Many adults who were adopted as children wish to find out more about the circumstances of their adoption and in some cases attempt to trace members of their birth family. Depending on the date you were adopted, different procedures apply.

 

The law says you must see an adoption social worker before you can obtain your original birth certificate. This is because before that date, many parents were told that the adopted child would never be able to find out his or her original name or the names of his or her birth parents. But changes in the law now give adopted people the right to discover their original details. It is important that adopted people understand what this might mean, not only for themselves but for their birth family.

 

The best way to contact us is in writing at the Post Adoption Team address, requesting an appointment to see an adoption social worker. 

If you were adopted on or after 12th November 1975

Firstly, write to the General Register Office to obtain a copy of your original birth certificate. You can contact them at:

General Register Office
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Southport
Merseyside PR8 2HH
Tel: 0870 243 7788

 

Then you should write to the Post Adoption Team, requesting information from your adoption file. 

 

We provide a meeting with an adoption social worker to go through information from your adoption file. We can offer practical advice and guidance as well as discussing any concerns or issues important to you.

How long does it take?

The social worker needs to obtain as much information as possible from your adoption file, and files held by other agencies. This can take some time, but during the process you can phone as often as you like to see how things are progressing. This can obviously be a very anxious time, and we would encourage you to keep in touch.