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The United States of OBC

Where, and How, You Can Get an Original Birth Certificate (Assuming You Can Get One at All)

I monitor the laws in all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia, and summarize any restrictions that limit an adult adoptee’s right to obtain an original birth certificate. Adult adopted people in ten states (indicated by ) have the right to obtain their own original birth certificates upon request. Maps that illustrate the state of adoptee rights are also here.

The key is listed below. For a summary of a particular state’s law, click on the state’s name.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania  
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

 A changelog records any updates to this page and to individual state summaries.

Key to Symbols
Unrestricted

Unrestricted means that there are no discriminatory restrictions to obtain an original birth certificate, other than reasonable age requirements and a normal fee paid to the state for a copy of the OBC.

Restricted

Restricted means the state requires a court order for an adult adoptee to obtain a copy of the original birth certificate.

Compromised

Compromised means that a state may in some cases provide a copy of the original birth certificate without requiring a court order. States may require numerous conditions or restrictions, including date of adoption, consent of a birth parent, redaction of information on the OBC, or the use of a search registry for obtaining an OBC. Compromised may also include states where a required fee greatly exceeds the fee normally paid to obtain a government vital record.

Extreme Fees

States where the fee or cost required to obtain an OBC greatly exceed the normal fee required for a government birth record.

Adoption Registry Requirement

States where the OBC may become available only through participation in a mutual consent adoption registry.

Date-Based Restrictions

Date-based restrictions give some but not all adoptees greater rights to obtain a copy of their own original birth certificates, based on the adoptee’s date of birth or adoption. Such restrictions can also be called “tiered-access,” “donut holes,” or “sandwiches,” depending on the range and scope of applicable dates.

Redaction Provisions

States where identifying information can be removed from the OBC, typically through black box “redaction” and as a result of birth parent objection to release of the OBC.

Disclosure Veto/Birth Parent Consent

States where either 1) birth parent consent is required before release of an OBC; or 2) a birth parent legally prohibits the release of the OBC by use of a “disclosure veto”). In either case, the OBC is not released. At least one state also allows an adoptive parent to file a disclosure veto.

Adoption Court Records Only

States where an adult adopted person can request and obtain adoption court records, limiting the ability to obtain the original birth certificate directly from the vital records office. In addition, adopted people who are born in a state but adopted in a different state do not have a court file in their state of birth and thus have no recourse to obtain their OBC through a court file.

Zombie Veto

States where 1) a disclosure veto continues beyond the death of a birth parent or 2) where any required consent is deemed unavailable even after the birth parent dies.

Pile of Poo

States where the law purports to provide a right to a non-certified copy of an original birth record but the actual record provided ends up something far more limited, such as a summary of the record or a list of some information on the record.

Education Requirement

Release of the OBC is linked to graduation from high school, passage of the GED, or proof of legal withdrawal from school.

Pending Legislation or New Law Not Yet in Effect

States where reform legislation is currently pending or where newly enacted laws are still being implemented.

What’s an Original Birth Certificate?

Most adopted persons know what an original birth certificate (OBC) is. Many non-adopted people do not. An original birth certificate is the initial birth certificate created shortly after a person's birth. For most people, it is their only birth certificate.

For persons born and adopted in the United States, a new or "amended" birth certificate replaces the OBC once the adoption is final. In addition to replacing the original, the names of the birth parents are also replaced with the names of the adoptive parents. Some states may also alter or omit additional information on a new certificate, including the adoptee's specific place of birth.

Depending on state law, an original birth certificate is sealed and remains unavailable to the adopted person, even when they become an adult. If you are not adopted, your original birth certificate is your only birth certificate---and it is always available to you upon request.

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Adoptee Rights Law Center PLLC
Gregory D. Luce
PO Box 19561
Minneapolis Minnesota 55419
T: (612) 221-3947
E: [email protected]

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

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Adoptee Rights Law Center is part of the New York Adoptee Rights Coalition, a group of organizations committed to enactment of unrestricted OBC access legislation in New York. Join Us

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