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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Connecticut
Only adult adoptees whose adoptions were finalized after October 1, 1983, have unrestricted access to their birth certificates. All other adult adoptees must obtain a court order—contingent upon the consent or death of birth parents— to obtain their original birth certificates.
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.
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.