Support for adopted adults

Who manages your access to adoption records?

If you were adopted after 30 December 2005 (post-commencement), the Local Authority that arranged your adoption is responsible for managing access to your adoption records. The process for obtaining your records varies depending on which Local Authority was involved in your adoption.

Please contact your placing Local Authority directly to make your access to records request:

Contact details TBA

For further information on Post Commencement, see below.

Link to leaflet TBA

What to consider before accessing your records

Is this the right time for you?

Accessing your adoption records can be an emotional experience. It’s important to think about whether you feel ready and in a stable place in your life to process the information. Some people prefer to wait until they feel more settled before starting this journey.

Reading your adoption records may bring up a range of emotions from curiosity, sadness, anger, excitement, or even uncertainty. It can be helpful to prepare yourself by thinking about what information you hope to find and how you might feel when learning more about your early life.

You may decide that there is some information you may not wish to know, and you can specify this when you meet with a worker. There may also be information in your records that is not directly about you, and in this case it will be discussed.

Who can support you?

If you wish to, you can bring a trusted adult to your records-sharing meetings. This should be someone who can support you emotionally but who you also feel comfortable sharing personal information with. For example, this could be a parent, mentor, or another responsible person. Please discuss who this might be with your worker, prior to your meeting.

What will your records contain?

Your adoption records should include information that was given to your adoptive parents at the time of your adoption.

When you were adopted, your adoptive parent(s) should have been given a copy of your Child Permanence Report (CPR) which contains information about your birth family and background as well as the reasons for your adoption. They should also have been given your life story book and your later life letter (a letter from your social worker explaining why you were adopted).

Every record is different, and some may contain more or less detail depending on when and how they were created.

For more information see:

Link to leaflet TBA