Services for Adopted People
If you were adopted in Britain your details will be recorded by
General Register Office (GRO) Details of their services can be
found on the GRO website.
These include the following:
- Adopted Children Register
- Access to Birth / Adoption Records
- Adoption Contact Register
Adopted Children Register
The General Register Office maintains a record of adoptions made
on the authority of courts in England and Wales in the
Adopted Children Register. It is from this Register that
adoption certificates are issued.
Overseas adoptions may, in some instances, be registered in the
Adopted Children Register.
Certificates from the Adopted Children Register can be applied
for online, by telephoning the General Register Office direct on
0845 603 7788 or in person at the Family Records Centre.
Access to Birth Records
How do I find my original birth details?
If you were adopted through a court in England or Wales and are
aged 18 years or over you can apply for a certificate of your
original birth entry and try to seek out more information about
your origins.
There are important differences in the way the system works
depending on whether you were adopted before or after 12 November
1975.
If you were adopted before 12 November 1975 and live in England
or Wales you will have to see an adoption advisor in order to gain
access to your information. If you were adopted after this date,
you can choose to have the information sent directly to you.
Seeing the adoption advisor can be helpful as they may be able
to offer practical advice and guidance as well as discussing any
concerns or issues important to you.
You will be sent information about your birth name, birth
parent(s) name(s) and your district of birth with which to apply
for a certified copy of your original birth entry.
If an adoption agency or local authority was involved in your
adoption you will receive this information. If not, then you will
receive details necessary to make an application to the court for
the name of the adoption agency or local authority.
The pack will also include a covering letter detailing how and
where to apply.
Adoption Contact Register
Created in 1991, the Adoption Contact Register exists to put
adopted people and their birth relatives in touch with each other
if that is what they both wish.
The Contact Register cannot help an adopted person to learn of
the whereabouts of a birth relative or to know their birth
relative’s wishes unless the relative has also chosen to be entered
on the Contact Register.
From 30 December 2005 applicants can record a wish for specific
or no contact with a named individual.
The Adoption Contact Register is in two parts and there is a
one-off registration fee per entry of £15 for Part 1 and £30 for
Part 2.
Part 1 of the Contact Register is for adopted adults to record
their wishes for contact or no contact with birth relatives.
Part 2 of the Contact Register is for birth relatives to record
their wishes for contact or no contact with the adopted person.
To apply birth relatives must satisfy the General Register
Office of their relationship to the adopted person.
For further information see the relevant section of the GRO
website:
Adoption Contact Register.