Summary
All Louisiana-born adopted people, at age 24, have unrestricted rights to request and obtain copies of their own original birth certificates. A new law, effective August 1, 2022, restored this right.
Louisiana’s New Law
Catch up with what Louisiana’s new law does, how it works, and what to do to get a copy of your own original birth certificate. A FAQ and details are here.
Separate from the original birth record, Louisiana also maintains a voluntary adoption registry, which requires mutual consent as well one hour of counseling before an approved counselor will facilitate contact between parties.
Relevant Louisiana Law: Original Birth Certificate
Rev. Stat. §40:72. Record of adoptions prior to July 27, 1938
When a person who was born in Louisiana and who was adopted prior to July 27, 1938, or when any person, who adopted prior to July 27, 1938, any person born in Louisiana, by observing the legal requirements for adoption in Louisiana existing at the time of the adoption, presents the original or a certified copy of the birth certificate of the adopted person and a certified copy of a final judgment decreeing the adoption or the notarial act of adoption, in accordance with the legal requirements existing on the date of the judgment or act of adoption, the state registrar shall make a record showing:
(1) The date of birth of the person adopted.
(2) The new name of the person adopted, if his name was changed in accordance with law; and
(3) The names and addresses of the adoptive parents and any other data about them that is available and adds to the completeness of the new certificate of the adopted person.
Rev. Stat. § 40:73. Certified copy of the new record; sealing and confidentiality of the original birth record; issuance of original birth certificate
A. Upon completion of the new record provided for in R.S. 40:72, the state registrar shall issue to the adopted person or to the adoptive parents a certified copy of the new record and shall place the original birth certificate, the contact preference form submitted pursuant to Subsection F of this Section, and the copy of the judgment or the copy of the act of adoption in a sealed package and shall file the package in the archives of the vital records registry.
B. This sealed package shall be opened only upon the demand of the adopted person, or if deceased, by his or her descendants, or upon the demand of the adoptive parent, or the state registrar, or the recognized public or private social agency which was a party to the adoption, and then only as provided in Subsections E and F of this Setion or by order of a Louisiana court of competent jurisdiction at the domicile of the vital records registry, which order shall issue only after a showing of compelling reasons. Information shall be revealed only to the extent necessary to satisfy such compelling necessity.
C. In satisfying the requirement that information shall be revealed only to the extent necessary to satisfy the compelling necessity shown, the court is further authorized to use the services of the curator ad hoc appointment pursuant to Article 5091.2 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure.
D. Except as provided in Subsections E of this Section, all motions for records under this Section shall be in accordance with and subject to the provisions of Children’s Code Articles 1188 through 1192 and, if an adoption agency is involved, the agency shall be served with a copy of the motion as provided in Article 1313 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure.
E.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of the law to the contrary, an adopted person who is twenty-four years of age or older may request an uncertified copy of his birth certificate from the state registrar. Upon such a request, the registrar shall open the sealed package and issue an uncertified copy of the original birth certificate to the adopted person.
(2) The uncertified copy of the original birth certificate shall be issued to the adopted person in accordance with the regulations duly promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act for a certified copy of a vital record in the custody of the vital records registry.
F.(1) A birth parent may at any time request from the state registrar a contact preference form that shall accompany the adopted person’s original birth certificate.
(2) The contact preference form shall provide the following information to be completed at the option of the birth parent who shall indicate his intentions as follows:
(a) I would like to be contacted.
(b) I would prefer to be contacted only through an intermediary.
(c) I prefer not to be contacted at this time. If I decide later that I would like to be contacted, I will submit an updated contact preference form to the state registrar.
(3) The contact preference form is a confidential communication from the birth parent to the person named on the sealed birth certificate and shall be placed in the sealed packet containing the original birth certificate. The contact preference form shall be released to an adopted person when he requests his original birth certificate pursuant to Subsection E of this Section.
Rev. Stat. §40:76. Record of foreign adoptions
A. When a person born in Louisiana is adopted in a court of proper jurisdiction in any other state or territory of the United States, the state registrar may create a new record of birth in the archives upon presentation of a properly certified copy of the final decree of adoption or, if the case has been closed and the adoption decree has been sealed, upon the receipt of a certified statement from the record custodian attesting to the adoption decree.
B. The decree is considered properly certified when attested by the clerk of court in which it was rendered with the seal of the court annexed, if there is a court seal, together with a certificate of the presiding judge, chancellor, or magistrate to the effect that the attestation is in due form. The certified statement is considered proper when sworn to and having the seal of the foreign state or territory’s record custodian.
C. Upon receipt of the certified copy of the decree, the state registrar shall make a new record in its archives, showing:
(1) The date and place of birth of the person adopted.
(2) The new name of the person adopted, if the name has been changed by the decree of adoption; and
(3) The names of the adoptive parents and any other data about them that is available and adds to the completeness of the certificate of the adopted child.
Art. 5091.2. Curator ad hoc in adoption cases
In complying with the provisions of the Louisiana Children’s Code Articles 1011, 1107, or 1190 and related statutes, the judge of the competent court is authorized to appoint an attorney who shall serve as curator ad hoc who will assist the court in complying with the statutory requirements for maintaining the confidentiality of termination, surrender, adoption, and related records and proceedings.
I am trying to find the parents of my grandfather. He was adopted when he was born in 1905. I am on ancestry .com but his parents aren’t actually his parents so i would just like to see the family tree on his side but i don’t know how to find that out. His name was Carl Hicks at birth Nov. 15, 2015 in Louisiana i believe. Webb and Mattie Brown adopted him. He was their only child.
Take the AncestryDNA test. Also, once you have done that, if you can’t find sufficient matches to solve your puzzle, hire Ancestry’s ProGenealogists (a genetic genealogy firm). They are terrific! I am an adoptee who took the AncestryDNA test. I was able to find out who my mother was, but I had to hire ProGenealogists to uncover the mystery of my father’s identity. They solved the mystery quickly and easily. A DNA test by one of his sons confirmed that they were correct. Unless you are good at triangulation, I highly recommend them. Ask for Michael Miller and tell him I referred them to you.
What about family tree purposes or genealogy purposes? Medical information
No- rarely does this ever happen
What if someone has Crohns disease and wants so background in genes and the father’s records are sealed. Can they get them unsealed for that? Also, the granddaughter has a hearing impairment. Hown much would a lawyer cost for this?
Every attorney has different rates, Florens. But you will not succeed in unsealing records for Crohns or deafness. Even people needing bone marrow are denied. La is sealed.
So… What you are saying is, that even though I was adopted at 13 years old, and eventually reunited with and knew my actual parents before they passed on, and met my long lost siblings briefly, that the only document of my birth that I am allowed to possess is basically a fraud which states that I was born to parents who did not conceive me? Because Louisiana? $500.00 and “counseling”, for the true documents? Another feudalistic racket which is to be expected from the likes of these criminals. We have been “displaced”. If you are aware of any successful attempts with these folks, or possible strategies, please inform me. Thanks, Tom- ( Have you ever been to New Orleans?- Welcome to Sicily, Baby!)
Hello, does anyone here know if obtaining citizenship in a foreign country through proof of descent or ancestry counts as a “compelling reason”? My mother’s biological father was a Greek citizen. He was married to her mother (my grandmother), but he died when my mother was 3 years old. When my grandmother remarried a few years later, her second husband legally adopted my mother, so her birth certificate changed. Now my mother and I are applying for Greek citizenship, and need to provide her original, pre-adoption birth certificate that shows her Greek father’s name. Any advice on whether or not this is a compelling reason to get the original birth certificate, and/or any recommendations on a lawyer in New Orleans who can help us with the court order, would be appreciated.
I am 76 years old with many health problems including bladder cancer diabetes thyroid desease. I think I have a right to know where I came from
I am almost 71, was born in Louisiana, and was adopted twice. I petitioned the Court in Bossier Parish where I was born and received my entire file. Guess what! I was never issued an original birth certificate. Long story, but I was born at Barksdale AFB. My adoption was prearranged so my adoptive parents mistakenly filled out the birth certificate. It was rejected, but by the time it was my father had been sent to the Pacific (WWII) and my mother had left for parts unknown. My adoptive mother died when I was eight and my adoptive father remarried. We were living in New Orleans. They decided that the new wife should formally adopt me. So my first adoptive BC was sealed and I was issued a second adoptive BC. I petitioned the Court in Orleans Parish and got my adoption recordswith a birth certificate. I actually petitioned New Orleans first. My reason was simple but did not follow any of what the state considers a reason. My husband was traveling to Italy and I wanted to go with him. I didn’t have a passport and couldn’t satisfy the stringent post 9/11 requirements for obtaining a passport. I had to have a birth certificate that was recorded within the first year after my birth. When I got the birth certificate that had been sealed by the Orleans Parish Court, I realized that my first adoptive BC was recorded 15 months after my birth. At that point I petitioned Bossier Parish. Although they had no original BC, they gave me my whole adoption file and with that I was able to secure my passport and travel to Italy.
My name is Nora Clark and I am a biological mother of three adopted children who are 32, 29 and 27. Kimberly Cook who is the 32 years old who was adopted in 1988 was supposed to be an open adoption through OCFS. Anne Marie Smith who is 29 and Christopher David Smith 27 were taken away and my parental rights terminated over unfounded accusations. I was told that because I was sexually abused as a child that I would also sexually abuse my children. They had nothing pointing to me sexually abusing my children other than the fact that I did everything humanly possible to help Anne Marie recover from sexual abuse bestowed upon her by my step-mother and her boyfriend while I was in prison. My only living son Christopher David was physically abused by his father while I was in Arkansas told OCFS that father hurt him and they said that I was responsible because I had legal custody. I have Diabetes, Asthma, a rare Kidney disease and have had Ovarian, Cervical, Bladder and Skin Cancer is this compelling enough for the courts to unseal my children’s adoption records?
No
My mother married twice and 3 kids. She divorced and remarried again when I was a toddler. So her 3rd husband adopted all 3 kids. We all know our biological father. The parents who raised me are deceased. I would like a copy of my Original bc for my records. After all it is MY record. So what I am reading is that Louisiana will not allow me to have my own record! That is stupid!!!!
I just recently found out that my grandmother gave birth to a daughter in 1925 in New Orleans and delivered her at the Catholic Orphanage and left her there to be adopted. she was adopted in1928. I found all this out from a lady who is the daughter of the adopted child. She has spent many, many years helping her mother find her adopted parents. I read that Louisiana is very strict on sealed records. I also read somewhere that after 100 years you could get the records opened. I was wondering if this is true? Everyone that would have knowledge of all of this has long been gone. We want the records open just to see if the information could answer some questions we have. The information would not hurt anyone anymore just just give their descendents some closure. I live in Georgia and just wondering if it is a waste of my time and money trying to pursue this ?
Louisiana just changed to law, despite stupid objections from pro-life people who think this will discourage people for putting their baby up for adoption, and get an abortion instead. Fortunately, and unbelievably, enough of their congress thought women should be more than a brood mare, and that adoptees had a right to know their heritage. I’ll get off my soapbox now. Is there a procedure to follow and what does it cost. Because if you needed 1000 bucks on the off change that you might get the document, I’m sure these clowns will charge much more now that they can guarantee you’ll receive it. Thanks for updates
The procedure is not set yet but I’ll have an FAQ with links once things are available. It takes effect on August 1, 2022, so that will be the date people can begin applying for the original birth certificate. Update: here is the FAQ about the new law.
Act 470 restores the right to all Louisiana adopted people to access their own original birth certificate upon demand, without hinderances upon the age of 24
Follow https://www.facebook.com/LaAdoptReform for all accurate and current information regarding the new Act 470, any questions you may have and its implementation 🎉
Well today is 1 August 2022 and I would love to get my original Adoption Information and Birth Certificate but the website has not changed since I was in it last. So how do I get my records from the State of Louisiana. My birth mother whom I have never known is now deceased and I would love to find my birth father. I would also love to know if I have any siblings. My life isn’t yet complete because of this unknown. I am 63 and was adopted in Shreveport, Louisiana, Caddo Parish.
Alida—
The new law is in effect and the Louisiana Department of Health is accepting applications from adult adopted people. I have a FAQ about the new law here and you can scroll up on this page to get there as well. The Department of Health’s webpage with forms and instructions is also here.
Greg
Alida,
The website changed on July 20,2022, to allow access to the forms: https://ldh.la.gov/page/4494.
Louisiana Coalition For Adoption Reform is happy to answer any questions.