Guidance notes for a birth relative to apply for entry onto part 2 of the adoption contact register (accessible version)
Updated 8 March 2024
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CR Part 2 (Feb 2024)
Please use these guidance notes when completing the Contact Register Part 2 application form
The Adoption and Children Act of 2002 provides for the Registrar General to operate an Adoption Contact Register. The purpose of the Register is for adopted people and their birth relatives to register their contact wishes.
In order to register your details on Part 2 of the Contact Register you must be a birth relative. This is any person who is related to the adopted person by blood (including half blood), marriage or civil partnership.
You must be 18 years or over. You can register your wishes before the adopted person is 18 years old, but the adopted person will not be able to register until they reach 18.
A record of the birth or adoption must be held by the Registrar General.
The registration fee for a birth relative is £30.00. A separate application and fee is needed for each adopted person.
If you are an adopted person yourself you may also wish to register on Part 1. If you require any further advice please contact GRO.
If you wish to be removed from the register or wish to change any details you will need to inform us either in writing or by email.
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
Intermediary/Adoption Support Agencies
Adopted people and Birth Relatives can also approach Registered Agencies for advice on tracing. These Agencies can obtain information from the General Register Office which may assist them to find an adopted person or birth relative.
If you wish to find out more about these services please contact the Adoption Section on the number shown above. Please be aware they may charge for their services.
If the birth or adoption took place in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Eire you may also wish to contact the organisations below for advice:
Birth Link, Family Care,
21 Castle Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 3DN
Tel: 0131 225 6441
Fax: 0131 225 6478
Northern Ireland General Register Office,
Oxford House,
49/55 Chichester Street,
Belfast
BT1 4HL
Tel: :0300 200 7890
General Register Office,
Government Offices,
Convent Road,
Roscommon.
Eire
Tel: +353 (0) 90 6632900
Section 1 Your Current Details
1.1 Provide your current name and address. These details will be sent to the adopted person as your contact details if he/she is registered on Part 1 and has expressed a wish for contact.
1.2 Provide a telephone number for use if our office needs to contact you about your application.
1.3 Tick appropriate box. If a link is made indicate if you also wish your email address to be passed to the adopted person or to their chosen third party/intermediary. Indicate if you are happy for us to email you
1.4 Tick appropriate relationship to adopted person.
- Maternal relative – You are related to the adopted person through their birth mother
- Paternal relative – You are related to the adopted person through their birth father
Section 2 Intermediary/Third Party Details
If you need any assistance completing this section please contact us for advice
2.1 Complete this section with a third party contact address if you do not want your own address to be sent to the adopted person if he/she registers on Part 1.
If this section is completed your current address at Section 1 will not be sent to the adopted person.
Section 3 Adopted Person’s Birth Details
The General Register Office must hold the birth or adoption registration for the adopted person.
If you cannot complete the *required fields, please contact us for further advice.
3.1 Surname and forename given at birth. If no forename given please state “none given”
3.2 Provide full date of birth if known. If full date not known a year of birth may be sufficient.
3.3 GRO reference number if known
You can visit www.gov.uk or phone 0300 123 1837 for details on how to obtain a GRO index reference number.
3.4 Tick appropriate sex of adopted person.
3.5 Birth mothers surname and forename at the time of the child’s birth
Section 4 Declaration
4.1 You must complete your current full name, address and date of birth
4.2 You must state your relationship to the adopted person e.g. mother, father, step- sister, brother cousin, aunt etc
4.3 You must choose whether you wish to have Contact or No Contact with the adopted person.
If the adopted person registers on the Contact Register, we are not permitted to inform them of your wish for No Contact. However, if they use an Intermediary Agency to assist in tracing, and that agency applies to us for information from the Contact Register, the agency will be informed of your wish for No Contact.
4.4 You must sign and date the declaration
By completing Section 4 you are declaring that you are a birth relative of the named adopted person and you wish to have your details entered onto Part 2 of the Adoption Contact Register.
Section 5 Payment Details
Return your completed application form and payment.
If you wish to register for more than one adopted person you must complete a separate application and pay the £30.00 fee for each application.
What happens once you have registered?
We will write to you to confirm that your wishes have been registered.
If a link is made and both you and the adopted person have applied for contact the adopted person will be notified of your name and contact details, either from Section 1 or from section 2 if you are using a third party/intermediary. We will inform you that this has happened.
If you have applied for No Contact, other than confirmation of your registration, you will not hear from this Office again.
We can only pass your wish for No Contact to an Intermediary Agency. Please be aware that an Intermediary Agency may still approach you to confirm your current contact wishes.
If the adopted person has applied for No Contact we are not permitted to inform you of that wish. We can only pass their wish for NO Contact to an Intermediary Agency.
You must ensure that you update The General Register Office Contact Register if you change your name, address or contact wishes. If a link occurs GRO can only contact the latest details you have supplied.