States with open adoption records include:
Unfortunately, that’s not always easy.Īre you interested in accessing your original birth certificate? Here’s what you’ll need to do:Įach state will have different levels of adoption information accessibility to adult adoptees, and each county may have a slightly different process for obtaining adoption records. This process usually begins by opening your adoption records and requesting your original birth certificate. Many adult adoptees in closed adoptions want to search for their birth family, or at least learn more about their adoption. This was especially common in the old era of closed adoptions when adoption was something viewed as secretive and shameful. Sealing these records or omitting birth parent names on documents in closed adoptions was done in an attempt to protect their privacy. The original birth certificate that includes the name(s) of your birth parent(s) is sealed along with your adoption records, and the amended birth certificate is handed to your adoptive parents with their names on it shortly after an adoption is finalized. In every adoption, there’s an original birth certificate and an amended birth certificate. If you’re an adoptee who grew up in the closed adoption era, or know an adoptee who wants to learn more about their closed adoption, share this to let others know!
But for many adult adoptees who were born during an era of closed adoptions, accessing any information about where they came from can be difficult. Most adoptions today are open adoptions, where information between birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees is readily accessible just by picking up the phone.