Guidance notes (accessible)
Updated 25 October 2018
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The Adopted Children Register and Adoption Contact Register Regulations 2005 provide for the General Register Office to Administer the service.
In order to apply for birth certificate information before adoption you must be 18 years or over and have been adopted in England or Wales. Only the adopted person can apply for this information.
If you already know your birth information you may be able to apply for your original birth certificate. Please contact this office for advice.
A record of your birth or adoption must be held by the Registrar General in order to go through this process. There is no charge for this service.
1. If you were adopted on or before 12 November 1975
The law requires you to receive your information from an approved adoption adviser. This can be your local authority social services department (the area you pay your council tax to), at a registered adoption support agency or voluntary agency.
They will provide support for you during the process. The General Register Office at Southport offers a limited number of appointments but is unable to share additional information as no adoption files are held here.
2. Adoption advisers
For adoptions granted before 12 November 1975 birth parents and adoptive parents believed that an adopted person would never be given the information which would enable them to trace their birth family.
When the law changed in 1975 it was considered that birth details would only be given to an adopted person by an adoption adviser. This is an important part of the Birth Certificate Information Before Adoption process. An adoption adviser can offer support and guidance regarding the effects of both obtaining birth certificate information and tracing relatives may have on you, your adoptive family and your birth relatives.
3. What information will the adoption adviser give me?
You will be given information about your birth name, birth parent(s) name(s) and your district of birth. You can then, if you wish, apply for a copy of your original birth registration. If you already have this information you may bypass this office and contact the court that dealt with your adoption to see if they hold the name of the agency which placed you for adoption.
4. Adoption files (The General Register Office does not hold any adoption files)
Once you have received the name of the organisation involved in your adoption you or your adoption adviser will be able to contact them to see if your file is still available. If so, you may be allowed to see some of the information that the file contains.
It is not possible to know what information adoption files contain as each case is different. There may be information relating to your birth family and the details surrounding your adoption, however there may also be very few details.
If your adoption file still exists it will be held by the local authority or adoption agency or its successor that arranged your adoption. Information may also be held by the court where the adoption order was made.
5. If you were adopted on or after 12 November 1975 but before 30 December 2005
If you were adopted through a court in England or Wales and are aged 18 years or over the law allows you to have your original birth certificate information before adoption without the requirement to see an adoption adviser. These details will enable you to apply to purchase a copy of your original birth certificate should you wish to do so.
You have a choice of having your birth certificate information sent direct to you or to an adoption adviser. If you wish to have the information sent direct to you we will have to see proof of your current address eg an original bank statement or utility bill showing your current contact details.
5a. If you choose to see an adoption adviser see Adoption Advisers - paragraph 2 above
5b. If you do not wish to see an adoption adviser - The information relating to your birth certificate will be sent directly to you.
6. If you live outside the UK and were adopted on or before 12 November 1975
If you were adopted in England and Wales and now live outside the UK you can apply for your birth certificate information before adoption. However, the same process will apply with regard to obtaining the information through an adoption adviser.
This office holds a list of approved post adoption advisers for some countries. On receipt of your application we can advise of an adoption adviser near to you.
7. If you were adopted on or after 30 December 2005
Please contact this office for advice.
8. Contact information
Adoptions Section
Room C202
General Register Office
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Southport
Merseyside
PR8 2HH
Telephone: 0300 123 1837
Text relay: 18001 0300 123 1837
Email: adoptions@gro.gov.uk
Website: www.gov.uk/adoption-records
If your birth or adoption took place in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Eire you may also wish to contact the organisations below for advice:
8.1 Scotland
Birth Link
Family Care
21 Castle Street
Edinburgh
EH2 3DN
Telephone: 0131 225 6441
Fax: 0131 225 6478
Email: mail@birthlink.org.uk
Website: www.birthlink.org.uk
8.2 Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland General Register Office
Oxford House
49/55 Chichester Street
Belfast
BT1 4HL
Telephone: 0300 200 7890
Email: gro_nisra@dfpni.gov.uk
Website: www.nidirect.gov.uk
8.3 Eire
General Register Office
Government Offices
Convent Road
Roscommon
Eire
Telephone: +353 (0) 90 6632900
Website: www.gov.ie