finding information contained in court adoption papers. Each state has different requirements for who can obtain that information and how it can be obtained. That information is also divided into identifying, meaning the names of the parties to an adoption, and non-identifying information: two categories governed by different rules and regulations. To further complicate matters, separate regulations govern obtaining original birth certificates and those laws also vary from state to state. It's important to educate yourself about the adoption laws in the state in which your adoption took place before you begin your search.
Step 1
Gather information important to your records search, like cities, states and names of parties involved in the adoption. You'll need to consult the courts in the city or county where the adoption took place.
Step 2
Determine the type of information or document you're looking for, as requests for original birth certificates differ from requests for information contained in the court adoption records in some states. If the original birth certificate is what you're after, 26 states require a court order for that record to be released from the sealed adoption file, according to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, while six states allow all adult adoptees to access their original birth certificate freely and several other states provide original birth certificates only to certain groups of adoptees, sometimes based on their year of birth. Contact your clerk of courts for information on how to file a petition to receive your original birth certificate or how to otherwise request the document.
Step 3
Arm yourself with information about the adoption records laws in the state where your adoption took place, recommends the American Adoption Congress. Different states have different laws regarding who can access records, what records they can access, and what level of consent is required from other parties involved in the adoption. This information will guide your records request.
Step 4
Complete any required prerequisites, such as registering with your state's adoption registry or filing paperwork with the court systems. Five states require counseling before an adoptee can access her adoption records. Connecticut requires an adoption authority to determine if the information would disrupt the lives of an of the involved parties before releasing identifying information.
Step 5
Contact your state's mutual consent registry. According to the Child Welfare Informational Gateway, most states require consent or pre-established affidavits from individuals whose identifying information is contained in the record before it can be released.
Step 6
Request non-identifying information if your request for identifying information has been denied. The Child Welfare Information Gateway points out that in most states, the adoptive parents, biological parents and adopted children over the age of 18 can request non-identifying information like medical histories, reasons for the adoption and basic demographic information.
Tips and Warnings
- The nonprofit International Soundex Reunion Registry can help you bypass state-by-state registries if what you want is to contact a surrendered child or a birthparent. If both a birthparent and adult adoptee register and ISRR matches you in its database, the organization will contact you. This free service provides a form that you can print from its website (see Resources). As of 2010, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Alabama, Kansas and Alaska are the states whose laws allow all individuals who were adopted in their state to obtain their original birth certificates.
