Accessing your Adoption Records

We know that finding and accessing adoption records can be a difficult and emotional time. Deciding to find out more about your birth family is a huge step. If you are an adopted adult and live in one of our three local authorities (Dudley, Walsall or Wolverhampton) or Sandwell Children’s Trust, we can help you find out more about your birth family history.

This involves supporting you to access your adoption records and providing information and advice about how to trace members of your birth family, if you make that the decision to do so.

You must be over the age of 18 years to access your records. It is advisable that any adopted adult accessing their adoption records for further information discusses this with an experienced post-adoption support professional. Accessing this information may trigger difficult feelings and emotions and we would recommend taking some time to process the information that has been shared with you.

If you were adopted before 12th November 1975 and don’t know your birth name, you will be required to attend a ‘counselling’ interview with our post adoption support team to receive the birth record information needed to apply for a copy of your birth certificate.

You can find details of how to apply for this information here. Just name Adoption@Heart as the Adoption Support Agency you would like to receive the information, and the General Register Office will send this to us so we can arrange to meet with you.

If you were adopted before 12th November 1975 and do know your birth name, you may simply apply for your original birth certificate here.

If you were adopted after 12th November 1975 you will not be required to attend a ‘counselling’ interview, but this is still available to you and we would often advise attending a meeting with us as this process is a difficult time and our experienced post-adoption support professionals are skilled in helping you.

To make a referral please complete a referral form , which can be found here.

If you would like to speak to us before making a referral, you can call 01902 553 818 and ask to speak to the Duty Worker, or email accesstoadoptionrecords@adoptionatheart.org.uk .

Tracing Birth Relatives

You may have been looking for your relatives for some time or this could be the first time that you have started your search. There will be a lot of information for you to take in and a lot you will need to provide if you are able to. We would always suggest talking this through with someone close to you who can support you along your journey.

Our experienced post-adoption support professionals will do their utmost to answer questions you may have and will be open and honest with you during every step of the way. The process of locating and establishing contact with birth relatives is provided via Intermediary Agencies. Adoption@Heart is not a registered intermediary agency, so whilst we can support you to access your adoption records and provide advice about tracing and making contact, we cannot locate or get in touch with relatives for you. There are several Intermediary Agencies who provide this service and it is recommended that you use such a service to contact birth relatives on your behalf as this will enable you to receive valuable practical and emotional support. You can search for Intermediary Agencies here. Intermediary Services should only be provided by Ofsted-registered Adoption Support Agencies.

For professionals

If you are professional supporting a service user who is accessing an Intermediary Service, and the adoptee was placed for adoption by Walsall, Dudley or Wolverhampton Council, or Sandwell Children’s Trust, you may wish to get in touch to request our view, as the Appropriate Adoption Agency, on the provision of an intermediary service.

To request this, please complete the referral form here .

If you would like to speak to us before making a referral, you can call 01902 553 818 and ask to speak to the Duty Worker, or email accesstoadoptionrecords@adoptionatheart.org.uk .