If you are an adult adoptee who grew up part of a closed adoption, it is natural to have questions about your birth parents and biological family history. One of the best ways to get answers to those questions is by accessing your adoption records.
This guide provides the information you need to know about adoption records and how they can help you in your search for information about your biological parents and family.
Each state has its own laws about how to access records and what information is readily available. This can make obtaining adoption records challenging.
Although this guide provides information on how to get sealed adoption records unsealed, to ensure you fully understand and follow the legal process, you will want to discuss your specific situation with an adoption attorney.
They will walk you through the process and help provide the assistance needed to open sealed birth records from your adoption.
Continue reading this guide to learn more about unsealing your adoption records and how they help you find information about your biological parents and adoption.
Every adoption in the United States has what are called "adoption records." These records include identifying information about the birth parents, including:
Their names Their address at the time of the adoption Their phone number at the time of the adoption The original birth certificateObtaining your adoption records can be very beneficial in your search for your birth parents, but in most states, closed adoption records are sealed after an adoption is finalized. Nearly every state has laws in place that permit the release of identifying information, provided the birth parents have consented to the release of the identifiable information.
If consent is not on file with the state, the information may not be released without a court order and reasonable cause to release the information.
As an adoptee seeking a court order, you must be able to display clear and convincing evidence to support your request. Access to this information isn't always restricted just to birth parents and adoptees.
Many states allow biological siblings of adoptees to seek and release identifying information upon mutual consent, which can sometimes lead to adoptees finding their birth parents based on sibling information.
While each state will vary on the process of how to unseal adoption records, as an adoptee, you will always have access to what they call non-identifying information.
Although these details do not provide any specific information about your birth parents or family, having this information can provide peace of mind.