Adoptee Rights Law Center

Legal representation and advocacy for adult adopted people

Date-Based Restrictions

Date-based restrictions give some but not all adoptees greater rights to their own original birth certificates, based on the adoptee’s date of birth or adoption. Such restrictions can also be called “tiered-access,” “donut holes,” or “sandwiches,” depending on the range and scope of the applicable dates.

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Vermont

Vermont does not allow adult adoptees unrestricted access to their own original birth certificates. Access may be obtained through a probate court order or by adoptees who are at least 18 years of age and who have already obtained identifying information from Vermont’s Adoption Registry.

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Montana

Montana law does not provide adult adoptees with unrestricted access to their own original birth certificates. Access largely depends upon the date of adoption and whether a birth parent requests that a court order be required before releasing the OBC.

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Michigan

Michigan is a donut hole state. It divides access to original birth certificates by date of birth, with those born between 1945 and 1980 the big losers. Find out more about Michigan’s complicated and deeply flawed system.

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Massachusetts

Massachusetts law denies adult adoptees who were born between 1974 and 2008 their own original birth certificates. Everyone else born in Massachusetts has unrestricted access to their original birth certificates.

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Maryland

Since 1937, Maryland has denied adult adoptees unrestricted access to their own original birth certificates. OBCs are currently available only by court order. Adoptees who are at least 21 years of age and whose adoptions were finalized on or after January 1, 2000, may request their original birth certificates. Birth parents, however, may at any time veto disclosure of birth records or identifying information.

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Arizona

Arizona denies adult adoptees the right to obtain their own original birth certificates. Release of an OBC requires a court order.

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Minnesota

Minnesota law does not provide adult adoptees with unrestricted access to their original birth certificates. Access to OBCs in Minnesota is ridiculously complex and based primarily on the date of adoption and whether a birth parent objects to disclosure.

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Oklahoma

Currently, nearly all adult adoptees in Oklahoma must obtain a court order and show good cause for the release of an original birth certificate. An exception exists to this requirement for adoptions finalized after November 1, 1997.