We do not hold current adoption records or any other sources which will help you trace an adopted relative or birth parent. There are, however, various avenues by which this may be possible. These are summarised below.
If you are a parent whose child was adopted through a recognised adoption agency and your child is under 18, some agencies will provide 'non-identifying information' if they hold relevant letters or papers on file and will tell you if they have heard from the adoptive parents since the adoption took place. You can also ask the agency to add your own letter to their files.
If your child is over 18 and the adoptive parents' address is known you can ask the agency, if they are willing, to get in touch with your child, firstly to ensure that they know that they were adopted, and secondly to ask if they wish to make some kind of contact themselves. Through this initial stage therefore, the agency is acting as an intermediary.
Since 1st May 1991, the Registrar General has kept an Adoption Register, part one of which lists adopted persons, part two birth parents and other relatives. Entry is through voluntary registration for a fee, and is a means by which either party can, in effect, show their availability for contact. Information given on the register is restricted to names and addresses; letters and other information cannot be passed on.
Adopted persons wishing to register should be over 18 and have a record of their birth held by the Registrar General; if born outside England and Wales, an adoption court order will provide particulars of birth.
Birth parents and other relatives will be asked to provide evidence of their relationship to the adopted person; for fathers, this could include an affiliation- or other court order declaring paternity. Further evidence will be needed, if a parent has changed his or her name.
To register, write to the Office for National Statistics for leaflet ACR110 and an application form at:
The General Register Office
Adoption Section, Contact Register
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Birkdale
Southport
PR8 2HH
UK
If your adoption was made through an agency or local authority, you can be given access to your birth records by contacting the Office for National Statistics at the above address. Alternatively, you should contact your local Social Services department.
If the adoption took place before 1975, you will be required to talk to a trained counsellor who is required to advise you on any relevant issues, etc.. If the adoption took place after 1975 there is no such requirement.
For Exeter and the surrounding area, you should contact:
Social Services - Adoption Records Section
Devon County Council
Room A201
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter, Devon
Tel: (0)1392 382816
For enquiries from outside Devon, contact:
Adoption Services Manager
Adoption Unit
Social Services
Foxhole
Dartington
Near Totnes
Devon
TQ9 6ET
Adopted persons can apply for copies of their original birth certificate under the same provisos on counselling as above. The birth certificate will include not only the baby's name, and their date and place of birth, but also the mother's name, address and occupation, and the father's name and occupation if the parents were married.
If you wish to apply for your original birth certificate, you must be over the age of 18.
The act of tracing an adopted child or birth parent may prove a complex and emotional experience for both parties. Social Services provide trained counsellors, as do various adoption agencies and independent bodies, such as NORCAP (the National Organisation for Counselling Adoptees and their Parents), 3, New High Street, Headington, Oxford OX3 7AJ (Tel: (0)1865 750554).
You can also try the following telephone advice centres:
Barnardo's, London 0208 551 0011 Wednesdays 12.30-4.30pm
Barnardo's, Dublin (0103531) 546388 Tuesdays 2-6pm
Family Care, Edinburgh 0131 225 3666 Mon-Thurs 9am-5pm,
Fridays 9am-4.30pm
Scottish Adoption Advice Service, Glasgow 0141 339 0772 Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 9.30am-4.30pm, Wednesdays 9.30am-7pm
Catholic Children's Society, London 0208 668 2181/4 Every
weekday 9.30am-5pm
Post-Adoption Centre, London 0207 284 0555 Every weekday and one evening: phone for times and details
National Children's Home, Woking 01486 269229 Mon-Thurs 1-4pm
There are a number of useful websites, including organisations which undertake, for a fee, searches for 'missing' relatives. A selection of these are as follows:
Adoption UK Link - www.adoptionlink.co.uk
Adoption Search - www.e-lusion.co.uk/adoption-search
People Finder UK - www.peoplefinders.co.uk/adoption.html
Adopt-A-Link - genealogypro.com/adopt-a-link.html
For further details, and additional information, including information on voluntary and post-adoption societies.
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