Full question:
My husband and I live in California. We adopted a child 15 years ago from an agency. When he turned eighteen years, we informed him that he was adopted. Ever since then he wants to know more about his real parents and his origins. Is it possible to get such information?
- Category: Adoption
- Date:
- State: California
Answer:
In California, due to strict laws regarding the confidentiality of the adoption files, the adoptees are not permitted to see their records. But if an order is obtained from the court, then the adopted child can have access to his adoption records and certificate.Per California Family Code §9200:
“(a) The petition, relinquishment or consent, agreement, order, report to the court from any investigating agency, and any power of attorney and deposition filed in the office of the clerk of the court pursuant to this part is not open to inspection by any person other than the parties to the proceeding and their attorneys and the department, except upon the written authority of the judge of the superior court. A judge of the superior court may not authorize anyone to inspect the petition, relinquishment or consent, agreement, order, report to the court from any investigating agency, or power of attorney or deposition or any portion of any of these documents, except in exceptional circumstances and for good cause approaching the necessitous. The petitioner may be required to pay the expenses for preparing the copies of the documents to be inspected.
(b) Upon written request of any party to the proceeding and upon the order of any judge of the superior court, the clerk of the court shall not provide any documents referred to in this section for inspection or copying to any other person, unless the name of the child's birth parents or any information tending to identify the child's birth parents is deleted from the documents or copies thereof.
(c) Upon the request of the adoptive parents or the child, a clerk of the court may issue a certificate of adoption that states the date and place of adoption, the child's birth date, the names of the adoptive parents, and the name the child has taken. Unless the child has been adopted by a stepparent, the certificate shall not state the name of the child's birth parents.”
Therefore, the child can inspect his adoption records upon an order obtained from the judge of the superior court. The clerk of the court shall not provide any documents unless the child’s birth parents’ name or any other information relating to the identification of the child is deleted from the records. Furthermore, upon request by the child or the adoptive parents, the court clerk may provide the certificate of adoption. Unless adopted by the stepparent, the birth parents name shall not be stated in the certificate.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
