Finding adoption records and tracing birth family as an intercountry adoptee Key considerations There are many different reasons for and experiences of finding information and tracing birth relatives. This factsheet sets out some sources of information as well as some of the things you may need to consider and challenges you may face. The search can be an especially complex process for intercountry adoptees due to considerations such as culture and customs, expectations, race, language, record-keeping and access to records, financial costs and international laws. Adoption laws, regulation and practice vary significantly across and sometimes within countries. Some countries have legal frameworks that protect the privacy of birth families, and there may be restrictions on how much information you can access or share. Before you get started Many adoptees describe the process of searching for information and tracing and making contact with birth relatives as ‘an emotional rollercoaster’. It may take you on an unpredictable and uncertain journey with emotional highs and lows, periods of activity and times when little or no progress is being made. The search can bring about a multitude of mixed feelings including frustration, excitement, anticipation and disappointment. Although your experience is unique to you, it can be helpful to reach out to other adoptees who have undertaken the search as certain feelings and experiences are relatively common. It is worth thinking about setting realistic expectations and goals from the start. What are you setting out to do? Are you looking for information, or would you like to take this further and identify and make contact with birth relatives? What are your chances of finding information, identifying your birth parents and making contact with them? You may need to take breaks from the search, stepping back when you need to. It may be necessary to take time to process the information you receive or help with managing times when you are waiting for responses. You may also need to adjust your goals and your hopes as you go along. Again, it can take time to come to terms with these adjustments. Getting support and taking care of yourself Many adoptees say that it is important to identify someone who is able to support you through the process of tracing. You are likely to need someone who can listen and offer encouragement and support, especially if the process becomes frustrating and lengthy and if you are given information which is difficult to take in. You may need to carefully consider who you ask to support you. For instance, you may prefer supporters who are ‘neutral’ and who have no emotional involvement in the search. You may want to explicitly set out what you would like support with. For instance, you could ask for your supporter to accompany you to appointments, to help you search for and keep track of information, or to be someone you can talk to. Tracing your records can answer many important questions you have about your adoption, but it may be at times stressful and frustrating. Go at a pace that suits you and take breaks, especially when you need to process information. It can be helpful to connect with other adoptees who have accessed their records. If you would like to speak to someone who can provide information and signposting and who can offer a listening ear, contact our Information and Support Line. It is free and you can call from anywhere in the UK. You could also consider joining AUK's Adopted Person Membership and coming along to a community group to connect with other adult adoptees and share your experiences. Gathering information The information available to intercountry adoptees varies significantly, depending on things such as the country and the year of your birth and the circumstances of your adoption. You may have some detailed information to start from or you may have very little. Bring together all the information you have about your birth and your adoption including locations and names of any birth family members, carers and institutions that you may have spent time in. If you are able to, double check with your adoptive family that they have shared everything they have with you, including photographs, birth certificate, adoption certificate, legal, immigration and medical records. This might feel like a daunting ask, but it is your right to have your information. You may need to get these documents translated, which may be possible using freely available applications. You may need to record information that has been passed on verbally and ask your adoptive family if they can recall any additional details, bearing in mind that these may not always be accurate. Keep a written record of all the information you gather and scan the documents you have. It is important that you retain original documents where you have them. If you are asked to provide documentation to a third party, always provide a copy if you can, to avoid losing the original. Locating records If you decide to try and gather more information about your birth, birth family and adoption there are several organisations that can help you to locate your records, or who may hold your information. Your information will be held in your Adoption File. Your local authority The local authority (LA) in which you live will help you to locate your records. In Northern Ireland this will be your local health board. To find out which authority is responsible for adoption in your local area, use our search tool. It's important to note that the LA you live in will not always be the LA who handled your adoption. Contact your LA in writing requesting their assistance in gaining access to your adoption file. Keep a record of your communications with them and follow up if you do not receive a response. Sometimes, even once your adoption file is located, it may be heavily redacted. The agency that handled your adoption in the UK It is likely that your adoption was handled by a UK adoption agency or institution as well as an agency and court in your country of origin. You may have the name of the UK agency or institution that handled your adoption. Historically there were many agencies and institutions that specialised in adoptions from particular regions or countries. The majority of these have closed or merged with other organisations. The records they kept may have been moved around. This can mean that locating records is likely to be complicated and difficult and some records may be missing. Coram IAC is an agency that handles overseas adoptions and they may be able to give you information about the location of your records. The agency or authority that handled your adoption in your country of birth You may have information about the agency or authority that handled your adoption in the country of your birth that you may be able to contact. Some countries have resources to help adoptees access information and trace birth relatives. There may also be charities and government programmes in-country. ICAV – Intercountry Adoptee Voices have lots of information and advice on their website as well as ways to connect with adoptees who may be from your country of origin. If you spent time in care including in an orphanage or hospital in your country of birth and you have the name of the organisation, you may be able to contact them directly with a request for information. They may have records that include how you came into their care and information about your birth family. Searching for information online Some intercountry adoptees have found information and located birth family members through communities on social media that help people to reconnect. For example, there are many groups on Facebook for intercountry adoptees and birth relatives, that have been set up for mutual support and to aid reconnection. Adopted.com has a reunion registry, where you can register your interest in tracing birth relatives. Intercountry Adoptee Voices (ICAV) has lots of useful resources and has links to many adoptee-led groups who can support you with your search. DNA Testing You may decide to pursue genetic testing as the only remaining option open to you, as a way of gathering additional information and to help you identify biological relatives. DNA testing will give you information about your ethnicity and, should you choose for your information to be included on a DNA register, potential DNA matches. This is general advice about some of the considerations that you may wish to make before you embark on DNA testing: it is worth spending some time considering what the potential outcomes could be and how these would make you feel. For example, you may find information that is unexpected, or you may find very little new information, DNA testing packs are not always delivered in discrete packaging, DNA testing will give you information about your ethnicity. What you discover through DNA testing may differ from the ethnicity you’ve grown up identifying with, DNA testing may tell you the ethnicity of your biological parents, it may not be clear as to which parent is which, this is due to them being identified as parent 1 and parent 2. You might be able to find this out from other information and records you have, check out the privacy policies of the companies that offer DNA testing. Some give more options about how your data would be used and shared than others, check out which DNA register/s the companies would include your data in. Some registers have more information from more individuals than others. Bear in mind that there are many parts of the world where individuals are unlikely to have carried out DNA testing, Once you get DNA results, contacting genetic matches can be delicate, especially if your biological family is unaware of your existence. It’s important to approach the situation respectfully and with care. You can opt out of the “contact a match” service, There is information about how to carry out genetic testing and some of the complexities you may wish to consider in a resource written by ICAV, Contemplating Searching. Managing the responses of others One of the complexities of tracing birth family can be the responses of those around you. You may have adoptive parents and other family members and friends who are supportive and encouraging. You may have family members and others in your life who feel hurt and rejection or find it difficult to understand your reasons for wanting to search. It is common to feel as though you must manage the responses of others. It is important to remember that everyone has a right to know about their origins, early lives and identities. There may be people in your life who need help to understand that your search is not a rejection of them, you could direct them to our Information and support line. Webinar: How my adoption shaped me - Dilly Carter This webinar is accessible to members only. Find out more about membership. Making contact through social media Manage Cookie Preferences