Adoption Certificates: General information for guidance only
Order an official GRO issued replacement Adoption Certificate online
Adoption records in England and Wales go back to 1927 and are recorded in the Adopted Children Register by the GRO. In Scotland they start from 1930 and are held by the NAS (National Archives of Scotland). Previous to these dates Adoptions were arranged privately by individuals or charitable agencies. There are no Government held records of such privately arranged Adoptions therefore official Adoption Certificates cannot be supplied for Adoptions made prior to these dates.
Unlike Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates and even actual Adoption Certificates which are all a matter of public record, the records of Adoption processes are regarded as being some of the most confidential and sensitive of all personal records. As such the records of Adoption processes are strictly off limits to the general public as well as staff for a period of 100 years.
Records of Adoption processes can only be accessed by:
the adopted person if over the age of 16 years
a representative with written authorisation from the adopted person
(most exceptionally) a person with authorisation from the court that originally dealt with the adoption. Such instances are extremely rare and only granted on medical grounds or similar.
A replacement Adoption Certificate can usually be located from the person’s full name, their date of birth and their adopted parents names. Obviously additional information will always aid any search.
An Adoption Certificate displays the following information:
A unique certificate identifier
A book entry number
Date and country of birth of child
Adopted name and surname of child
Sex of child
Name and surname, address and occupation or adopter or adopters
Date of adoption order and description of court by which made
Date of entry
Signature of officer deputed by Registrar General to attest the entry
Date of issue of replacement copy
Adoption Certificates issued by General Register Offices in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire (the Republic of Ireland) will all display similar information.
Under no circumstances will the adopted childs original identity be shown. It is not possible for the holder of an Adoption Certificate to trace either of the original parents directly from the information contained in an Adoption Certificate. Sometimes however, an adopted person may wish to make contact with the birth mother and/or birth father for medical or genealogical reasons but may only be in possession of their Adoption Certificate. In such cases an adoptee wish to contact either of their natural parents must do so by proper application to the Adoption Services Agency
A short Birth Certificate gives no details of the natural birth parents at all. It is sometimes used in place of an Adoption Certificate by adopting parents who do not wish their adopted child to know that they were adopted. It can also be used by people who need to show a Birth Certificate but do not wish to let it be known that they were adopted. Sadly for some people, it is not uncommon for them to learn via an Adoption Certificate that they were adopted until later on in their lives, sometimes only after the death of their adopted parents.
You can order an official certified replacement Adoption Certificate or Birth Certificate online using the links below.
Order a replacement Birth Certificate
Order a replacement Adoption Certificate
Order a replacement Marriage Certificate
Order a replacement Death Certificate