Everything You Need to Know About Minnesota's New Law

Beginning on July 1, 2024, Minnesota-born adult adopted may request and obtain copies of their own original birth certificates. The new law also does a lot more.

Quick Navigation

When and where to apply
Who can get a copy?
What will I get?
Special provisions for certain adoptees
Common questions, with answers
What’s an original birth record?
What are people saying about this?

How the new law will work, from application to receipt of an original birth record and, potentially, other records

When and Where to Apply

Application forms are now available, with more information from the Minnesota Department of Health. The cost to apply is $40.00.

Get the Form

What’s an original birth record?

Nearly all adopted people born in the United States have two birth certificates: an original one and an amended one. They’re not the same.

An original birth certificate (called an “OBC”) is a government vital record containing the reported facts of a person’s actual birth. After a U.S.-based adoption, however, most states create a new and “amended birth record” that records the adoptive parents as the adopted person’s birthparents. The OBC is then sealed and made unavailable to the adopted person, even as an adult—except in 15 states, including Minnesota beginning July 1, 2024.

FAQ: ORiginal Birth REcords

US OBC Rights

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. Full Details

Arizona. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. Arizona implemented a "donut hole" provision in a new law, effective January 1, 2022. It provides a right to some adoptees based on their dates of birth but denies the right to obtain the OBC to the vast majority of adoptees born in the state. Read more.

Arkansas. Beginning August 1, 2018, Arkansas law allows adult adoptees to request their adoption files. The request, however, is subject to a birthparent's ability to redact their names on the original birth certificates. This flow chart outlines how the law works. More information about the law and its requirements and discriminatory limitations is also 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 any 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. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. While adoptees 21 years of age or older may request their OBCs, birth parents may legally veto their release. Read more.

District of Columbia. Adult adoptees in the District of Columbia the do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their original birth certificates, except by court order. The D.C. superior court controls all aspects of releasing an OBC or any identifying information, whether from court records or from vital records. Read more.

Florida. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their original birth certificates. While adoptees may apply for 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. Full Details

Georgia. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their original birth certificates. A court order is required. Read more.

Hawaii. Adopted people born born in Hawaii do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. Only people who are adopted in Hawaii can 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. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. 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. Read more.

Illinois. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. The state has a tiered date-based system and uses an adoption registry to facilitate release of OBCs. The date of birth of an adoptee determines who has unrestricted rights to an OBC or who may be subject to a birth parent’s request to redact identifying information on the OBC. Read more.

Indiana. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. A new law, effective July 1, 2018, expands the release of specifically defined "identifying information," but a birth parent may prohibit release of that information at any time. Read more.

Iowa. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Original birth records are subject to the right of birthparents to file redaction requests. Full Details

Kansas. While original birth certificates are sealed, adult adoptees in Kansas have always had an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Court records in adoption proceedings are also available to adoptees upon request. Read more.

Kentucky. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. A court order is required. Read more.

Louisiana. All Louisiana-born adopted people, at age 24, have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. A new law, effective August 1, 2022, restored this right. Read more.

Maine. Adult adoptees have the unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Adoptees must be 18 years of age before requesting their OBCs. Maine also allows a birth parent to file a genuine contact preference and medical history form, which is attached to the original birth certificate. Read more.

Maryland. For all practical purposes, Maryland should be defined as a "restricted" state because there are so few current adult adoptees who may qualify under its compromised law, which applies only to adoptions finalized on or after January 1, 2000. Because adoptees must also be at least 21 years of age to request the OBC, the law effectively applies only to those adoptees who were older at the time and adopted on or after January 1, 2000. In addition, birthparents under the compromised law may at any time veto disclosure of birth records or identifying information. Adoptees whose adoptions were finalized before January 1, 2000, do not have a right to obtain their OBCs. It remains available only by court order. Read more.

Massachusetts. The Bay State 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 an adoptee’s date of birth, a parent may deny access to identifying information or withhold access by saying nothing. In either case, no identifying information may be released to the adoptee, except by court order. Read more.

Minnesota. The right of adult adopted people to obtain their own original birth certificate is complex and based primarily on the date of adoption. Generally, it requires the affirmative written consent of any birthparents and the state uses a complex, confidential, and often expensive intermediary system involving the department of health, the department of human services, and individual adoption agencies. Read more.

Mississippi. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. It takes a court order. Read more.

Missouri. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. The state has a complex framework that makes the original birth certificate subject to birth parent disclosure vetoes that 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 and in all cases where a birth parent requests that a court order be required. Read more.

Nebraska. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain the original birth certificate. Nebraska law is remarkably complex and confusing. Generally, any right to obtain the OBC depends on the date of an adoptee’s relinquishment and also whether a birth parent—and sometimes an adoptive parent—has affirmatively consented to disclosure or has filed a “nonconsent” form objecting to the OBC’s release. Read more.

Nevada. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. It requires a court order. 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 its current law, effective on January 1, 2017, provided birthparents a limited amount of time to request redaction of their information from the adoptee's original birth certificate. Thus, while most adult adoptees now have a right to obtain their own original birth certificates, approximately 550 birthparents filed redaction requests, leading to redaction of the parents’ identifying information on the OBC. Those 550 adult adoptees have no do not have the right to an unredacted original birth certificate except through securing a court order. Read more.

New Mexico. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. Good cause is required through a court order. Read more.

New York. Adult adopted persons and their descendants have an unrestricted right to request and obtain the adoptee's original birth certificate, without discriminatory restrictions. A 2020 law overturned 83 years of iron-clad secrecy. Read more.

North Carolina. Adult adoptees do not have unrestricted access to their own original birth certificates. A court order is required for the release of any identifying information, including an OBC. An OBC must be specifically requested in any court action that seeks the release of identifying information. Read more.

North Dakota. Adult adoptees do not have access to their own original birth certificates, except by court order. Read more.

Ohio. Not all adoptees in Ohio have unrestricted access to their own original birth certificates. While legislative reforms removed some restrictions in 2013, significant legal restrictions remain, including birth parent redaction and disclosure vetoes. Read more.

Oklahoma. Adult adoptees do not have unrestricted access to their original birth certificates. Currently, nearly all adult adoptees must obtain a court order and show good cause for release. While adoptees 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. Adoptees who are at least 21 years of age have an unrestricted right to access their original birth certificates. A birth parent may file a contact preference form but it has no effect or restriction on the right of adult adoptees to receive their OBCs. Oregon law also allows adoptees access to specific records in the court adoption proceedings. Read more.

Pennsylvania. A new law, now effective, allows adoptees who are at least 18 years of age—and who must be high school graduates, possess a GED, or are withdrawn legally from school— to request their original birth record. 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 their own original birth certificates at age 18. Birth parents may file a contact preference form, which has no effect on the release of the record. Read more.

South Carolina. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to request and obtain their own original birth certificates. A court order is required. Read more.

South Dakota. Adult adoptees born in South Dakota have an unrestricted right to request and obtain a copy of their original birth certificates. It became the fourteenth state in the United States to affirm or restore such a right, effective July 1, 2023. Read more.

Tennessee. Nearly all adoptees who are 21 years of age have a right to request and obtain their their “adoption records,” which should 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. Tennessee also criminalizes contact with birth parents who have registered with a contact veto registry. 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 know the names of their birthparents may obtain a non-certified copy of their OBC 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 have an unrestricted right to obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates. It became the thirteenth state in the United States to affirm or restore such a right, effective July 1, 2023. Read more.

Virginia. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. Release of an OBC 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. Adult adoptees do not have an unrestricted right to obtain their own original birth certificates. Wisconsin requires either court order or participation in a consent-based "Adoption Records Search Program." 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.

Right of adult adopted people to request and obtain their own original birth records in the United States. Accurate through June 30, 2024.

Who gets a copy?

Who may request and obtain a copy of a Minnesota-born adopted person’s original birth record

Adopted Person

A Minnesota-born adult adopted person may request and obtain a copy of their own original birth record.

Spouse

The spouse of a deceased adopted person may request and obtain a copy of the adopted person’s original birth record.

Descendant

Adult children and grandchildren of a deceased adopted person may request and obtain a copy of a parent’s or grandparent’s original birth record.

Birth Parent

A parent listed on the original birth record may obtain a copy of the record already. The new law does not change this.

Adoptive Parent

An adoptive parent is not authorized to obtain a copy of the OBC under current law. The new law does not change this.

Legal Rep

A legal representative of a deceased adopted person may request and obtain a copy of the adopted person’s original birth record.

Tribal Rep

Tribal governments may obtain a copy of a person’s birth record for authorized purposes. The new law does not change this.

Everyone Else

Adoption records, which may contain a copy of the original birth record, become public 100 years after the birth of the adopted person.

Questions?

Answers to common questions about the new law.

Some questions are already handled on this page. Check out the Quick Navigation links:

When and where to apply
Who can get a copy?
What will I get?
Special provisions for certain adoptees
Common questions, with answers
What’s an original birth record?
What are people saying about this?

A more comprehensive (and slightly less formal) FAQ about the new law is also available here.

How old do I have to be to request my OBC?

You must be 18 years of age or older to request your own original birth record.

When and where do I apply?

You apply to the Minnesota Department of Health. Links to the form and to the MDH are here.

APPLICATION FORM

MORE INFORMATION

How much will it cost?

The fee to apply for the OBC is $40. You may be able to request rush service, which costs extra.

Do I need ID to apply?

Yes. The application form requires notarization, which means you need to provide an acceptable ID for a notary to verify and attest to your identity and signature.

Can I apply for the record online?

No. Currently, online applications are not accepted. You must mail in the form with the fee or fax it to the registrar with credit card information payment.

How long will it take to get the birth record?

We don’t know yet, though I expect it will take between 8-12 weeks to receive your record. The Minnesota State Registrar publishes the time it takes to receive a birth or death record, and it currently takes at least 12 weeks from the time of application, unless rush service has been requested (for an extra fee).

This new law will also likely result in hundreds of initial applications in the first week, which may require additional time and resources to process. In addition, the registrar must search for at least three separate types of records, in addition to the original birth record. My advice is to be patient. I have been in contact with state officials and they are doing everything they can to make this process move smoothly and as quickly as possible.

Will I get a certified copy?

No, the copy of the original birth record will not be certified. It will be a non-certified copy on plain paper. A notation on the document will also state that it cannot be used for identification purposes.

Who else can get a copy?

Other people who can receive a copy include the adopted person’s spouse, children, and grandchildren, but only if the adopted person is deceased. The child or grandchild must also be 18 years of age or older. See Who Gets a Copy above.

What is a contact preference form?

A contact preference form allows a birthparent listed on the original birth record to express a preference for contact with the adopted person or the adopted person’s descendants. The Minnesota form has has three choices, and none of the choices will impact the release of the original birth record. Those three choices include:

I would like to be contacted
I would prefer to be contacted only through an intermediary
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 Minnesota Department of Health

The contact preference form also includes “space where the birth parent may include information that the birth parent feels is important for the adopted person to know.” See also, What Records Do I Get?

Contact Preference form

Adopted, But Not Born in Minnesota

Special provisions in the new law apply to adult adopted people who were adopted in Minnesota but not born in the state, including some intercountry adoptees

US-BORN ADOPTED PEOPLE

The new law makes information available to adopted people who were adopted in Minnesota but were born in a US state or territory other than Minnesota. This group of adopted people may request and obtain information, if it exists, about their birthparents, specifically parent names, dates of birth, and places of birth.

Requests for information should be made to the agency that handled the adoption. Additional costs or fees may apply, depending on the agency.

INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTED PEOPLE

Intercountry/transnational adoptees whose adoptions were finalized in Minnesota may be able to get copies of some court records from the Department of Health. The new law provides that a decree or certificate of adoption may be obtained if the document is on file with the state registrar.

These records may not be available for all intercountry adoptees whose adoptions were finalized in Minnesota.

What records will I get?

The primary focus of the new law is the pre-adoption original birth record, which will be provided. Other records, however, may come with the OBC, including:

any evidence of the adoption previously filed with the state registrar;
a birthparent contact preference form
information about any affidavits a birthparent may have filed with the state registrar in the past, including affidavits of disclosure or non-disclosure

Evidence of the Adoption

These are court documents used to create an adopted person’s amended birth record. These documents could include a certificate of adoption or an order of adoption. The court provides these forms to the state health department after an adoption is finalized.

Contact Preference Form

A contact preference form (CPF) allows a parent listed on the original birth record to express a preference for any contact with the adopted person or the adopted person’s descendants. If completed by a parent, the CPF will accompany the birth record.

Disclosure/Non-Disclosure Forms

If a parent listed on the original birth record previously filed an unrevoked affidavit of disclosure or non-disclosure, the adopted person will be informed that these documents were filed as well as the name of the parent who filed them. The completed forms are not provided.