Adoptee Rights Law Center

Legal representation and advocacy for adult adopted people

Florida

Fact-Checking Florida HB357

First published on • Last updated on

When you fact-check claims of anonymous people who tell adoptees to swallow inequality, the decision is easy. No to HB357. It’s yet another disaster.

When Something is Nothing and Nothing is Something

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Florida’s HB357 creates an inequitable two-class system of OBC access that requires a forty year period to pass after an adoption before most adoptees can obtain original birth certificates upon request.

What’s at Stake: Florida

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If proposed legislation in Florida does not preserve a clean and unrestricted right to an OBC, then it will strip away rights from those who have already held them for decades.

Florida

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Adoptee rights and Florida law, with a focus on original birth certificates, court records, descendants, and adult adoption.

What’s an Original Birth Certificate?

Most adopted persons know what an original birth certificate (OBC) is. Many non-adopted people do not. An original birth certificate is the initial birth certificate created shortly after a person's birth. For most people, it is their only birth certificate.

For persons born and adopted in the United States, a new or "amended" birth certificate replaces the OBC once the adoption is final. In addition to replacing the original, the names of the birth parents are also replaced with the names of the adoptive parents. Some states may also alter or omit additional information on a new certificate, including the adoptee's specific place of birth.

Depending on state law, an original birth certificate is sealed and remains unavailable to the adopted person, even when they become an adult. If you are not adopted, your original birth certificate is your only birth certificate---and it is always available to you upon request.