Overview
Original Birth Certificates. Texas is a Compromised State. With one notable exception, it requires a court order to release an adult adopted person’s own original birth certificate. Nevertheless, an adopted person who is 18 years of age or older—and knows the names of the birth parent(s) listed on the original birth record—may apply for and obtain a non-certified copy of the record without securing a court order.
Court Records. Adoption court records in Texas are sealed by motion of the court or on request of adoptive parents and may not be released except through a showing of good cause. An adopted person may, however, request from the state vital statistics unit the identity of the court that finalized the adoption.
Descendant Rights. Descendants of a Texas-born adopted person have no specific rights to request and obtain the adopted person’s original birth record— or any other identifying information. A court order is required to release the record or information.
Adoption Registry. The Texas Vital Statistics Unit maintains a Voluntary Central Adoption Registry, which is part of a system of public-private registries in the state. After a match on the registry, identifying information may be released after two primary conditions are met: 1) the parties agree in writing to disclose their identifying information; and 2) the registrants must complete at least one hour of mandatory counseling. The statute governing Texas voluntary adoption registries is here.
Adult Adoption. Texas specifically provides for the adoption of adults. Consent of the adult being adopted is required, and the process requires a hearing unless waived by the court.
Texas Law: Vital Records and Birth Certificates
Relevant parts of Texas vital records law. The entire Texas vital records statute is available here. Regulations that implement these provisions are available here.
Sec. 191.001. Definitions
In this title:
(1) “Department” means the Department of State Health Services.
(2) “Executive commissioner” means the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
(3) “Vital statistics unit” means the vital statistics unit established in the Department of State Health Services.
Sec. 192.0031. Information of Birth to School-Age Mother
(a) Notwithstanding Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, the department shall notify the commissioner of education of each birth to a school-age mother. The commissioner may notify the school district in which a school-age mother resides of each birth to a school-age mother.
(b) The department may not notify the commissioner of a birth to a school-age mother if:
(1) the child died at birth; or
(2) the child was placed for adoption.
(c) A notification under this section must include the name and address of the mother, the father, if the father is of school age and is named on the birth certificate, and the person born. Reports under this section shall be sent at least quarterly.
Sec. 192.006. Supplementary Birth Certificates
(a) A supplementary birth certificate may be filed if the person who is the subject of the certificate:
(1) becomes the child of the person’s father by the subsequent marriage of the person’s parents;
(2) has the person’s parentage determined by a court of competent jurisdiction; or(3) is adopted under the laws of any state.
(b) An application for a supplementary birth certificate may be filed by:
(1) an adult whose status is changed; or
(2) a legal representative of the person whose status is changed.
(c) The state registrar shall require proof of the change in status that the executive commissioner by rule may prescribe.
(d) Supplementary birth certificates and applications for supplementary birth certificates shall be prepared and filed in accordance with department rules.
(e) In accordance with department rules, a supplementary birth certificate may be filed for a person whose parentage has been determined by an acknowledgment of paternity.
Sec. 192.007. Supplementary Certificates for Child who Dies Before Adoption
(a) If a child in the process of being adopted in this state dies before the adoption is completed, the persons who attempted to adopt the child may request the state registrar to file supplementary birth and death certificates for the child.
(b) Persons making a request under this section must include with the request:
(1) sufficient information to prove that they attempted to adopt the child and that the child died before the adoption was completed;
(2) a copy of an irrevocable affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights relating to the child;
(3) a copy of the affidavit of the status of the child, if applicable; and
(4) any other information required by the department.
(c) On receipt of the information required by Subsection (b), the state registrar shall complete birth and death certificates as if the child had been adopted by court decree and then died.
(d) In the absence of evidence to the contrary, compliance with this section and the completion of the birth certificate constitute adoption by estoppel.
Sec. 192.008. Birth Records of Adopted Person
(a) The supplementary birth certificate of an adopted child must be in the names of the adoptive parents, one of whom must be a female, named as the mother, and the other of whom must be a male, named as the father [note: now unconstitutional but remains in the current text of the law]. This subsection does not prohibit a single individual, male or female, from adopting a child. Copies of the child’s birth certificates or birth records may not disclose that the child is adopted.
(b) After a supplementary birth certificate of an adopted child is filed, information disclosed from the record must be from the supplementary certificate.
(c) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules and procedures to ensure that birth records and indexes under the control of the department or local registrars and accessible to the public do not contain information or cross-references through which the confidentiality of adoption placements may be directly or indirectly violated. The rules and procedures may not interfere with the registries established under Subchapter E, Chapter 162, Family Code, or with a court order under this section.
(d) Except as provided by Subsections (e) and (f), only the court that granted the adoption may order access to an original birth certificate and the filed documents on which a supplementary certificate is based.
(e) A person applying for access to an original birth certificate and the filed documents on which the supplementary certificate is based is entitled to know the identity and location of the court that granted the adoption. If that information is not on file, the state registrar shall give the person an affidavit stating that the information is not on file with the state registrar. Any court of competent jurisdiction to which the person presents the affidavit may order the access.
(f) An adult adoptee who is applying for access to the person’s original birth certificate and who knows the identity of each parent named on the original birth certificate is entitled to a noncertified copy of the original birth certificate without obtaining a court order.
Sec. 192.009. Certificate of Adoption, Annulment of Adoption, or Revocation of Adoption
(a) A certificate of each adoption, annulment of adoption, and revocation of adoption decreed in this state shall be filed with the state registrar.
(b) When a petition for adoption, annulment of adoption, or revocation of adoption is granted, the petitioner shall supply the clerk of the court the information necessary to prepare the certificate. The clerk shall:
(1) prepare the certificate on a form furnished by the department that provides the information prescribed by the department; and
(2) complete the certificate immediately after the decree becomes final.
(c) Not later than the 10th day of each month, the clerk shall forward to the state registrar the certificates that the clerk completed for decrees that became final in the preceding calendar month.
(d) If the department determines that a certificate filed with the state registrar under this section requires correction, the department shall mail the certificate directly to an attorney of record with respect to the petition of adoption, annulment of adoption, or revocation of adoption. The attorney shall return the corrected certificate to the department. If there is no attorney of record, the department shall mail the certificate to the clerk of the court for correction.
Texas Law: Adoption Generally and Court Records
Relevant parts of Texas adoption law. The entire Texas adoption statute is available here.
Sec. 162.001. Who May Adopt and Be Adopted
(a) Subject to the requirements for standing to sue in Chapter 102, an adult may petition to adopt a child who may be adopted.
(b) A child residing in this state may be adopted if:
(1) the parent-child relationship as to each living parent of the child has been terminated or a suit for termination is joined with the suit for adoption;
(2) the parent whose rights have not been terminated is presently the spouse of the petitioner and the proceeding is for a stepparent adoption;
(3) the child is at least two years old, the parent-child relationship has been terminated with respect to one parent, the person seeking the adoption has been a managing conservator or has had actual care, possession, and control of the child for a period of six months preceding the adoption or is the child’s former stepparent, and the nonterminated parent consents to the adoption; or
(4) the child is at least two years old, the parent-child relationship has been terminated with respect to one parent, and the person seeking the adoption is the child’s former stepparent and has been a managing conservator or has had actual care, possession, and control of the child for a period of one year preceding the adoption.
(c) If an affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights contains a consent for the Department of Family and Protective Services or a licensed child-placing agency to place the child for adoption and appoints the department or agency managing conservator of the child, further consent by the parent is not required and the adoption order shall terminate all rights of the parent without further termination proceedings.
Sec. 162.005. Preparation of Health, Social, Educational, and Genetic History Report
(a) This section does not apply to an adoption by the child’s:
(1) grandparent;
(2) aunt or uncle by birth, marriage, or prior adoption; or
(3) stepparent.
(b) Before placing a child for adoption, the Department of Family and Protective Services, a licensed child-placing agency, or the child’s parent or guardian shall compile a report on the available health, social, educational, and genetic history of the child to be adopted.
(c) The department shall ensure that each licensed child-placing agency, single source continuum contractor, or other person placing a child for adoption receives a copy of any portion of the report prepared by the department.
(d) If the child has been placed for adoption by a person or entity other than the department, a licensed child-placing agency, or the child’s parent or guardian, it is the duty of the person or entity who places the child for adoption to prepare the report.
(e) The person or entity who places the child for adoption shall provide the prospective adoptive parents a copy of the report as early as practicable before the first meeting of the adoptive parents with the child. The copy of the report shall be edited to protect the identity of birth parents and their families.
(f) The department, licensed child-placing agency, parent, guardian, person, or entity who prepares and files the original report is required to furnish supplemental medical, psychological, and psychiatric information to the adoptive parents if that information becomes available and to file the supplemental information where the original report is filed. The supplemental information shall be retained for as long as the original report is required to be retained.
Sec. 162.006. Access to Health, Social, Educational, and Genetic History Report; Retention
(a) Redesignated by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944, Sec. 15, eff. September 1, 2015.
(b) The department, licensed child-placing agency, or court retaining a copy of the report shall provide a copy of the report that has been edited to protect the identity of the birth parents and any other person whose identity is confidential to the following persons on request:
(1) an adoptive parent of the adopted child;
(2) the managing conservator, guardian of the person, or legal custodian of the adopted child;
(3) the adopted child, after the child is an adult;
(4) the surviving spouse of the adopted child if the adopted child is dead and the spouse is the parent or guardian of a child of the deceased adopted child; or
(5) a progeny of the adopted child if the adopted child is dead and the progeny is an adult.
(c) A copy of the report may not be furnished to a person who cannot furnish satisfactory proof of identity and legal entitlement to receive a copy.
(d) A person requesting a copy of the report shall pay the actual and reasonable costs of providing a copy and verifying entitlement to the copy.
(e) The report shall be retained for 99 years from the date of the adoption by the department or licensed child-placing agency placing the child for adoption. If the agency ceases to function as a child-placing agency, the agency shall transfer all the reports to the department or, after giving notice to the department, to a transferee agency that is assuming responsibility for the preservation of the agency’s adoption records. If the child has not been placed for adoption by the department or a licensed child-placing agency and if the child is being adopted by a person other than the child’s stepparent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle by birth, marriage, or prior adoption, the person or entity who places the child for adoption shall file the report with the department, which shall retain the copies for 99 years from the date of the adoption.
Sec. 162.0062. Access to Information
a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the prospective adoptive parents of a child are entitled to examine the records and other information relating to the history of the child. The Department of Family and Protective Services, licensed child-placing agency, or other person placing a child for adoption shall inform the prospective adoptive parents of their right to examine the records and other information relating to the history of the child. The department, licensed child-placing agency, or other person placing the child for adoption shall edit the records and information to protect the identity of the biological parents and any other person whose identity is confidential.
(a-1) If a child is placed with a prospective adoptive parent prior to adoption, the prospective adoptive parent is entitled to examine any record or other information relating to the child’s health history, including the portion of the report prepared under Section 162.005 for the child that relates to the child’s health. The department, licensed child-placing agency, single source continuum contractor, or other person placing a child for adoption shall inform the prospective adoptive parent of the prospective adoptive parent’s right to examine the records and other information relating to the child’s health history. The department, licensed child-placing agency, single source continuum contractor, or other person placing the child for adoption shall edit the records and information to protect the identity of the biological parents and any other person whose identity is confidential.
(b) The records described by Subsection (a) must include any records relating to an investigation of abuse in which the child was an alleged or confirmed victim of sexual abuse while residing in a foster home or other residential child-care facility. If the licensed child-placing agency or other person placing the child for adoption does not have the information required by this subsection, the department, at the request of the licensed child-placing agency or other person placing the child for adoption, shall provide the information to the prospective adoptive parents of the child.
(c) If the prospective adoptive parents of a child have reviewed the health, social, educational, and genetic history report for the child and indicated that they want to proceed with the adoption, the department may, but is not required to, allow the prospective adoptive parents of the child to examine the records and other information relating to the history of the child, unless the prospective adoptive parents request the child’s case record. The department shall provide the child’s case record to the prospective adoptive parents on the request of the prospective adoptive parents.
(c-1) If the prospective adoptive parents of a child indicate they want to proceed with the adoption under Subsection (c), the department, licensed child-placing agency, or single source continuum contractor shall provide the prospective adoptive parents with access to research regarding underlying health issues and other conditions of trauma that could impact child development and permanency.
(d) The adoptive parents and the adopted child, after the child is an adult, are entitled to receive copies of the records that have been edited to protect the identity of the biological parents and any other person whose identity is confidential and other information relating to the history of the child maintained by the department, licensed child-placing agency, person, or entity placing the child for adoption.
(e) It is the duty of the person or entity placing the child for adoption to edit the records and information to protect the identity of the biological parents and any other person whose identity is confidential.
(f) At the time an adoption order is rendered, the court shall provide to the parents of an adopted child information provided by the vital statistics unit that describes the functions of the voluntary adoption registry under Subchapter E. The licensed child-placing agency shall provide to each of the child’s biological parents known to the agency, the information when the parent signs an affidavit of relinquishment of parental rights or affidavit of waiver of interest in a child. The information shall include the right of the child or biological parent to refuse to participate in the registry. If the adopted child is 14 years old or older the court shall provide the information to the child.
Sec. 162.007. Contents of Health, Social, Educational, and Genetic History Report
(a) The health history of the child must include information about:
(1) the child’s health status at the time of placement;
(2) the child’s birth, neonatal, and other medical, psychological, psychiatric, and dental history information, including to the extent known by the Department of Family and Protective Services based on the information collected under Section 264.019:
(A) whether the child’s birth mother consumed alcohol during pregnancy; and
(B) whether the child has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder;
(3) a record of immunizations for the child; and
(4) the available results of medical, psychological, psychiatric, and dental examinations of the child.
(b) The social history of the child must include information, to the extent known, about past and existing relationships between the child and the child’s siblings, parents by birth, extended family, and other persons who have had physical possession of or legal access to the child.
(c) The educational history of the child must include, to the extent known, information about:
(1) the enrollment and performance of the child in educational institutions;
(2) results of educational testing and standardized tests for the child; and
(3) special educational needs, if any, of the child.
(d) The genetic history of the child must include a description of the child’s parents by birth and their parents, any other child born to either of the child’s parents, and extended family members and must include, to the extent the information is available, information about:
(1) their health and medical history, including any genetic diseases and disorders;
(2) their health status at the time of placement;
(3) the cause of and their age at death;
(4) their height, weight, and eye and hair color;
(5) their nationality and ethnic background;
(6) their general levels of educational and professional achievements, if any;
(7) their religious backgrounds, if any;
(8) any psychological, psychiatric, or social evaluations, including the date of the evaluation, any diagnosis, and a summary of any findings;
(9) any criminal conviction records relating to a misdemeanor or felony classified as an offense against the person or family or public indecency or a felony violation of a statute intended to control the possession or distribution of a substance included in Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code; and
(10) any information necessary to determine whether the child is entitled to or otherwise eligible for state or federal financial, medical, or other assistance.
(e) The report shall include a history of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse suffered by the child, if any.
(f) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, the Department of Family and Protective Services may, in accordance with department rule, modify the form and contents of the health, social, educational, and genetic history report for a child as the department determines appropriate based on:
(1) the relationship between the prospective adoptive parents and the child or the child’s birth family;
(2) the provision of the child’s case record to the prospective adoptive parents; or
(3) any other factor specified by department rule.
(g) In this section, “fetal alcohol spectrum disorder” means any of a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother consumed alcohol during pregnancy.
Sec. 162.010. Consent Required
(a) Unless the managing conservator is the petitioner, the written consent of a managing conservator to the adoption must be filed. The court may waive the requirement of consent by the managing conservator if the court finds that the consent is being refused or has been revoked without good cause. A hearing on the issue of consent shall be conducted by the court without a jury.
(b) If a parent of the child is presently the spouse of the petitioner, that parent must join in the petition for adoption and further consent of that parent is not required.
(c) A child 12 years of age or older must consent to the adoption in writing or in court. The court may waive this requirement if it would serve the child’s best interest.
Sec. 162.012. Direct or Collateral Attack
(a) Notwithstanding Rule 329, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the validity of an adoption order is not subject to attack after six months after the date the order was signed.
(b) The validity of a final adoption order is not subject to attack because a health, social, educational, and genetic history was not filed.
Sec. 162.016. Adoption Order
(a) If a petition requesting termination has been joined with a petition requesting adoption, the court shall also terminate the parent-child relationship at the same time the adoption order is rendered. The court must make separate findings that the termination is in the best interest of the child and that the adoption is in the best interest of the child.
(b) If the court finds that the requirements for adoption have been met and the adoption is in the best interest of the child, the court shall grant the adoption.
(c) The name of the child may be changed in the order if requested.
Sec. 162.017. Effect of Adoption
(a) An order of adoption creates the parent-child relationship between the adoptive parent and the child for all purposes.
(b) An adopted child is entitled to inherit from and through the child’s adoptive parents as though the child were the biological child of the parents.
(c) The terms “child,” “descendant,” “issue,” and other terms indicating the relationship of parent and child include an adopted child unless the context or express language clearly indicates otherwise.
(d) Nothing in this chapter precludes or affects the rights of a biological or adoptive maternal or paternal grandparent to reasonable possession of or access to a grandchild, as provided in Chapter 153.
Sec. 162.021. Sealing File
(a) The court, on the motion of a party or on the court’s own motion, may order the sealing of the file and the minutes of the court, or both, in a suit requesting an adoption.
(b) Rendition of the order does not relieve the clerk from the duty to send information regarding adoption to the vital statistics unit as required by this subchapter and Chapter 108.
Sec. 162.022. Confidentiality Maintained by Clerk
The records concerning a child maintained by the district clerk after entry of an order of adoption are confidential. No person is entitled to access to the records or may obtain information from the records except for good cause under an order of the court that issued the order.
Sec. 162.023. Adoption Order from Foreign Country
(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, an adoption order rendered to a resident of this state that is made by a foreign country shall be accorded full faith and credit by the courts of this state and enforced as if the order were rendered by a court in this state unless the adoption law or process of the foreign country violates the fundamental principles of human rights or the laws or public policy of this state.
(b) A person who adopts a child in a foreign country may register the order in this state. A petition for registration of a foreign adoption order may be combined with a petition for a name change. If the court finds that the foreign adoption order meets the requirements of Subsection (a), the court shall order the state registrar to:
(1) register the order under Chapter 192, Health and Safety Code; and
(2) file a certificate of birth for the child under Section 192.006, Health and Safety Code.
Texas Law: Adoption Registry
This is the entirety of Texas Fam. Code §§ 162.401 – 162.422, the Texas statute related to the creation and operation of voluntary adoption registries. Regulations concerning the Central Adoption Registry are here.
Sec. 162.401. Purpose
The purpose of this subchapter is to provide for the establishment of mutual consent voluntary adoption registries through which adoptees, birth parents, and biological siblings may voluntarily locate each other. It is not the purpose of this subchapter to inhibit or prohibit persons from locating each other through other legal means or to inhibit or affect in any way the provision of postadoptive services and education, by adoption agencies or others, that go further than the procedures set out for registries established under this subchapter.
Sec. 162.402. Definitions
In this subchapter:
(1) “Administrator” means the administrator of a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry established under this subchapter.
(2) “Adoptee” means a person 18 years of age or older who has been legally adopted in this state or another state or country.
(3) “Adoption” means the act of creating the legal relationship of parent and child between a person and a child who is not the biological child of that person. The term does not include the act of establishing the legal relationship of parent and child between a man and a child through proof of paternity or voluntary legitimation proceedings.
(4) “Adoption agency” means a person, other than a natural parent or guardian of a child, who plans for the placement of or places a child in the home of a prospective adoptive parent.
(5) “Adoptive parent” means an adult who is a parent of an adoptee through a legal process of adoption.
(6) “Alleged father” means a man who is not deemed by law to be or who has not been adjudicated to be the biological father of an adoptee and who claims or is alleged to be the adoptee’s biological father.
(7) “Authorized agency” means a public agency authorized to care for or to place children for adoption or a private entity approved for that purpose by the department through a license, certification, or other means. The term includes a licensed child-placing agency or a previously licensed child-placing agency that has ceased operations and has transferred its adoption records to the vital statistics unit or an agency authorized by the department to place children for adoption and a licensed child-placing agency that has been acquired by, merged with, or otherwise succeeded by an agency authorized by the department to place children for adoption.
(8) “Biological parent” means a man or woman who is the father or mother of genetic origin of a child.
(9) “Biological siblings” means persons who share a common birth parent.
(10) “Birth parent” means:
(A) the biological mother of an adoptee;
(B) the man adjudicated or presumed under Chapter 151 to be the biological father of an adoptee; and
(C) a man who has signed a consent to adoption, affidavit of relinquishment, affidavit of waiver of interest in child, or other written instrument releasing the adoptee for adoption, unless the consent, affidavit, or other instrument includes a sworn refusal to admit or a denial of paternity. The term includes a birth mother and birth father but does not include a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as not being the biological parent of an adoptee.
(11) “Central registry” means the mutual consent voluntary adoption registry established and maintained by the vital statistics unit under this subchapter.
(12) “Department” means the Department of Family and Protective Services.
(13) “Registry” means a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry established under this subchapter.
(14) “Vital statistics unit” means the vital statistics unit of the Department of State Health Services.
Sec. 162.403. Establishment of Voluntary Adoption Registries
(a) The vital statistics unit shall establish and maintain a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), an agency authorized by the department to place children for adoption and an association comprised exclusively of those agencies may establish a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry. An agency may contract with any other agency authorized by the department to place children for adoption or with an association comprised exclusively of those agencies to perform registry services on its behalf.
(c) An authorized agency that did not directly or by contract provide registry services as required by this subchapter on January 1, 1984, may not provide its own registry service. The vital statistics unit shall operate through the central registry those services for agencies not permitted to provide a registry under this section.
Sec. 162.404. Requirement to Send Information to Central Registry
An authorized agency that is permitted to provide a registry under this subchapter or that participates in a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry with an association of authorized agencies shall send to the central registry a duplicate of all information the registry maintains in the agency’s registry or sends to the registry in which the agency participates.
Sec. 162.405. Determination of Appropriate Registry
(a) The administrator of the central registry shall determine the appropriate registry to which an applicant is entitled to apply.
(b) On receiving an inquiry by an adoptee, birth parent, or sibling who has provided satisfactory proof of age and identity and paid all required inquiry fees, the administrator of the central registry shall review the information on file in the central index and consult with the administrators of other registries in the state to determine the identity of any appropriate registry through which the adoptee, birth parent, or sibling may register.
(c) Each administrator shall, not later than the 30th day after the date of receiving an inquiry from the administrator of the central registry, respond in writing to the inquiry that the registrant was not placed for adoption by an agency served by that registry or that the registrant was placed for adoption by an agency served by that registry. If the registrant was placed for adoption by an agency served by the registry, the administrator shall file a report with the administrator of the central registry including:
(1) the name of the adopted child as shown in the final adoption decree;
(2) the birth date of the adopted child;
(3) the docket number of the adoption suit;
(4) the identity of the court that granted the adoption;
(5) the date of the final adoption decree;
(6) the identity of the agency, if any, through which the adopted child was placed; and
(7) the identity, address, and telephone number of the registry through which the adopted child may register as an adoptee.
(d) After completing the investigation, the administrator of the central registry shall issue an official certificate stating:
(1) the identity of the registry through which the adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling may apply for registration, if known; or
(2) if the administrator cannot make a conclusive determination, that the adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling is entitled to apply for registration through the central registry.
Sec. 162.406. Registration Eligibility
(a) An adoptee who is 18 years of age or older may apply to a registry for information about the adoptee’s birth parents and biological siblings.
(b) A birth parent who is 18 years of age or older may apply to a registry for information about an adoptee who is a child by birth of the birth parent.
(c) An alleged father who is 18 years of age or older and who acknowledges paternity but is not, at the time of application, a birth father may register as a birth father but may not otherwise be recognized as a birth father for the purposes of this subchapter unless:
(1) the adoptee’s birth mother in her application identifies him as the adoptee’s biological father; and
(2) additional information concerning the adoptee obtained from other sources is not inconsistent with his claim of paternity.
(d) A biological sibling who is 18 years of age or older may apply to a registry for information about the person’s adopted biological siblings.
(e) Only birth parents, adoptees, and biological siblings may apply for information through a registry.
(f) A person, including an authorized agency, may not apply for information through a registry as an agent, attorney, or representative of an adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling.
Sec. 162.407. Registration
(a) The administrator shall require each registration applicant to sign a written application.
(b) An adoptee adopted or placed through an authorized agency may register through the registry maintained by that agency or the registry to which the agency has delegated registry services or through the central registry maintained by the vital statistics unit.
(c) Birth parents and biological siblings shall register through:
(1) the registry of the authorized agency through which the adoptee was adopted or placed; or
(2) the central registry.
(d) The administrator may not accept an application for registration unless the applicant:
(1) provides proof of identity as provided by Section 162.408;
(2) establishes the applicant’s eligibility to register; and
(3) pays all required registration fees.
(e) A registration remains in effect until the 99th anniversary of the date the registration is accepted unless a shorter period is specified by the applicant or the registration is withdrawn before that time.
(f) A registrant may withdraw the registrant’s registration in writing without charge at any time.
(g) After a registration is withdrawn or expires, the registrant shall be treated as if the person has not previously registered.
(h) A completed registry application must be accepted or rejected before the 46th day after the date the application is received. If an application is rejected, the administrator shall provide the applicant with a written statement of the reason for the rejection.
Sec. 162.408. Proof of Identity
The rules and minimum standards of the Department of State Health Services for the vital statistics unit must provide for proof of identity in order to facilitate the purposes of this subchapter and to protect the privacy rights of adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents, biological siblings, and their families.
Sec. 162.409. Application
(a) An application must contain:
(1) the name, address, and telephone number of the applicant;
(2) any other name or alias by which the applicant has been known;
(3) the age, date of birth, and place of birth of the applicant;
(4) the original name of the adoptee, if known;
(5) the adoptive name of the adoptee, if known;
(6) a statement that the applicant is willing to allow the applicant’s identity to be disclosed to a registrant who is eligible to learn the applicant’s identity;
(7) the name, address, and telephone number of the agency or other entity, organization, or person placing the adoptee for adoption, if known, or, if not known, a statement that the applicant does not know that information;
(8) an authorization to the administrator and the administrator’s designees to inspect all vital statistics records, court records, and agency records, including confidential records, relating to the birth, adoption, marriage, and divorce of the applicant or to the birth and death of any child or sibling by birth or adoption of the applicant;
(9) the specific address to which the applicant wishes notice of a successful match to be mailed;
(10) a statement that the applicant either does or does not consent to disclosure of identifying information about the applicant after the applicant’s death;
(11) a statement that the registration is to be effective for 99 years or for a stated shorter period selected by the applicant; and
(12) a statement that the adoptee applicant either does or does not desire to be informed that registry records indicate that the applicant has a biological sibling who has registered under this subchapter.
(b) The application may contain the applicant’s social security number if the applicant, after being advised of the right not to supply the number, voluntarily furnishes it.
(c) The application of a birth parent must include:
(1) the original name and date of birth or approximate date of birth of each adoptee with respect to whom the parent is registering;
(2) the names of all other birth children, including maiden names, aliases, dates and places of birth, and names of the birth parents;
(3) each name known or thought by the applicant to have been used by the adoptee’s other birth parent;
(4) the last known address of the adoptee’s other birth parent; and
(5) other available information through which the other birth parent may be identified.
(d) The application of a biological sibling must include:
(1) a statement explaining the applicant’s basis for believing that the applicant has one or more biological siblings;
(2) the names, including maiden and married names, and aliases of all the applicant’s siblings by birth and adoption and their dates and places of birth, if known;
(3) the names of the applicant’s legal parents;
(4) the names of the applicant’s birth parents, if known; and
(5) any other information known to the applicant through which the existence and identity of the applicant’s biological siblings can be confirmed.
(e) An application may also contain additional information through which the applicant’s identity and eligibility to register may be ascertained.
(f) The administrator shall assist the applicant in filling out the application if the applicant is unable to complete the application without assistance, but the administrator may not furnish the applicant with any substantive information necessary to complete the application.
Sec. 162.411. Fees
(a) The costs of establishing, operating, and maintaining a registry may be recovered in whole or in part through users’ fees charged to applicants and registrants.
(b) Each registry shall establish a schedule of fees for services provided by the registry. The fees shall be reasonably related to the direct and indirect costs of establishing, operating, and maintaining the registry.
(c) A fee may not be charged for withdrawing a registration.
(d) The fees collected by the vital statistics unit shall be deposited in a special fund in the general revenue fund. Funds in the special fund may be appropriated only for the administration of the central registry.
(e) The administrator may waive users’ fees in whole or in part if the applicant provides satisfactory proof of financial inability to pay the fees.
Sec. 162.412. Supplemental Information
(a) A registrant may amend the registrant’s registration and submit additional information to the administrator. A registrant shall notify the administrator of any change in the registrant’s name or address that occurs after acceptance of the application.
(b) The administrator does not have a duty to search for a registrant who fails to register a change of name or address.
Sec. 162.413. Counseling
The applicant must participate in counseling for not less than one hour with a social worker or mental health professional with expertise in postadoption counseling after the administrator has accepted the application for registration and before the release of confidential information.
Sec. 162.414. Matching Procedures
(a) The administrator shall process each registration in an attempt to match the adoptee and the adoptee’s birth parents or the adoptee and the adoptee’s biological siblings.
(b) The administrator shall determine that there is a match if the adult adoptee and the birth mother or the birth father have registered or if a biological sibling has registered.
(c) To establish or corroborate a match, the administrator shall request confirmation of a possible match from the vital statistics unit. If the agency operating the registry has in its own records sufficient information through which the match may be confirmed, the administrator may, but is not required to, request confirmation from the vital statistics unit. The vital statistics unit may confirm or deny the match without breaching the duty of confidentiality to the adoptee, adoptive parents, birth parents, or biological siblings and without a court order.
(d) To establish a match, the administrator may also request confirmation of a possible match from the agency, if any, that has possession of records concerning the adoption of an adoptee or from the court that granted the adoption, the hospital where the adoptee or any biological sibling was born, the physician who delivered the adoptee or biological sibling, or any other person who has knowledge of the relevant facts. The agency, court, hospital, physician, or person with knowledge may confirm or deny the match without breaching any duty of confidentiality to the adoptee, adoptive parents, birth parents, or biological siblings.
(e) If a match is denied by a source contacted under Subsection (d), the administrator shall make a full and complete investigation into the reliability of the denial. If the match is corroborated by other reliable sources and the administrator is satisfied that the denial is erroneous, the administrator may make disclosures but shall report to the adoptee, birth parents, and biological siblings involved that the match was not confirmed by all information sources.
Sec. 162.416. Disclosure of Identifying Information.
(a) When a match has been made and confirmed to the administrator’s satisfaction, the administrator shall mail to each registrant, at the registrant’s last known address, by fax or registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, delivery restricted to addressee only, a written notice:
(1) informing the registrant that a match has been made and confirmed;
(2) reminding the registrant that the registrant may withdraw the registration before disclosures are made, if desired; and
(3) notifying the registrant that before any identifying disclosures are made, the registrant must:
(A) sign a written consent to disclosure that allows the disclosure of identifying information about the other registrants to the registrant and allows the disclosure of identifying information about the registrant to other registrants;
(B) participate in counseling for not less than one hour with a social worker or mental health professional who has expertise in postadoption counseling; and
(C) provide the administrator with written certification that the counseling required under Subdivision (B) has been completed.
(b) Identifying information about a registrant shall be released without the registrant’s having consented after the match to disclosure if the registrant is dead, the registrant’s registration was valid at the time of death, and the registrant had in writing specifically authorized the postdeath disclosure in the registrant’s application or in a supplemental statement filed with the administrator.
(c) Identifying information about a deceased birth parent may not be released until each surviving child of the deceased birth parent is an adult or until each child’s surviving parent, guardian, managing conservator, or legal custodian consents in writing to the disclosure.
(d) The administrator shall prepare and release written disclosure statements identifying information about each of the registrants if the registrants complied with Subsection (a) and, before the 60th day after the date notification of match was mailed, the registrant or registrants have not withdrawn their registrations.
(e) If the administrator establishes that a match cannot be made because of the death of an adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling, the administrator shall promptly notify the affected registrant. The administrator shall disclose the reason why a match cannot be made and may disclose nonidentifying information concerning the circumstances of the person’s death.
Sec. 162.419. Registry Records Confidential
(a) All applications, registrations, records, and other information submitted to, obtained by, or otherwise acquired by a registry are confidential and may not be disclosed to any person or entity except in the manner authorized by this subchapter.
(b) Information acquired by a registry may not be disclosed under freedom of information or sunshine legislation, rules, or practice.
(c) A person may not file or prosecute a class action litigation to force a registry to disclose identifying information.
Sec. 162.420. Rulemaking
(a) The executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall make rules and adopt minimum standards for the Department of State Health Services to:
(1) administer the provisions of this subchapter; and
(2) ensure that each registry respects the right to privacy and confidentiality of an adoptee, birth parent, and biological sibling who does not desire to disclose the person’s identity.
(b) The Department of State Health Services shall conduct a comprehensive review of all rules and standards adopted under this subchapter not less than every six years.
(c) In order to provide the administrators an opportunity to review proposed rules and standards and send written suggestions to the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, the executive commissioner shall, before adopting rules and minimum standards, send a copy of the proposed rules and standards not less than 60 days before the date they take effect to:
(1) the administrator of each registry established under this subchapter; and
(2) the administrator of each agency authorized by the department to place children for adoption.
Sec. 162.421. Prohibited Acts; Criminal Penalties
(a) This subchapter does not prevent the Department of State Health Services from making known to the public, by appropriate means, the existence of voluntary adoption registries.
(b) Information received by or in connection with the operation of a registry may not be stored in a data bank used for any purpose other than operation of the registry.
(c) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or recklessly discloses information from a registry application, registration, record, or other information submitted to, obtained by, or otherwise acquired by a registry in violation of this subchapter. This subsection may not be construed to penalize the disclosure of information from adoption agency records. An offense under this subsection is a felony of the second degree.
(d) A person commits an offense if the person with criminal negligence causes or permits the disclosure of information from a registry application, registration, record, or other information submitted to, obtained by, or otherwise acquired by a registry in violation of this subchapter. This subsection may not be construed to penalize the disclosure of information from adoption agency records. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor.
(e) A person commits an offense if the person impersonates an adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling with the intent to secure confidential information from a registry established under this subchapter. An offense under this subsection is a felony of the second degree.
(f) A person commits an offense if the person impersonates an administrator, agent, or employee of a registry with the intent to secure confidential information from a registry established under this subchapter. An offense under this subsection is a felony of the second degree.
(g) A person commits an offense if the person, with intent to deceive and with knowledge of the statement’s meaning, makes a false statement under oath in connection with the operation of a registry. An offense under this subsection is a felony of the third degree.
Sec. 162.422. Immunity from Liability
(a) The Department of State Health Services or authorized agency establishing or operating a registry is not liable to any person for obtaining or disclosing identifying information about a birth parent, adoptee, or biological sibling within the scope of this subchapter and under its provisions.
(b) An employee or agent of the Department of State Health Services or of an authorized agency establishing or operating a registry under this subchapter is not liable to any person for obtaining or disclosing identifying information about a birth parent, adoptee, or biological sibling within the scope of this subchapter and under its provisions.
(c) A person or entity furnishing information to the administrator or an employee or agent of a registry is not liable to any person for disclosing information about a birth parent, adoptee, or biological sibling within the scope of this subchapter and under its provisions.
(d) A person or entity is not immune from liability for performing an act prohibited by Section 162.421.
Texas Law: Adult Adoption
The entire Texas statute related to adoption of an adult is set forth below and is also available here.
Sec. 162.501. Adoption of Adult
The court may grant the petition of an adult residing in this state to adopt another adult according to this subchapter.
Sec. 162.502. Jurisdiction
The petitioner shall file a suit to adopt an adult in the district court or a statutory county court granted jurisdiction in family law cases and proceedings by Chapter 25, Government Code, in the county of the petitioner’s residence.
Sec. 162.503. Requirements of Petition
(a) A petition to adopt an adult shall be entitled “In the Interest of __, An Adult.”
(b) If the petitioner is married, both spouses must join in the petition for adoption.
Sec. 162.504. Consent
A court may not grant an adoption unless the adult consents in writing to be adopted by the petitioner.
Sec. 162.505. Attendance Required
The petitioner and the adult to be adopted must attend the hearing. For good cause shown, the court may waive this requirement, by written order, if the petitioner or adult to be adopted is unable to attend.
Sec. 162.506. Adoption Order
(a) The court shall grant the adoption if the court finds that the requirements for adoption of an adult are met.
(b) Notwithstanding that both spouses have joined in a petition for the adoption of an adult as required by Section 162.503(b), the court may grant the adoption of the adult to both spouses or, on request of the spouses, to only one spouse.
Sec. 162.507. Effect of Adoption
(a) The adopted adult is the son or daughter of the adoptive parents for all purposes.
(b) The adopted adult is entitled to inherit from and through the adopted adult’s adoptive parents as though the adopted adult were the biological child of the adoptive parents.
(c) The adopted adult may not inherit from or through the adult’s biological parent. A biological parent may not inherit from or through an adopted adult.
Texas had unrestricted legislation the past two biennial sessions. SB329 was passed out of committee but not voted on. More info at texasadopteerights.org
I am adopted. I can’t find my original birth certificate or adoption records. My name is in the Texas vital statistics as of a birth record. It is like I was born to my adoptive parents. My birth certificate says all the right information for my adoptive parents. Do you have any ideas how I can turn up my adoption records and or my original birth certificate. I was adopted in Texas possibly California. But my birth certificate says Texas. Can you help me. [email protected]. Thank you.
I am the biological son of my mother who was adopted out at three years of age. My mother had significant health issues and past away about 13 years ago. I am trying to connect with her biological siblings to trace back where her issues originated from. This law in Texas is ridiculous and only serves the needs of politicians and attorneys standing to gain from the profit off of it.
From Texas – I got my Court Order by going to the courthouse, and getting directions to a State District Judge’s office there inside. I went into the office, introduced myself and said what I needed,
“I’m adopted. I want to get a copy of my Original Birth Certificate but the lady at the Birth Certificates Office said she won’t give me one without a Court Order.” The Judges Secretary said just a minute, and went into the Judges personal office. After a moment she came out, typed something and went back in to the Judge. Then she came out and handed me a letter saying, ” Please give (me) a copy of his original birth certificate”, signed and sealed.
I gave that letter to the same angry bitter woman at the records office. She then tendered a copy of my original Birth Certificate, and still angry and bitter, and now with contempt added.
You don’t mention the year you did this. The law now is that it must be the judge in the court of adoption. With 254 counties each with different judges, each one makes their own decisions. Only ONE county opens to all that request. The judges in the other courts cherry pick and rarely grant access. “Good cause” is whatever they want it to be. And often that means that people in their 70s with healtih issues continue to be denied.
Some courts allow intermediaries to have access and they charge $650 and up. They are not allowed to tell the Adoptee any information without signed permission from the birth family. So if the birth mother is deceased or they can’t find someone or their part of the lesson 2% the do not want contact the adoptee is left in the same position.
The geography of one’s birth should not determine ones rights.
The only reason laws did not pass in Texas in 2013 2015 and 2017 was because of state senator Donna Campbell.
In 2013 she look down at me in this Texas State Senate hearing and said “I don’t understand for one need, is this for financial reasons that they think that they’re entitled to something”
2015 the bill passed out of the house on 138/1 passed out of senate committee 8/0. Said to be heard on the floor Senator Campbell went to lt gov. Dan Patrick and begged him to not bring the bill to the floor. He agreed and the bill died.
2017 Senator Campbell sent out letters to all the other senators filled with lies about the issues. She colluded with Senator Charles schwertner ( had signed on to the bill and promised to support it and then voted against it in immittee and took his name off and refuses to meet with constituents) Senator Uresti ( just convicted on unrelated felonies) Senator Zaffirini (.uses Dr. Campbell as her doctor and traded votes on this bill for her texting bill) the list goes on and on.
The only way to pass this bill is to get Campbell out of office. Running against her in this election are two people who have pledged support: D) Steven Kling (came and gave testimony in favor in 2017) and R) Shannon McClendon who has pledged support.
Getting laws passed is a tedious process and those in each state know what goes on behind the scenes. Want lahws passed? In Texas that means making campaign contributions to the others running and getting your friends and families to get out and vote.
Sam, it is great that you got yours, how are you helping others?
The year was about 1978. The new law is hardly better – ‘if I know what do I care, for an official document’?
It seems to me, that as a matter of justice, the Rights of a minor can not be extinguished in perpetuity without due process that allows the party to speak for themselves, beginning at whatever the legal age to contract is that is applied to all citizens.
That a birth parent would have to mount a defense as a Jane Doe is not insurmountable. Regardless, the problem of anonymity is the parents. That arena is no place for a government to discriminate against a rather lare number of its citizens.
Judges retire, die, move on, etc., so your statement about it being the same judge is 100% FALSE! Please get your facts straight. It has to be the same county where adoptions take place.
I would be surprised to hear that a clerk refused a court order by a judge in the county in possession of the document.
I would think Case records are filed in the county where the officiating adoption agency is located, the Birth Certificate is in Travis County, TX
County Judges have jurisdiction of the records in their county, only.
The LOCATION of the record guides you.
What court were you in? I am in Texas too and mine adoption was done in the 113th court. So I am wondering if maybe it was the same judge so I can be better prepared. Thank You
Why do you think it has to be the same judge? It says the same COURT, not judge. The judge is not the COURT.
I am a Texas adoptee who has located my birth parents. I would like to get a certified copy of my OBC. I live in WA state but am in Austin this week. Is this something I can do in Austin, or do I need to go to Tarantino County where I was born?
Thanks for any help,
Michael Moyer (Bell)
Michael,
Yes, you absolutely can go to vital statistics in Austin and apply for your OBC in person. The application can be downloaded and printed here.
The process is a bit different from obtaining an amended birth certificate. A clerk will meet with you in a private cubicle and take your application. It usually takes a week to process a request made in person and you may either pick it up or have it mailed. Best of luck!
Since to you know the names on your original birth certificate you are authorized to receive a copy of your original birth certificate from the state of Texas. The forms are online but also look on Facebook for an organization called Texas DNA and adoptee search support they have all the forms that you need in the group happy to help you
I am a Texas adoptee that is trying to get a copy of OBC. I am not looking for financial gain, or even a meeting, rather medical information. I have already been diagnosed with Adult Onset Stills, R.A. since I was 30 and now my son is 13 and wondering what he could get as he gets older. Honestly, I would like to know what else I have to look forward to as well. They already didn’t want me once, so good practice for not getting hurt when/if they don’t want me again. Surely there is someway to get medical information.
Does anyone know if there is a process for this? Or is it still just to get a court order from a Texas court all the way from the state of Colorado?
I think you would be better served by DNA testing, and a full MRI 9 the type where your entire body is scanned and analyzed.
A friend gave her child up and still regrets obeying her parents wishes. I was the middle child, and the only one my mother gave up – I was lucky judging from the stories by my 1/2 sibs – and 2 of the 4 of them would never speak to me. My mother had 5 children by four men. Your right not to follow your instincts, instead the more important medical information would easily serve you better. Maybe there’s a group for your medical issues.
Don’t count on Texas. Besides, my mother gave a misleading name. I never found the person named in any of the records. I’ve always wanted to know who my parents were. You might take a look at Texas birth records for your birth date. I am listed on my birthdate as “Inf of” and ‘F’ for female, I am Male – father not listed and of course that fake name my mother gave.
Again, Don’t count on Texas.
Texas has NO bills supporting adoptee rights in the 86th Legislature (yet) this year. Not that it would matter… Campbell won election again, so any bills that would make any headway would be quashed anyhow. Her term is good for the next 4 years and the Lege meets only every other year, so I wouldn’t count on anything in the 87th Session in 2021, either.
A bill is expected to be introduced soon. The Texas Adoptee Rights Coalition, of which I am a part of, has more info about the draft it worked on here. Whether that is the draft introduced is not yet fully known but Shawna Hodgson is the key person working on it.
And of COURSE it failed, and so did the 2021 bill. I called it, unfortunately. As long as Donna Campbell and Dan Patrick keep their offices, we will NEVER have adoptee rights in Texas.
Well, I’ve been a sleuth for 51 years! I’ve never tried any ancestry DNA register! I am looking for my 52 year old daughter. Original name: Melanie Kay Thomason. My maiden name is Patricia Louise Amick. I’ve been close! I only want to pay one fee, to register! Can anyone steer me in right direction?
Hi Patricia. I was wondering what your daughter’s birthdate was and where she was born. My spouse was born in Texas and adopted by a French Canadian couple when she was a week old. Based on what you said she would be very close in age to the daughter you are looking for.
Submitting an Ancestry DNA kit is a one time expense, for which you will be able to see all others who have submitted a kit and match you to some degree. That part of Ancestry remains free to use (your DNA results)
That I know of, the other DNA Genealogy services are also always open to you if you submit their kit.
Your strategy and On Sale purchasing could put you on about 3 for under $200. The 3 I am thinking of are Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe. Gedmatch accepts results from Ancestry, FTDNA and 23andMe.
How I petitioned the a Texas District Court in Austin, Texas in 1976.
The clerk at the birth certificate office said she couldn’t give me a copy of my original Birth Certificate without a Court Order ( the number of that original certificate was hand written on the one I showed the clerk)
Then I walked over to the courthouse and asked what I had to do to speak to a District Judge. I said I want to get my birth certificate. The lady said Judge So and So’s secretary was in his office.
I told her I wanted to get a copy of my original brth certificate but the lady/clerk said I needed a court order.
The secretary said just a minute, and walked into the office behind her. Moments later she came out and typed a request -‘ Please give Mr Barzilla a copy of his original birth certificate’ on the Court’s letter head and the authority properly noted in the Judge’s name.
She again disappeared for a moment, returning with that paper signed – ‘ she said,’ Here you are’
I walked back to the birth certificate office, produced my letter/order? and was promptly in possession of my Original Birth Certificate.
The certificate contained the Cause number whereabouts my records could be found. Later on I did get a copy of my Adoptive parents papers. I noticed those papers did correctly reference my DNAmother’s cause to give me up.
(And as I’ve said before – she did not use her maiden name, nor name of record – the trouble to get the original birth certificate only made me feel better, that I was doing something. She had used her given name, and the adoption agency hadn’t properly blacked out where she was born, so I had her first and middle name and her birth town. I strongly recommend getting familiar with DNA genealogy; and, get tested at two or three DNA services. Then post your Raw DNA file wherever you can.)
My son is now 45 years old and would like to have his sealed birth certificate. he was adopted as a child but came back into our lives at the age of 13 when the adopted parents divorced. He never was re-adopted into the family but would love to have the family last name. And now law has it that he has to have a certified birth certificate in order to keep his driver’s license updated. I live in Texas and he lives in Nebraska now. What can we do.
I am adopted also. I feel my rights have been denied to me. due process, change of venue, and no class actions actions. also they may be a conflict of interest based on a study done for the courts of records. I am going to file a freedom of information requesting the entire contents of survey. My possible actions are possible filing a law suite challenging this law. I feel the court may be required to hear the case. I also plan to have a web site in the near future. My name is Al Mathews and live in Hondo Texas. My telephone number is 210 421 6980. Thanks for the information you provided.
Adoption is a fraud. They should never alter the birth certificate. They allow the vital statistics to blatantly falsify information; using you as surety for a name that was never actually born and saying that your adoptive parents attended your birth. What a bold face lie!
Comment – it does appear that there are sufficient reasons – as a matter of societal peace making – to keep records closed until adulthood.
However, as a matter of Equal Protection – at 18 -21? The Adoptee must be provided the same Due Process to access his/her records as any other adult.
It seems somehow related that the Rules Of Evidence are changed in the case of Adoptees. A Birth Certificate is a Birth Certificate. A document modified by the state to falsify the record is not a Birth Certificate.
see 42USC1983 These suits are so common that there are forms to file in FEDERAL COURTS to right the wrong.
Just consider, a baby is NOT ‘Real Property’ where there is a Title to this type of Creature.
I love how you articulated this. I am in the process of filing in a Denial of Heirship, along with some other documents, Rejecting the notion that I am related to the adopters. It’s caused me a lot of problems. The home I was put in was alcoholic, abusive, violent, and godless. We absolutely need due process but I think a formal protest should suffice. I deny statutory jurisdiction in all of this. According the Common Law, adoptees are not the children of adopters and what they are doing is corrupting families. I’ve witnessed firsthand how this is all about money, it has nothing to do with parents abusing their children. They are literally kidnapping children and it’s not even legal according to their own statutes.
“According the Common Law..” can you show this to exist as a ‘Right’ in a convincing way, prior to the U.S.A. 1776?
The 9th Amendment, U.S. Constitution:
“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
Caveat Emptor, I am NOT an attorney – I do believe the 9th protects Rights that were established prior to the United States being established, you have to be able to show it.
My stance today on this is that Adoption is an arrangement that creates a fictional family relationship that can only survive through the coerced belief and participation of that child subjected to the adoption. When and if that child comes to this realization and withdraws his or her belief, participation, and consent, this arrangement cannot continue. The state cannot force one to assume a false identity or believe in a fiction. Those amended birth certificates are a counterfeit – this is self-evident. I am filing a Declaration of Truth to the court, the governor, the state registrar and the living adopter making this clear (that I withdraw participation, belief, and consent). The arrangement is also a violation of God’s commandments – Honor Thy Mother and Father. I am dishonoring my mother and father if I identify other people as my mother and father as fact. This also violates having no other gods. The State is creating the child that was never born (the evidence shows that the child on the amended birth certificate was not born), is naming a new mother and father. This is blasphemous.
This is a fun subject – how to parse the problem, not your experiences growing up.
You introduce an interesting problem – the DNA shows matter of fact you are not the child of the people who adopted you. It would seem there is a very long history showing you cannot be included in their problems.
Consider where someone comes along and paints your street address on the curb in front of your house. You didn’t ask for and never heard of the person who did it. Then the actor who painted the address shows up at your door demanding $29.oo for the service.
Where’s the contract? The greatest advantage of these United States is that we are a ‘Contract Society’ as opposed to a ‘Status Society’. What in the adoption law says you are responsible for your adoptive parents?
Agreed Sam. Adoption is nothing more than a social experiment. We were guinea pigs. I’m out. I do not live a fiction anymore. They’re screwed when and if the one subjected to adoption realizes what I am saying.
Brilliant ! you’ve pointed out that a legal assignment of ‘parent’ remains silent as to the LEGAL status/relationship of persons who would be socially your siblings.
(at least I think it remains silent – the law failing to define each would be Relative)
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant.
Tedious, helpful book regarding the long history of abandonment in the Western World:
The Kindness of Strangers: The Abandonment of Children in Western Europe — John Boswell
All I want is a Passport. The Department of State rejected my passport application because my adoptive birth certificate is not acceptable for passport purposes. It does not list the individual who registered my birth nor the name of the institution/location where I was born.
I don’t care to know the names of my birth parents but I do care to have the documentation I need to get my passport. I wish there was a way Texas could send whatever the State department needs directly to the State Department to fulfill the birth certificate requirements for my passport application.
Are the rules different for a child taken from the family by the court? He is now 18 and desperation wants to find info not contact. His adopted family is concerned about him being manipulated by what is left of his birth family.
I’m 47 now. My amended birth certificate was lost and we never had a copy of the original. When I was about 23 I contacted the registrar of vital statistics in Austin and requested a copy of my adoption records and birth certificates. I was given a copy of records with a lot of information blacked out and a copy of my original birth certificate with parts blacked out . However, I do not exist by either name in vital birth records of Arizona or Texas and therefore will never be given a passport.
I have a niece whose mother had twins that were given up for adoption due to both poverty and the mother being mentally unable to take care of them. The niece was raised by her grandmother. For medical reasons, she needs to obtain access to the adoption records and birth records of her siblings. The father’s name is unknown. She lives in Travis County, Texas. All the adoption activity was completed in Travis County by a children’s home that went out of business. The adoption was around 35 years ago. What can she do to obtain those records?
To whom it may concern: Do I have rights to choose my name from either birth certificate? My birth or adopted? My adopted parents died when I was 6? I lost the copy of my birth certificate which is in my of my adopted parents name. I know who my real parents are. What do I do? Which birth certificate do I get?
I’m in the state of Texas and was adopted in the state of Texas. I was told that I had to use my adopted birth certificate due to the fact my last name was changed. My OBC became null and voided. If you were adopted and your last name changed. You may need to get your adopted birth certificate.
I am 59 years old and through 23 and Me I believe I have found some half sisters.
They asked to see proof of that, so I wanted to obtain my original birth certificate to see if their father is mine as well. What do I need to do? Should I hire a lawyer?
Will it be that hard to obtain my original birth certificate? What do I need to do.
I am from San Antonio, Bexar county.