Request access to your adoption or birth records

Accessing birth information

If you are over 18 years old and have been adopted, you can apply for access to information about your birth origins.

We offer support to adults who:

were adopted through us
live in Buckinghamshire
have applied for their original birth certificate and have chosen Buckinghamshire as the place to have their counselling (you will also need to have informed the General Register Office of this.

By law, you need to speak to a local authority social worker, or a counsellor from an approved adoption society before you can apply for your original birth certificate.

At the counselling session you will be given advice on how to proceed and how to prepare yourselves. You can apply to the General Register Office or Nidirect government services for a copy of your original birth certificate.

All the information along with relevant forms can be found on the GOV.UK website.

You are not required by law to have counselling before you can continue with your birth certificate application, although you may find it helpful.

You are still entitled to ask for counselling and support. It can assist in looking at aspects of the information that may cause distress or conflict and could help you make an informed decision on the journey you are about to take.

If you have concerns

If you have concerns about speaking to your adoptive parents about wanting to access your birth records, you can speak to us for advice.

However, research indicates that for the majority of adopted adults who do seek birth origin information, such information does not harm the relationship with their adoptive parents.

Accessing adoption records

If you were adopted before 31 December 2005 and want to access your adoption file, you will need to make contact with the Adoption Support Team in Buckinghamshire to make this request.

Your files will then be requested from the agency that was involved in your adoption.

If you were adopted after 31 December 2005 (known as a Post Commencement Adoption) you will need to make direct contact with the Local Authority involved in your adoption to request access to your adoption file.

If you do not know who the adoption agency was

If you do not know which agency you were adopted through, your counsellor can try and find out where it is and apply for the file on your behalf.

Adoptive parents of adults seeking birth information

Often adoptive parents wish to support their adult children in finding out information about their birth origins.

Adoption Search Reunion has a section with information for adoptive parents.

We can discuss any concerns that you may have, to share with you any changes in the legislation since you adopted and to signpost you on to other agencies if appropriate.

PAC-UK FamilyConnect

FamilyConnect is as an informative website to help adopted adults, birth parents and relatives and people who have been in care, find answers to questions about their origins. It also helps them access services particularly around intermediary-reconnecting people separated by adoption.

The FamilyConnect advice line, which is also available to professionals, provides information about services that can be accessed and whether any funding is available.

For more information, including current advice line opening times:

Contact us

You can contact us to:

request counselling before you request your birth records
ask for help in finding your adoption agency
request your adoption records if you were adopted through Buckinghamshire Council

Contact the post order adoption team on 01494 586 626.

The advice line is available:

Monday, Thursday and Friday: 9:30am to 1pm

Tuesday and Wednesday: 1:30pm to 5pm