Rhode Island Adoptees Update

Adult Adoptees May Request Copies of Original Birth Certificates Beginning July 2012

Amendments to state law (R.I. Gen. Laws Sections 15-7, 23-3-1, 23-3-15) passed in July 2011 will allow Rhode Island-born adoptees age 25 and older to receive non-certified copies of their original, unaltered birth certificates from the State Office of Vital Records. (Non-certified copies of vital records are for informational purposes only and cannot be used for legal proof of identity, citizenship, or as a substitute for an official birth certificate.) The State Office maintains sealed files of pre-adoption birth certificates for all adopted children who were born in Rhode Island. Adoptees may request copies of their certificates beginning March 1, 2012. By law, the State Office cannot release requested certificates until July 2012.
Birth parents can submit contact preference forms with the State Office and/or medical history forms with the Rhode Island Family Court’s Voluntary Adoption Reunion Registry. Adoptees will receive this information, as available, with their pre-adoption birth certificates. To download the contact preference form, visit www.health.ri.gov/forms/preference/BirthParentContact.pdf. To download the medical history form, visit www.health.ri.gov/forms/medical/BirthParentMedicalHistory.doc
To learn more about requesting a pre-adoption birth certificate, see www.health.ri.gov/records/for/adultadoptees