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Legislative Update: Florida, New York and All Others

First published on February 19, 2018 • Last updated on February 19, 2018

The two big states this legislative session are still New York and Florida, though bills in Florida now appear all but dead. Connecticut may see a bill introduced during the short legislative session, and Massachusetts is still hanging on to the chance for passage of clean legislation that would remove date-based restrictions. Here’s the latest legislative update, with sessions just getting started, in full swing, or about to adjourn.

New York

Adoptee Rights Law Center has partnered with three other organizations to form the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition, a coalition pursuing clean and equality-based legislation in New York. Seven bills are currently active, though four bills are companion sets or “same as” bills introduced in both the New York assembly and senate. NYARC supports the “Avella Bill” and has issued a statement endorsing that bill. Members of NYARC are also on Governor Cuomo’s work group that is set to meet in early March to study the issue and to make recommendations. More information is available on the NYARC website, and I encourage people to sign up to pitch in and help.

Florida

Two sets of companion bills are active though both sets are ostensibly controlled by Florida Representative Richard Stark. The bills appear all but dead, with a key committee in the Florida house failing to take them up and the short session ending in mid-March. I’ve written about the status of these bills in Florida, and most advocates for clean legislation have concluded that now is not the time for introducing or pursuing bills in Florida. Sixteen organizations and most adoptees are also opposed to HB357/SB576, the badly drafted bill that contains a 40-year waiting requirement for adoptees before being able to request the OBC.

Connecticut

Connecticut is in a short session, which means no bills can be introduced unless they are first raised by committee. The latest news, however, is that the Joint Committee on Judiciary has agreed to consider a bill, and one will likely be introduced soon. You won’t see it on the interactive map below until the bill is introduced. The Connecticut legislative session ends on May 9.

Massachusetts

Probably one of the simplest OBC access bill ever—coming in at just fourteen words—this is still languishing in a key committee, despite efforts of OBC for Massachusetts to dislodge it and get it to a floor vote. The bill would strike out the following words from the current Massachusetts statute: “on or before July 17, 1974” and “on or after January 1, 2008.” With those fourteen words—most of those being dates and the articles “or” or “on”— it assures equality for all adult adoptees in Massachusetts and would make Massachusetts the tenth state to go clean.

Missouri

Representative Don Phillips, who brought Missouri adoptees the disastrous “Missouri Adoptee Rights Act,” has introduced a pair of strange bills that are hard to figure out. I analyzed them as best I could under the title “What the Missouri Is Going On?” The two bills are currently in committee and no further action has been taken. The Missouri legislature adjourns on May 30.

Others: Iowa, Mississippi, North Carolina, Minnesota

Mississippi had yet another bill that required adoptees to wait forty years before requesting the OBC. That bill died in committee just 15 days after it was introduced. North Carolina still has a bill pending with the same 40-year waiting period as Mississippi and Florida, but with the added requirement that the adoptee know the identities of birth parents before being able to obtain the OBC. It has been sitting in a senate committee since April 2017 and looks dead. Iowa tried another shot at a clean bill, which was introduced recently but contained provisions that corrupted the contact preference form and turned it into an instrument that would prohibit the disclosure of the OBC if a birthparent did not file a CPF. Minnesota’s on-and-off complicated OBC bill will carry over to the upcoming short session, which begins this week, but it is not expected to advance. Rumor in Minnesota as well is that a clean bill will be drafted and hopefully introduced next session after mid-term election results and potential legislative leadership changes are known.

Interactive Map

The full status of all pending bills—as well as laws that have been enacted but are still awaiting full implementation—are reflected in the following interactive map. More maps are available here.

Color Key
Under consideration
Did not advance
Being implemented
2018 Legislative Action Placeholder
2018 Legislative Action

House Bill 1713. Represenative Don Phillips initially introduced two bills (HB1713 and HB1714) that purport to change who can request an original birth certificate and who can request identifying information from a court. Both bills upon introduction were deeply flawed, with provisions that did not fully make sense, particularly in the context of adoption and access to original birth certificates. The Senate and House ultimately amended the bills to clarify certain issues, and the legislature passed HB1713, which expands access to an original birth certificate to descendants of adoptees. It has been signed by the Missouri governor and will take effect on August 28, 2018. HB1714, however, did not make it out of committee. More info/update.

S7631B/A9959AB. The New York Adoptee Rights Coalition, of which Adoptee Rights Law is a partner, worked to enact this bill this session. It is a clean bill with an unrestricted right of adoptees and their descendants to obtain an OBC. The legislature adjourned on June 20, 2018, without taking up the bill for vote---it remained stuck in committee in both chambers. Go to NYARC • Join the Efforts

House Bill 823. This bill would allow access only to adoptees who are at least 40 years of age who can prove the identities of birth parents. It passed unanimously in the NC House but it has been sitting in a senate committee now for more than a year. Nevertheless, that committee has aggressively begun to work through its backlog of bills, hearing bills nearly every day of session. I expect the committee to bring up H823 this session.

Massachusetts: H.1163/S.1195. A fourteen-word bill that assures equality for all adult adoptees in Massachusetts by eliminating restrictions based on an adoptee's date of adoption. A joint committee reported the bill out favorably, and the bill has been referred to a second committee. Massachusetts has a two-year legislative calendar beginning in odd years, so the bills are still in active in the Massachusetts legislative process. The formal session ended on July 31, 2018, without passage of the bill. Efforts are ongoing at OBCforMA, best accessed on Facebook.

HB 357. House Bill 357 (and companion bill S576) failed to receive a hearing and did not advance in the 2018 session. HB357 would have created three classes of adult adoptees: those adopted after July 1, 2018, those adopted before June 30, 1977, and those adopted betwen 1977 and 2018. For those adopted after July 1, 2018, the adoptee may obtain the OBC at age 18. For everyone else, you either have to wait 40 years after the adoption, know the name of a birth parent, or know that your birth parent is deceased or "presumed to be deceased." You can also obtain a court order. A set of companion clean bills were also filed but those were ostensibly being controlled by the sponsor of HB357. All bills are dead for the session and do not carry over to the next session.The Truth About Florida • Factchecking HB357

HB159. An overhaul of Georgia adoption law that modifies adoptee rights to identifying information, lowering the age to request identifying information from 21 to 18 and eliminating an explicit "good cause" standard for petitioning the court for court or department records. The bill also modifies the procedures followed for intercountry adoptions. It does not change current Georgia law on direct access to an original birth certificate. The bill has been passed and signed by the governor. It becomes effective September 1, 2018.

SB2885. Another attempt to pass legislation that would require an adult adoptee to wait until 40 years after an adoption before being able to request the original birth certificate. It died in committee fifteen days after being introducted.

SF1284. This is a bill carried over from the prior 2017 session and, given the short session in Minnesota in 2018, it is not expected to move at all in the legislature. The bill would remove date-based inequalities and add due process rights to Minnesota's current complicated confidential intermediary (CI) system of access. As of March 22, 2018, the bill is considered dead for this session.

HF2157. What looks like a straightforward clean OBC access bill is instead a bill that corrupts the contact preference form and turns the lack of filing a CPF into a birthparent disclosure veto. It was introduced early in the 2018 session but adoptee rights advocates already consider the bill dead. A Facebook page exists for adoptee rights issues in Iowa and it is following issues in the state.

HB5408. Access Connecticut has been working to get this bill raised by committee during the Connecticut short session, and it paid off: a bill has now been introduced. HB5408 would remove date-based restrictions currently in Connecticut law, which limits the rights of pre-1983 adoptees to obtain an OBC. The Judiciary Committee and the House Appropriations Committee each reported the bill out favorably but it did not ultimately pass out of the House before the session adjourned on May 9, 2018.

HB4864/4865 Two linked bills that will provide the right of former foster youth to investigative files and birth records if parental rights of the child were terminated by the court or relinquished through a parent's plea agreement. Would apply to former foster youth who were later adopted. The bills have received little attention to date in the Michigan legislature. In addition, the primary House sponsor is term-limited and also lost in a primary for a state senate seat. He will not be returning to the Michigan legislature.

SB392. SB392 links the release of an original birth certificate to use of the Louisiana voluntary adoption registry. Release of the OBC requires consent of a birthparent, and redaction of information is required if any birthparent objects to release. The bill also calls for a national awareness campaign and appears to give birth siblings the power to prohibit release of the OBC. It was set for hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee A on April 24, but its sponsor deferred action on the bill after hearing from advocates in opposition to it. It is believed the bill is now deferred for the session and the sponsor will convene interested parties to work on modified legislation after the legislature adjourns.

H.3775. Clean bill was introduced in 2017 with numerous sponsors and was thought dead in committee. After nearly a year sitting in a subcommittee, it was reported out with a dirty prospective only amendment (OBC access upon request only for those adopted after 2018). The House then amended it again to add the requiement of birth parent consent for the release of an OBC.The Senate amended the bill to lower the age to request the OBC to 18 but otherwise maintained required consent of a birthparent to release the OBC and only for adoptions finalized after July 1, 2019. It passed both chambers unanimously and was signed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on May 17, 2018. It becomes effective July 1, 2019. An analysis of the bill is here.

HB1. A large adoption/foster care bill that moved quickly through the legislature and which Governor Matt Bevin signed on April 13, 2018. For intercountry adoptions, it removes the phrase "not evidence of United States citizenship" from birth certificates for adoptions completed in Kentucky and for which an OBC from the country of origin is not available. The bill also creates a putative father's registry and allows certified copies of a father's registration to be obtained by the child and others. The primary focus of the bill is also to create various committees to study privatization of all foster care and and to study "performance-based contracting for licensed child-caring facilities and child-placing agencies in the Commonwealth."

House Bill 1713. Represenative Don Phillips initially introduced two bills (HB1713 and HB1714) that purport to change who can request an original birth certificate and who can request identifying information from a court. Both bills upon introduction were deeply flawed, with provisions that did not fully make sense, particularly in the context of adoption and access to original birth certificates. The Senate and House ultimately amended the bills to clarify certain issues, and the legislature passed HB1713, which expands access to an original birth certificate to descendants of adoptees. It has been signed by the Missouri governor and will take effect on August 28, 2018. HB1714, however, did not make it out of committee. More info/update.

S7631B/A9959AB. The New York Adoptee Rights Coalition, of which Adoptee Rights Law is a partner, worked to enact this bill this session. It is a clean bill with an unrestricted right of adoptees and their descendants to obtain an OBC. The legislature adjourned on June 20, 2018, without taking up the bill for vote---it remained stuck in committee in both chambers. Go to NYARC • Join the Efforts

House Bill 823. This bill would allow access only to adoptees who are at least 40 years of age who can prove the identities of birth parents. It passed unanimously in the NC House but it has been sitting in a senate committee now for more than a year. Nevertheless, that committee has aggressively begun to work through its backlog of bills, hearing bills nearly every day of session. I expect the committee to bring up H823 this session.

Massachusetts: H.1163/S.1195. A fourteen-word bill that assures equality for all adult adoptees in Massachusetts by eliminating restrictions based on an adoptee's date of adoption. A joint committee reported the bill out favorably, and the bill has been referred to a second committee. Massachusetts has a two-year legislative calendar beginning in odd years, so the bills are still in active in the Massachusetts legislative process. The formal session ended on July 31, 2018, without passage of the bill. Efforts are ongoing at OBCforMA, best accessed on Facebook.

HB 357. House Bill 357 (and companion bill S576) failed to receive a hearing and did not advance in the 2018 session. HB357 would have created three classes of adult adoptees: those adopted after July 1, 2018, those adopted before June 30, 1977, and those adopted betwen 1977 and 2018. For those adopted after July 1, 2018, the adoptee may obtain the OBC at age 18. For everyone else, you either have to wait 40 years after the adoption, know the name of a birth parent, or know that your birth parent is deceased or "presumed to be deceased." You can also obtain a court order. A set of companion clean bills were also filed but those were ostensibly being controlled by the sponsor of HB357. All bills are dead for the session and do not carry over to the next session.The Truth About Florida • Factchecking HB357

HB159. An overhaul of Georgia adoption law that modifies adoptee rights to identifying information, lowering the age to request identifying information from 21 to 18 and eliminating an explicit "good cause" standard for petitioning the court for court or department records. The bill also modifies the procedures followed for intercountry adoptions. It does not change current Georgia law on direct access to an original birth certificate. The bill has been passed and signed by the governor. It becomes effective September 1, 2018.

SB2885. Another attempt to pass legislation that would require an adult adoptee to wait until 40 years after an adoption before being able to request the original birth certificate. It died in committee fifteen days after being introducted.

SF1284. This is a bill carried over from the prior 2017 session and, given the short session in Minnesota in 2018, it is not expected to move at all in the legislature. The bill would remove date-based inequalities and add due process rights to Minnesota's current complicated confidential intermediary (CI) system of access. As of March 22, 2018, the bill is considered dead for this session.

HF2157. What looks like a straightforward clean OBC access bill is instead a bill that corrupts the contact preference form and turns the lack of filing a CPF into a birthparent disclosure veto. It was introduced early in the 2018 session but adoptee rights advocates already consider the bill dead. A Facebook page exists for adoptee rights issues in Iowa and it is following issues in the state.

HB5408. Access Connecticut has been working to get this bill raised by committee during the Connecticut short session, and it paid off: a bill has now been introduced. HB5408 would remove date-based restrictions currently in Connecticut law, which limits the rights of pre-1983 adoptees to obtain an OBC. The Judiciary Committee and the House Appropriations Committee each reported the bill out favorably but it did not ultimately pass out of the House before the session adjourned on May 9, 2018.

HB4864/4865 Two linked bills that will provide the right of former foster youth to investigative files and birth records if parental rights of the child were terminated by the court or relinquished through a parent's plea agreement. Would apply to former foster youth who were later adopted. The bills have received little attention to date in the Michigan legislature. In addition, the primary House sponsor is term-limited and also lost in a primary for a state senate seat. He will not be returning to the Michigan legislature.

SB392. SB392 links the release of an original birth certificate to use of the Louisiana voluntary adoption registry. Release of the OBC requires consent of a birthparent, and redaction of information is required if any birthparent objects to release. The bill also calls for a national awareness campaign and appears to give birth siblings the power to prohibit release of the OBC. It was set for hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee A on April 24, but its sponsor deferred action on the bill after hearing from advocates in opposition to it. It is believed the bill is now deferred for the session and the sponsor will convene interested parties to work on modified legislation after the legislature adjourns.

H.3775. Clean bill was introduced in 2017 with numerous sponsors and was thought dead in committee. After nearly a year sitting in a subcommittee, it was reported out with a dirty prospective only amendment (OBC access upon request only for those adopted after 2018). The House then amended it again to add the requiement of birth parent consent for the release of an OBC.The Senate amended the bill to lower the age to request the OBC to 18 but otherwise maintained required consent of a birthparent to release the OBC and only for adoptions finalized after July 1, 2019. It passed both chambers unanimously and was signed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster on May 17, 2018. It becomes effective July 1, 2019. An analysis of the bill is here.

HB1. A large adoption/foster care bill that moved quickly through the legislature and which Governor Matt Bevin signed on April 13, 2018. For intercountry adoptions, it removes the phrase "not evidence of United States citizenship" from birth certificates for adoptions completed in Kentucky and for which an OBC from the country of origin is not available. The bill also creates a putative father's registry and allows certified copies of a father's registration to be obtained by the child and others. The primary focus of the bill is also to create various committees to study privatization of all foster care and and to study "performance-based contracting for licensed child-caring facilities and child-placing agencies in the Commonwealth."

Filed Under: Latest News Tagged With: Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina

About Gregory D. Luce

I am a Minnesota lawyer, born and adopted in the District of Columbia, and the founder of Adoptee Rights Law Center PLLC. I've been practicing law in Minnesota state and federal courts since 1993, and have been the executive director of Adoptees United Inc. since 2021. I also have a sense of humor.

Get Involved with Adoptees United Inc.

Logo of Adoptees United Inc.Did you find this post interesting? Then get involved nationally with Adoptees United Inc., a national tax-exempt non-profit organization dedicated to securing equality for all adult adopted people in the US. Find out more here, and join me and others in working for equality.

Did I Miss Something?

I work hard to get the laws and facts straight in every state---and to keep them regularly updated. If you see something that's not quite right or doesn't fit your experience, let me know with either a quick comment or an email.

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Marley Greiner says

    February 19, 2018 at 3:41 pm

    I have been looking for the Mississippi, Iowa, and Minnesota bills and can’t find them. Can you post the numbers? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Gregory D. Luce says

      February 19, 2018 at 4:35 pm

      Yep.

      Mississippi: SB2885 (Link)
      Minnesota: SF1284 (Link)
      Iowa: HF2157 (Link)

      Reply
  2. Marley Greiner says

    February 19, 2018 at 6:35 pm

    Duh. Never mind. Go them. The links were showing up very light on mynscreen and I couldn’t see them. Do now.

    Reply

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Adoptee Rights Law Center

The Adoptee Rights Law Center PLLC is an adoptee-driven law firm founded by Gregory Luce, a Minnesota lawyer who was also born and adopted in the District of Columbia.

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Legal representation limited to issues involving Minnesota law and federal immigration law.

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Adoptee Rights Law Center PLLC
Minneapolis Minnesota 55419
T: (612) 221-3947
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Legal representation limited to issues involving Minnesota law and federal immigration law.

Florida

Report: What's at Stake: A Brief History of Adoptee Access to Original Birth Certificates in Florida

The Florida Adoption Reunion Registry is the registry created by the Florida legislature in 1982.

Iowa Advocacy/Caselaw

Iowa Adoptee & Family Coalition supported the birthparent redaction provisions in current law.

Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Health maintains information for adoptees and birth families on the issue of original birth records.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) publishes a Practice Guide for Post-Adoption Search Services.

NYARC/Action in New York

Three state and national organizations, including the Adoptee Rights Law Center, have formed the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition to restore the right of adult adoptees to obtain their original birth certificates without conditions or restrictions.

Join the Effort

The OBC: Maps

Alabama. Adult adoptees have the unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates, beginning at age 19. Read more.
Alaska. Adult adoptees have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their original birth certificates, beginning at age 18. Read More.
Arizona. Arizona implemented a "donut hole" provision in a new law, which became effective on January 1, 2022. It allows only some adoptees to request the OBC--- based on their date of birth---but denies the right to obtain the OBC to the vast majority of Arizona-born adopted people. Read more.
Arkansas.While Arkansas law allows adult adoptees to request their adoption files, the request is subject to a birthparent's ability to redact their names on the original birth certificates. A FAQ with information about the law and its requirements and discriminatory limitations is here.
California. Adult adoptees do not have a right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates, except by court order. Adoptees must petition the court and show “good and compelling cause” in order to obtain a copy of their own original birth record. Read more.
Colorado. Colorado-born adult adopted people have a right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. An adopted person who is at least 18 years of age may apply for and receive a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate through the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. Read more.
Connecticut. Connecticut-born adult adopted people have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. The right also extends to the adult children and grandchildren of the adopted person. Read more.
Delaware. While Delaware-born adopted people who are at least 21 years of age may request a copy of their OBCs, birthparents may legally veto their release, otherwise known as a "disclosure veto." Read more.
District of Columbia. District of Columbia courts control all aspects of releasing an OBC or any identifying information, whether from court records or from vital records. A court order is required and, depending on the date of adoption, may involve federal court or the D.C. Superior Court. Read more.
Florida. While Florida-born adult adopted people may apply for a copy of the original birth record, it takes signed affidavits of consent from birthparents---or death certificates showing that birthparents are deceased---to compel release of the OBC. Otherwise, release is allowed only by court order. Read More.
Georgia. Georgia-born adult adopted people must secure a court order to obtain a copy of their original birth certificates. Read more.
Hawaii. Adopted people born born in Hawaii do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. People adopted in Hawaii may request and obtain their court adoption records, which may include an original birth certificate. The law does not apply to people born in Hawaii but adopted in a different state. Read more.
Idaho. An OBC is available only by court order or conditionally through a state-operated “voluntary adoption registry.” Disclosure of an original birth certificate through the registry is subject to consent of the parties and may require the consent of both birth parents. Additional rights through the registry are available to people adopted on or after July 1, 2022, but those adoptees must also be at least 18 years of age. Read more.
Illinois. The state has implemented a complex tiered date-based system to request and obtain a birth record, using the adoption registry to facilitate release of OBCs and other information. The date of birth of an Illinois-born adopted person determines who has a right to an OBC or who may be subject to a birthparent’s request to redact identifying information on the OBC. Read more.
Indiana. The state has a complex and discriminatory framework that may allow release of specifically defined "identifying information," but a birthparent may prohibit release of that information at any time, even after the parent's death. Read more.
Iowa. While Iowa-born adopted peoole who are at least 18 years of age may apply for a copy of their own original birth certificates, release of the record is subject birthparent redaction requests. Read More.
Kansas. While original birth certificates may be sealed after an adoption, Kansas-born adult adoptees who are at least 18 years of age have always had an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Read more.
Kentucky. A court order is required for an Kentucky-born adult adopted person to secure a copy of their own original birth certificate. Read more.
Louisiana. All Louisiana-born adopted people, at age 24, have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. Read more.
Maine. Adult adoptees have the unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Maine-born adopted people must be at least 18 years of age before requesting the OBC. Read more.
Maryland. For all practical purposes, Maryland should be defined as a "restricted" state: there are so few current Maryland-born adult adopted  people who may qualify under its law, which gives preference to adoptions finalized on or after January 1, 2000. Because the adopted person must also be at least 21 years of age to request the OBC under the date-based qualification, the law effectively applies only to those adopted people who are recently turning 21 (or were older at the time of their adoption). In addition, birthparents under current law may at any time veto disclosure of birth records or identifying information. Maryland-born adopted people whose adoptions were finalized before January 1, 2000, must secure a court order to obtain a copy of their own original birth records. Read more.
Massachusetts. The Bay State in 2022 became the 12th state in the U.S. to affirm or restore the right of all Massachusetts-born adult adopted people to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. Read more.
Michigan. Michigan requires the use of a “Central Adoption Registry” to process information and to determine whether an adoptee should or should not get “identifying information,” which does not initially include an original birth certificate. Depending on the date of terminatuion of a birthparent's parent rights, a birthparent may deny access to identifying information or withhold access by saying nothing. In most cases (those in the donut hole years) no identifying information---or the OBC---may be released to the adoptee, except by court order or if the birthparent is deceased. Read more.
Minnesota. All Minnesota-born adult adopted people have a right obtain a copy of their own original birth records. This also applies to the spouse, children, and grandchildren of the adopted person if the person is deceased. Read more.
Mississippi. Mississippi-born adult adopted people do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. It takes a court order to obtain the record. Read more.
Missouri. The state has a complex framework that makes the original birth certificate subject to birth parent disclosure vetoes, some of which may extend beyond the death of the parent. Read more.
Montana. Montana maintains a somewhat complex tiered system that uses an adoptee’s date of adoption as the determinant of whether an adopted person may obtain their own original birth certificate. While an original birth certificate may be available more easily to adoptees who are at least 30 years of age, court orders may be required for younger adoptees. In all cases, if a birthparent requests that a court order be required, the OBC will not be released without a court order. Read more.
Nebraska. Nebraska law is incredibly complex and confusing. Generally, any right of a Nebraska-born adult adopted person to obtain a copy of their own OBC depends on the date of an adoptee’s relinquishment and also whether a birth parent—and in some cases an adoptive parent—has affirmatively consented to disclosure or has filed a “nonconsent” form objecting to the OBC’s release. Read more.
Nevada. Nevada-born adult adopted people must secure a court order to obtain a copy of their own original birth certificate. Read more.
New Hampshire. Adoptees who are at least 18 years of age have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. The state also allows birth parents to file a contact preference form and/or health history questionnaire, neither of which will restrict the right of adult adoptees to obtain their OBCs. Read more.
New Jersey is best described as a "limited time redaction" state, as the law in 2016 provided birthparents a limited amount of time to request redaction of their information from the adoptee's original birth certificate. Thus, while most New Jersey-born adult adopted people now have a right to obtain their own original birth certificates, approximately 560 birthparents filed redaction requests, leading to redaction of the parents’ identifying information on the OBC. Those 560 adoptees have no right to obtain an unredacted original birth certificate except through a court order. Read more.
New Mexico. A New Mexico-born adult adopted person must demonstrate good cause to convince a court to release a copy of the adoptee's own original birth certificate. Read more.
New York. Since 2020, adult adopted persons and their descendants have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a certified copy of the adopted person's own original birth certificate. Read more.
North Carolina. A court order is required for the release of any identifying information, including an OBC. A North Carolina-born adult adopted person must specifically request the OBC in a court action that seeks the release of identifying information. Read more.
North Dakota. Adult adopted people who were born in North Dakota do not have a right to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. It takes a court order to release it. Read more.
Ohio. Not all Ohip-born adult adopted people are treated equally. While legislative reforms in the last decade removed a number of discriminatory provisions, significant restrictions remain, including birthparent redaction and disclosure vetoes. Read more.
Oklahoma. Currently, nearly all Oklahoma-born adult adopted must obtain a court order and show good cause for release of the OBC. While Oklahoma-born adopted people whose adoptions were finalized after November 1, 1997, do not require a court order, requests for such OBCs are subject to birth parent disclosure vetoes and redaction. Read more.
Oregon. Oregon-born adopted people who are at least 21 years of age have an unrestricted right to obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. Oregon law also allows adoptees at age 18 to obtain specific records in the court adoption proceedings. Read more.
Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania-born adopted people who are at least 18 years of age—and who must be high school graduates, possess a GED, or are legally withdrawn from school— may request "summary information" from their original birth record (but not a copy of the original record itself). Birthparents, however may redact identifying information on the OBC by filing a “name redaction request.” Redaction requests may be filed or withdrawn at any time and do not extend beyond a filing parent’s death. Read more.
Rhode Island. Adult adopted people and their descendants have an unrestricted right to request and obtain the adopted person's own original birth certificate at age 18. Read more.
South Carolina. South Carolina-born adult adopted people must either obtain a court order or birthparent permission to obtain an unredacted original birth record. Read more.
South Dakota. South Dakota-born adult adopted people have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificate directly from the state's vital records department or from the local register of deeds. In July 2023, South Dakota became the fourteenth state to affirm or restore such a right. Read more.
Tennessee. Nearly all adoptees who are 21 years of age have a right to request and obtain their their own “adoption records,” which typically include original birth certificates. The only exception to this right is for an adult adoptee whose birth parent was a victim of rape or incest—in such cases the written consent of the birth parent is required for release of records. Read more.
Texas. Release of the OBC to a Texas-born adult adopted person requires a court order, with one significant exception: adoptees who are at least 18 years of age and who know the names of their birthparents listed on the record may obtain a non-certified copy of their own original birth certificate upon request. Read more.
Utah. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. While adoptees 18 years of age or older may request their birth records, release depends on participating in a voluntary registry as well as obtaining the consent of birthparents, unless a birthparent is dead. Read more.
Vermont. Vermont-born adult adopted people and their descendants have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a copy of the adopted person's own original birth certificate directly from the state's vital records department. In July 2023, Vermont became the thirteenth state to affirm or restore such a right. Read more.
Virginia. Release of an OBC to a Virginia-born adult adopted person requires either a) a state agency’s decision, upon good cause shown, to release identifying information from the adoption records; or b) a court order upon good cause shown. Read more.
Washington. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. An OBC is available through the Department of Health but release is subject to birth parent disclosure vetoes as well as to corrupt contact preference forms that allow birthparents to deny release of the OBC. Disclosure vetoes and contact preference forms expire on the death of the birth parent. Read more.
West Virginia. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. A court order, requiring good cause, is required before the release of an OBC. Read more.

Wisconsin. The original birth record is only available by court order or through successful completion of a complex and lengthy "adoption records search" process, which depends upon consent or death of the parties to release any records or information. For these reasons, it is considered a "Restricted State." Read more.

Wyoming. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their original birth certificates. It takes a court order for release of an OBC, with no specific standards or procedures outlined in seeking such an order. Read more.
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US OBC Rights 2024
Alabama. Adult adoptees have the unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates, beginning at age 19. Read more.
Alaska. Adult adoptees have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their original birth certificates, beginning at age 18. Read More.
Arizona. Arizona implemented a "donut hole" provision in a new law, which became effective on January 1, 2022. It allows only some adoptees to request the OBC--- based on their date of birth---but denies the right to obtain the OBC to the vast majority of Arizona-born adopted people. Read more.
Arkansas.While Arkansas law allows adult adoptees to request their adoption files, the request is subject to a birthparent's ability to redact their names on the original birth certificates. A FAQ with information about the law and its requirements and discriminatory limitations is here.
California. Adult adoptees do not have a right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates, except by court order. Adoptees must petition the court and show “good and compelling cause” in order to obtain a copy of their own original birth record. Read more.
Colorado. Colorado-born adult adopted people have a right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. An adopted person who is at least 18 years of age may apply for and receive a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate through the Colorado Department of Health and Environment. Read more.
Connecticut. Connecticut-born adult adopted people have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. The right also extends to the adult children and grandchildren of the adopted person. Read more.
Delaware. While Delaware-born adopted people who are at least 21 years of age may request a copy of their OBCs, birthparents may legally veto their release, otherwise known as a "disclosure veto." Read more.
District of Columbia. District of Columbia courts control all aspects of releasing an OBC or any identifying information, whether from court records or from vital records. A court order is required and, depending on the date of adoption, may involve federal court or the D.C. Superior Court. Read more.
Florida. While Florida-born adult adopted people may apply for a copy of the original birth record, it takes signed affidavits of consent from birthparents---or death certificates showing that birthparents are deceased---to compel release of the OBC. Otherwise, release is allowed only by court order. Read More.
Georgia. Georgia-born adult adopted people must secure a court order to obtain a copy of their original birth certificates. Read more.
Hawaii. Adopted people born born in Hawaii do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. People adopted in Hawaii may request and obtain their court adoption records, which may include an original birth certificate. The law does not apply to people born in Hawaii but adopted in a different state. Read more.
Idaho. An OBC is available only by court order or conditionally through a state-operated “voluntary adoption registry.” Disclosure of an original birth certificate through the registry is subject to consent of the parties and may require the consent of both birth parents. Additional rights through the registry are available to people adopted on or after July 1, 2022, but those adoptees must also be at least 18 years of age. Read more.
Illinois. The state has implemented a complex tiered date-based system to request and obtain a birth record, using the adoption registry to facilitate release of OBCs and other information. The date of birth of an Illinois-born adopted person determines who has a right to an OBC or who may be subject to a birthparent’s request to redact identifying information on the OBC. Read more.
Indiana. The state has a complex and discriminatory framework that may allow release of specifically defined "identifying information," but a birthparent may prohibit release of that information at any time, even after the parent's death. Read more.
Iowa. While Iowa-born adopted peoole who are at least 18 years of age may apply for a copy of their own original birth certificates, release of the record is subject birthparent redaction requests. Read More.
Kansas. While original birth certificates may be sealed after an adoption, Kansas-born adult adoptees who are at least 18 years of age have always had an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Read more.
Kentucky. A court order is required for an Kentucky-born adult adopted person to secure a copy of their own original birth certificate. Read more.
Louisiana. All Louisiana-born adopted people, at age 24, have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. Read more.
Maine. Adult adoptees have the unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Maine-born adopted people must be at least 18 years of age before requesting the OBC. Read more.
Maryland. For all practical purposes, Maryland should be defined as a "restricted" state: there are so few current Maryland-born adult adopted  people who may qualify under its law, which gives preference to adoptions finalized on or after January 1, 2000. Because the adopted person must also be at least 21 years of age to request the OBC under the date-based qualification, the law effectively applies only to those adopted people who are recently turning 21 (or were older at the time of their adoption). In addition, birthparents under current law may at any time veto disclosure of birth records or identifying information. Maryland-born adopted people whose adoptions were finalized before January 1, 2000, must secure a court order to obtain a copy of their own original birth records. Read more.
Massachusetts. The Bay State in 2022 became the 12th state in the U.S. to affirm or restore the right of all Massachusetts-born adult adopted people to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. Read more.
Michigan. Michigan requires the use of a “Central Adoption Registry” to process information and to determine whether an adoptee should or should not get “identifying information,” which does not initially include an original birth certificate. Depending on the date of terminatuion of a birthparent's parent rights, a birthparent may deny access to identifying information or withhold access by saying nothing. In most cases (those in the donut hole years) no identifying information---or the OBC---may be released to the adoptee, except by court order or if the birthparent is deceased. Read more.
Minnesota. All Minnesota-born adult adopted people have a right obtain a copy of their own original birth records. This also applies to the spouse, children, and grandchildren of the adopted person if the person is deceased. Read more.
Mississippi. Mississippi-born adult adopted people do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. It takes a court order to obtain the record. Read more.
Missouri. The state has a complex framework that makes the original birth certificate subject to birth parent disclosure vetoes, some of which may extend beyond the death of the parent. Read more.
Montana. Montana maintains a somewhat complex tiered system that uses an adoptee’s date of adoption as the determinant of whether an adopted person may obtain their own original birth certificate. While an original birth certificate may be available more easily to adoptees who are at least 30 years of age, court orders may be required for younger adoptees. In all cases, if a birthparent requests that a court order be required, the OBC will not be released without a court order. Read more.
Nebraska. Nebraska law is incredibly complex and confusing. Generally, any right of a Nebraska-born adult adopted person to obtain a copy of their own OBC depends on the date of an adoptee’s relinquishment and also whether a birth parent—and in some cases an adoptive parent—has affirmatively consented to disclosure or has filed a “nonconsent” form objecting to the OBC’s release. Read more.
Nevada. Nevada-born adult adopted people must secure a court order to obtain a copy of their own original birth certificate. Read more.
New Hampshire. Adoptees who are at least 18 years of age have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. The state also allows birth parents to file a contact preference form and/or health history questionnaire, neither of which will restrict the right of adult adoptees to obtain their OBCs. Read more.
New Jersey is best described as a "limited time redaction" state, as the law in 2016 provided birthparents a limited amount of time to request redaction of their information from the adoptee's original birth certificate. Thus, while most New Jersey-born adult adopted people now have a right to obtain their own original birth certificates, approximately 560 birthparents filed redaction requests, leading to redaction of the parents’ identifying information on the OBC. Those 560 adoptees have no right to obtain an unredacted original birth certificate except through a court order. Read more.
New Mexico. A New Mexico-born adult adopted person must demonstrate good cause to convince a court to release a copy of the adoptee's own original birth certificate. Read more.
New York. Since 2020, adult adopted persons and their descendants have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a certified copy of the adopted person's own original birth certificate. Read more.
North Carolina. A court order is required for the release of any identifying information, including an OBC. A North Carolina-born adult adopted person must specifically request the OBC in a court action that seeks the release of identifying information. Read more.
North Dakota. Adult adopted people who were born in North Dakota do not have a right to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. It takes a court order to release it. Read more.
Ohio. Not all Ohip-born adult adopted people are treated equally. While legislative reforms in the last decade removed a number of discriminatory provisions, significant restrictions remain, including birthparent redaction and disclosure vetoes. Read more.
Oklahoma. Currently, nearly all Oklahoma-born adult adopted must obtain a court order and show good cause for release of the OBC. While Oklahoma-born adopted people whose adoptions were finalized after November 1, 1997, do not require a court order, requests for such OBCs are subject to birth parent disclosure vetoes and redaction. Read more.
Oregon. Oregon-born adopted people who are at least 21 years of age have an unrestricted right to obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. Oregon law also allows adoptees at age 18 to obtain specific records in the court adoption proceedings. Read more.
Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania-born adopted people who are at least 18 years of age—and who must be high school graduates, possess a GED, or are legally withdrawn from school— may request "summary information" from their original birth record (but not a copy of the original record itself). Birthparents, however may redact identifying information on the OBC by filing a “name redaction request.” Redaction requests may be filed or withdrawn at any time and do not extend beyond a filing parent’s death. Read more.
Rhode Island. Adult adopted people and their descendants have an unrestricted right to request and obtain the adopted person's own original birth certificate at age 18. Read more.
South Carolina. South Carolina-born adult adopted people must either obtain a court order or birthparent permission to obtain an unredacted original birth record. Read more.
South Dakota. South Dakota-born adult adopted people have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificate directly from the state's vital records department or from the local register of deeds. In July 2023, South Dakota became the fourteenth state to affirm or restore such a right. Read more.
Tennessee. Nearly all adoptees who are 21 years of age have a right to request and obtain their their own “adoption records,” which typically include original birth certificates. The only exception to this right is for an adult adoptee whose birth parent was a victim of rape or incest—in such cases the written consent of the birth parent is required for release of records. Read more.
Texas. Release of the OBC to a Texas-born adult adopted person requires a court order, with one significant exception: adoptees who are at least 18 years of age and who know the names of their birthparents listed on the record may obtain a non-certified copy of their own original birth certificate upon request. Read more.
Utah. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. While adoptees 18 years of age or older may request their birth records, release depends on participating in a voluntary registry as well as obtaining the consent of birthparents, unless a birthparent is dead. Read more.
Vermont. Vermont-born adult adopted people and their descendants have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a copy of the adopted person's own original birth certificate directly from the state's vital records department. In July 2023, Vermont became the thirteenth state to affirm or restore such a right. Read more.
Virginia. Release of an OBC to a Virginia-born adult adopted person requires either a) a state agency’s decision, upon good cause shown, to release identifying information from the adoption records; or b) a court order upon good cause shown. Read more.
Washington. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. An OBC is available through the Department of Health but release is subject to birth parent disclosure vetoes as well as to corrupt contact preference forms that allow birthparents to deny release of the OBC. Disclosure vetoes and contact preference forms expire on the death of the birth parent. Read more.
West Virginia. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. A court order, requiring good cause, is required before the release of an OBC. Read more.

Wisconsin. The original birth record is only available by court order or through successful completion of a complex and lengthy "adoption records search" process, which depends upon consent or death of the parties to release any records or information. For these reasons, it is considered a "Restricted State." Read more.

Wyoming. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their original birth certificates. It takes a court order for release of an OBC, with no specific standards or procedures outlined in seeking such an order. Read more.

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OBC: State Status & Numbers

15 UNRESTRICTED
19 COMPROMISED
17 RESTRICTED
51 VIEW ALL
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