How to Get a Court Order for an Original Birth Certificate
- 1). Obtain a copy of your adoptive birth certificate. After you were adopted, your new legal parents' names were placed on a new birth certificate issued for you. This document will feature your adoptive mother's and/or father's names, along with your birth date, but will have your original place of birth listed. This information will be critical in determining what state and county you need to process your request to obtain a court order for your original birth certificate.
- 2). Contact the Office of Vital Records in the state where you were born. Some states are "open adoption states," meaning the adoption agency or state's Office of Vital Records will be able to provide you a copy of your original birth certificate without you having to go to court.
- 3). Provide the required information. The more details you know about your birth, the better. You will need to know the state, county and date of your birth in order for your request to be processed once the court order has been issued. If you know the adoption agency your adoptive parents worked with, also make note of it. In "open adoption states" the adoption agency will be able to provide you with a copy of your original birth certificate.
- 4). Petition the court in the state and county where you were born if you are working with a "closed adoption" state. File a petition with the clerk's office, outlining the reasons you would like to receive your original birth certificate.
- 5). Attend your hearing. A judge will hear your case and determine if the records should be unsealed. He will ask to hear your argument for getting the records unsealed.
- 6). Obtain a copy of the court order from the judge. You or your attorney should then contact the Office of Vital Records and supply them with a copy of this order. Typically, you should then receive your original birth certificate within seven to 14 days.