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The Sham Promise of ‘Integrated Birth Certificates’

First published on September 15, 2020 • Last updated on January 24, 2023

Integrated birth certificates are suddenly the rage. Part birth certificate, part proof of pedigree and custody, they are an attempt to mash the legal and biological details of an adoptee’s life into a single certified document. Here’s how it generally works:

  • Upon birth, a person’s data is entered into the vital records system. If that person or family needs a birth certificate later, a certificate is produced and provided with basic information about the birth.
  • After an adoption, a new certificate of birth is not prepared. Rather, the adoptive parent names are listed on the “integrated” certificate as the adoptive parents of the child (an alternative is to list the adoptive parents as the legal parents and the birthparents as the biological parents). Whatever format it takes, all established parents are listed on the certificate, which is why it is called an “integrated” certificate, integrating biology and legal relationship in one document.
  • Only one certificate of birth is provided at any time: the integrated certificate listing all parents, whether adoptive, biological, or in some variations the “intended” parents in donor-conceived births.
  • There are no other birth certificates other than integrated certificates.

Sounds interesting, but here’s the problem. Like the sealing of original birth certificates in the first place, the integrated birth certificate is being offered as a be happy one-size fits all solution for all adopted people, and one that will allegedly eliminate the sealing of birth certificates. It is actually sold as a single certificate for all births, not just certificates of birth for adopted people—except that adopted people will be, by far, the vast majority of people who receive such certificates, whether they like it or not. Most non-adopted people will never need an “integrated” certificate. They won’t even notice it.

Because integrated certificates list all parents, adopted and birth, it will obviously disclose personal information to anyone who generally has no need to know a person’s, well, pedigree. A clerk at the department of motor vehicles, an administrator at an elementary school, or volunteers with a soccer club or baseball little league will inevitably exclaim, upon seeing an integrated certificate, “oh, you’re adopted!” We already know how that goes.

The vast majority of adopted people do not want this and have not requested it. Rather, we want one thing: equality, measured by providing the recorded information about our actual births, whether that information is a reproduction of an original certificate or is data listed on birth certificates that nearly all states produce today (more on that immediately below).

A Word About Today: Data vs. Paper

You cannot advocate effectively on this issue without fully understanding 1) how birth certificates were created in the past; and 2) how birth certificates are created today. In the past—say for my own original birth certificate from the 1960s—there was an actual piece of paper recording the information that my birthmother or “informant” gave to the hospital. The hospital then added more handwritten or typed information and forwarded that piece of paper to the department of health for filing, like actual filing in a file cabinet. That piece of paper should still exist, either as a microfiche copy, a digital image, or as an actual piece of paper filed away somewhere in the District of Columbia. When I request my original birth certificate (assuming the D.C. department of health is ordered to provide it, which is another story), it should be an exact copy of that initial paper document. It should still exist as it existed in 1965: an original birth certificate with accurate details of my birth, or at least accurate to the extent that information on the certificate was (or was not) originally reported truthfully.

Today, however, there is no “piece of paper” that people record the details of a birth and file away in a drawer or photograph for digital storage. Rather, everything about a birth today is entered as data— bits and bytes that are typed or selected from an online form and then transmitted electronically to the state or local department of health, who then holds that data in a computer program for use when anyone requests an official document associated with that particular birth. When a birth certificate is later requested—generally for most vital records after 2003—that data is retrieved and printed on security paper, and the vital records department certifies that the data appearing on the form is true and accurate and represents the data (not the piece of paper) that exists in the records of the department. There is no “copy” of an original document produced, like my 1965 original birth certificate. It is only printed dots of data, taken from a computer system. Think of it this way: kids today are data. Older adult adopted people are paper.

Understanding this distinction makes all the difference in advocating for the release of original birth certificates for adopted people, particularly if you are talking about an adult adopted person or an adoptee who is still a minor. Minors today, for intance, will get whatever “data” the department of health deems “certifiable,” whether it is time of birth, weight, or a parent’s place of birth. And what is certifiable has changed over time (states have generally become stingy and have significantly pared down what is now “certifiable”) and even changes from product to product.

Certificates as Products

State and local registrars for the most part treat vital records today as “orderable products” that people request and a government office provides. And the kind of product you receive depends on what you need. For instance, if you need a birth certificate to obtain a U.S. passport, you would indicate on a form (or online through VitalChek) that you need a certificate for that purpose. You would then receive a birth certificate that contains your basic information but also, at a minimum, the place of birth of your parents. All of that information, however, is data. It is typically not some piece of paper filed away in a dusty cabinet.

This partially explains what happened in Pennsylvania recently with its “faux” original birth record, or what some people have called a hastily produced craft project printed on loose leaf paper. Rather than receive an actual copy of the original birth certificate (which Pennsylvania stores as an image), Pennsylvania-born adoptees get a specific selection of electronic data that the state has transcribed from the original record and keyed into its vital records database.

Thus, the single “product” Pennsylvania provides to adult adopted people consists only of a “summary” of the birth record and by law may only contain “the names and ages of the birth parents, the date and county of the birth of the child and the name given to the child at birth.” And in my conversations with the Pennsylvania state registrar and the agency’s lawyer on this issue, they were adamant that no one in Pennsylvania receives an actual copy of the original document. No one. Rather, Pennsylvania-born people must choose from a list of products they need today, and the state vital records office retrieves electronic data transcribed from the original record, prints that data on paper, and sends it to the person. In effect, Pennsylvania has gone full digital and no longer gives anyone a good ol’ copy of an original record. What Pennsylvania does is also likely to happen to all vital records: keyed-in and scanned data points will replace actual original records and all that we’ll have in the future are these digital bytes of our births, controlled by legislation. Which gets us to a better solution: a choice for our own product.

Choice is a Better Solution

I’m not opposed to one document that contains the details of my birth and adoption all in one place. I’m also not opposed to two documents—the original and amended birth certificate—that do the same, so long as I can obtain them upon request and without discriminatory restrictions. I am, however, opposed to mandating a single solution, and that is how the integrated birth certificate is being sold—as a wonder product that will solve the unsealing of original birth certificates. Worse, it falsely promises equality between adopted and non-adopted people, though the vast majority of people who are directly impacted by a mandated integrated birth certificate are adopted people. That’s not equality—that’s continued disparate treatment.

This is what was being sold in Maine recently by a small birthmom-led group of people. And not only did I oppose the Maine approach through written testimony, but other equality-focused organizations also did so as well, including the organization GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD). As I said in my testimony then:

Many adoptees, however, have no desire to discuss their adoptions, whether it is irrelevant to much of their everyday life or because it is a difficult or sensitive issue for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from the mundane (‘I don’t really think about adoption that much and have no need to.’) to the serious or personal (being asked questions, for example, about what happened to your birthmother, whether you were in foster care, whether the government terminated parental rights for some reason, or simply why a mother ‘gave you up’).

Adoptees have a right to autonomy and to control their own self-identification, including what they share about the complexities of personal and family information associated with adoption. They should not be compelled through the use of a state-issued “integrated” certificate to submit that information more publicly and to make themselves the subject of questions about their adoption, legal parentage, or any other various circumstances that occurred at the time of or after their births.

From written testimony of the Adoptee Rights Law Center, on LD1688, a bill before the Maine Senate Committee on Judiciary, May 21, 2019

The better solution, given how states treat vital records today as a menu of choosable “products,” is to give an adopted person a number of choices from the vital records menu. Want an actual reproduction of the original birth certificate, presuming you were born sufficiently long ago that you have an actual certificate on file? It’s yours. Want all information printed on a single document, with all parents listed? That can be yours too. Hell, we’ll throw in biological siblings if you want (and if the legislature agrees). It’s your choice. It’s our choice. Because it’s truly our document. But mandating one solution in the form of a badly thought-through single integrated certificate? That’s wrong, and I reject it.

What’s Next?

U.S. born adoptees are not the first people to take on this issue. It has already been kicking around in Australia for years. The government of New South Wales recently proposed an integrated birth certificate as a new solution moving forward. Some Australian adoptee rights advocates have rejected the solution, however, primarily because it continues the long-standing practice of amending birth certificates to list adoptive parents as birth parents, though the proposed law will give adoptees a choice to use either the integrated birth certificate or the amended certificate for identity. Advocates have also called attention to a motivation that may be hiding behind this entire issue: assuring that adoptive parents get their names on any birth certificates produced. As an adoptee rights organization in Australia said in a recent press release in response to the new proposal:

This reform is not about the adoptee’s best interests. It is about making sure the adopting parents’ names still go on the birth certificate, instead of reverting back to using an adoption certificate and leaving the birth certificate alone.

Peter Capomolla Moore, Integrated Birth Certificates: A Slap in the Face to Many Adoptees?, September 4, 2020

I’ve only seen one proposal so far seeking mandated integrated birth certificates in the U.S.: the one rejected in Maine. But there is chatter about pursuing the elimination of sealed birth records by creating a mandated integrated birth certificate for everyone. I hope that chatter dies down or, if it is something that people pursue, they do not throw out a sham promise of equality while pushing a solution that decenters adoptees and treats them as second-class afterthoughts.

Filed Under: Essays, Latest News Tagged With: Integrated Birth Certificates, Legislation

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.

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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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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.
US OBC Rights 2024 Placeholder
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
What do these mean? Some maps and an explanation.</>

Legislative Tracking


 
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