Adoption records, except for adult adoptions, are confidential. The Children's Code provides for the adopted child or biological parent to petition the Court for access.
Most older adoption records do not contain a consent to release identifying information by either the biological parent or the adopted child, as this was not required in adoptions during that time.
Without a consent to release information, the Court can only release non-identifying information. This is limited to health and medical history of the adopted child's biological parents, health and medical history of the adopted child and the adopted child's general family background (including ancestral information, without name references or geographical designations).
If the adopted child is a Native American, the following information may be provided: tribal information; physical descriptions of the adopted child and the child's biological parents; and the length of time the adopted child was in the care and custody of any person other than the adoptive parents.
Submitting a written request to the Central Adoptions Unit of the Children, Youth and Families Department requires no fee for obtaining non-identifying information by the adopted child or biological parent.