As of July 2023, adult adoptees who were born in the following 14 states can request an unrestricted copy of their original birth certificate.*
I’ve included a link for each state that will take you to where you need to go to make the request. I’ve also included helpful information for each:
Alabama - https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/vitalrecords/assets/hs95.pdf
You must be at least 19 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate. No one besides the adoptee can make this request without a court order.
$25 processing fee (plus $15 for an expedited request)
Alaska - https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Addcbe38c-d06a-44da-a775-cee2532aa4a0
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate. No one besides the adoptee can make this request without a court order.
$30 processing fee
Application must be notarized
Colorado - https://drive.google.com/file/d/13gg85KJS3Ugr4q430hJOGNAyj4NUJc-M/view
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
Others who can request a copy, in addition to an adoptee, are the adoptive parents of a minor adoptee, custodial grandparents of a minor adoptee, siblings relinquished by a common birth parent, birth parent who is listed on or signed the original birth certificate (unless their rights were terminated due to a dependency and neglect action), and a legal representative of the adoptee. The only restriction for these persons to make the request is that the adoptee must still be living.
Others who can request a copy with notarized written consent of the adult adoptee are the adult adoptee’s spouse, adoptive parent, sibling, half sibling, adult descendant, or grandparent.
Additional identifying information about birth parents can be requested.
$40 processing fee (plus $20 for expedited shipping)
Connecticut - https://adopteerightslaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/vs-OAR0001-rev-06-2021.pdf
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
Others who can request a copy, in addition to an adoptee, are the adult children and grandchildren of the adoptee.
$65 processing fee
Kansas - https://www.kdhe.ks.gov/1169/Obtaining-a-Before-Adoption-Birth-Certif
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
An adult adoptee’s descendants cannot request a copy without a court order. However, the request will likely be granted if the adoptee is deceased.
$20 processing fee
Letter must be notarized
Louisiana - https://ldh.la.gov/assets/oph/Center-RS/vitalrec/PreAdopCert/PAC1_AdopteeApplication.pdf
You must be at least 24 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
An adult adoptee’s descendants cannot request a copy without a court order. However, descendants of a deceased adopted person can use Louisiana’s Voluntary Adoption Registry to try to find and/or connect with biological family members.
$15.50 processing fee
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
If a birth parent filed a contact preference form and/or a medical history form, these will be given to the adoptee at the time they receive their original birth certificate.
Any of the adoptees descendants can request a copy as well. They must only state their relationship to the adoptee on the application.
$10.00 processing fee
Application must be notarized
Massachusetts - https://www.mass.gov/doc/application-for-a-non-certified-record-of-birth-prior-to-adoption/download
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate. However, your adoptive parent can request a copy on your behalf if you are not yet 18 years old.
The only other persons eligible to request a copy are the adult child of a deceased adoptee or, if the child is still a minor, the parent or legal guardian of the minor child.
$20.00 in-person processing fee
$32 mail processing fee
Application must be notarized
New Hampshire - https://sos.nh.gov/media/vdzfoik3/vr202.pdf
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
If a birth parent filed a contact preference form and/or provided a health history, this information will be disclosed in addition to the original birth certificate.
An adoptee’s immediate family members (spouse, adoptive parents, siblings, and children) may also request a copy of the original birth certificate.
$15 processing fee
New York - https://nyadopteerights.org/where-to-apply/
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate. New York also provides identifying information that would appear on an original birth certificate to any adoptees who were born outside of New York, but adopted in New York.
Direct line descendants can also apply for a copy of the adoptee’s original birth certificate.
$45 processing fee (plus potential fees for credit cards, regular shipping, and/or expedited shipping)
Oregon - https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/BIRTHDEATHCERTIFICATES/GETVITALRECORDS/Documents/brthorig.pdf
You must be at least 21 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate. However, at the age of 18, you can request specific records from your court adoption proceedings.
If a birth parent has filed a contact preference form, that will accompany the original birth certificate when it is requested by an adoptee.
If an adoptee wants to approve their legal representative to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate, that representative must include a notarized permission from the adoptee. All others must go through a court order.
$30 processing fee
Rhode Island - https://health.ri.gov/records/for/adultadoptees/
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
Birth parents may file a contact preference form that will accompany the original birth certificate if they’ve filled one out.
Direct line descendants can also apply for a copy of the adoptee’s original birth certificate if the adoptee is deceased.
$22.00 in-person processing fee
$25 mail processing fee
South Dakota - https://doh.sd.gov/licensing-and-records/vital-records/open-adoption-records/
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
Descendants cannot obtain a copy, but the adoptees adopted parents can. However, after 100 years, birth records are public and searchable by anyone.
Application must be notarized
$15 processing fee
You must be at least 18 years old to request a copy of your original birth certificate.
Birth parents may file a contact preference form that will NOT accompany the original birth certificate, but an adoptee can apply for information from the state’s adoption registry and the contact preference form, if one has been filled out, will be given to them at that time.
Direct line descendants can also apply for a copy of the adoptee’s original birth certificate if the adoptee is deceased.
Application must be notarized
$10 processing fee
*Note that several other states beyond these 14 will provide a copy of an adoptee’s original birth certificate, but these other states have restrictions, redactions, and/or exorbitant fees. The 14 listed are the only ones that provide unrestricted access.