Documents

Here is a list of documents associated with our status as adoptees. I am sure I will miss more than a few. If you know of more, please leave a comment, so we can include those papers in future discussions. Thank you!

• Original Birth Certificate (OBC). This is the real deal, or should be. Not guaranteed to include fathers name.

• Termination of Parental Rights

• Amended Birth Certificate (ABC) the birth certificate issued under your adoptive name

• Certificate of Baptism and Adoption
• Application for Non-Identifying Information
• Adoption Decree
• Name change document
• Abandonment certificate
• Passport Application
• Receipts for payment of court fees
• Receipts for payment to lawyers
• Case workers notes : interviews with family members, employers, neighbors
• Case worker comments on health checks and general appearance of child
• Letter from mother or other relatives

Every adoption is different. I am an International Adoptee. I was adopted in the United Kingdom prior to 1975. My Adoption paperwork is very different from the documents available to people adopted in other countries. One example of the differences is that, if yours was a domestic adoption, you are not likely to find a passport application in your file!

Some countries keep few, if any records at all. Countries such as India and Vietnam are notoriously difficult to obtain records from.

In the United States, only ten states allow adopted persons over either 18 or 21 full access to their birth records. Nineteen states require a court order for access, and the remainder allow only partial access, called non-identifying information.

Then there are the private adoptions, where even original birth certificates may be falsified. There are illegal adoptions, where again, documents are simply made up.

The purpose of the above list is to provide people who are searching a general idea of what you may encounter. The list is not exhaustive. You may or may not find these papers, depending on where and when you were born. Much also relies on how thorough a caseworker was, how documents have been stored, how many years have passed since the adoption took place. The place where you were born may not require many documents be gathered and stored. You also may be faced with significant costs in order to apply for and receive your documents.

You may be feeling discouraged now that you have read how difficult the journey can be. You may face a lot of obstacles along the way, that is the unfortunate truth. You are, however, seeking your truth. Truth you should have a legal right to obtain; truth that is your right as a human being. The more you know about what you may find, or not find, the better you can prepare yourself for the process of uncovering that truth. The more you know about what you may find, the better prepared you can be emotionally and physically for whatever words appear on your papers.

When I first began my search, I had no idea an Adoption File existed. I had no knowledge of lawyers who handled adoptions or of forced adoptions, commercial adoption agencies, etc. I took for granted that my original information would be mine for the asking. The reality of the situation was bewildering, demoralizing, exhausting and expensive. This may or may not be your experience as well. I have spoken with others whose adoptive parents maintained open adoptions. Others had adoptive parents who kept copies of the adoption papers and gave the documents to them when they turned eighteen. Perhaps you are a kinship adoption, and have always known your identity.

The feelings you may experience in the course of your search are real and valid. The emotions that course through you as you read any documents you receive are real and valid.

Find a support system to help you along the way. The encouragement of fellow adoptees, my therapist and members of DNA related search groups, along with my fantastic search angel(who is not adopted, but is an advocate for adoptee rights! She helped me tremendously when I wanted to just give up) has been absolutely essential. Knowing you are not alone on this journey, that there are others who know your joy, your pain, your elation, your discouragement, your relief, your frustration, can keep you from feeling incredibly alone and unseen.

Let’s process our paperwork together.