Genealogy Chat

hello everyone please can you help! Am helping a friend get his birth cert as he does not have one he only has his adoption birth cert. all he's knows his brth name and were he was born [dob] i found his birth entry on here[genes reunited] i rung general register]they said we have know his birth mothers full name before we can get his birh cert] but are stuck as we only know his mums surname. thank's cheers catherine

what year are you looking at.

If he was adopted before 1975, he has to have compulsory counselling before he can access his birth certificate. You say you found it on Genes Reunited...do you mean in someone else's tree? OC

Hi Graham An adopted person has the legal right to access his original birth certificate. Go to www.gro.gov.uk website and click into adoptions. It will explain how your friend can apply for it. Hope this helps. Cheers Gerry

If he knows the name of the adoption agency who dealt with his case he can apply to them for a copy of his files. It depends on when he was born what information he will get.Mine contained a copy of my original birth certificate,my adoption certificate and background information on my biological family.I hope this helps him Laura

''If he was adopted before 1975, he has to have compulsory counselling before he can access his birth certificate''. not quite true - compulsory councelling for those adopted pre 1975 to access birth FILE. If he can see his birth name in the registers, he can apply for the certificate- that will tell him mothers name, and father if there is one recorded. I beleive the only time that this does not apply is when the adoptee applies in person and they are still a minor

I have also found a friend's orginal birth register but the numbers next to the register have been crossed out and new ones written on. When I phoned the GRO they said we had to have the orginal numbers (crossed out in big black pen) or his birth mothers full name and his birth father's full name, of course I don't have either.He doesn't want to go through counselling so at the moment we are stuck. Tammy :~)

When I contacted the Register office for my Adopted Brother's original birth certificate, I just gave his name and the quarter and year of birth...they just sent me a form to fill in which was posted with a cheque and then they sent me his certificate through the post...seems to me like they are making it hard for you, for whatever reason. I have contacted register offices with really sketchy questions and they have telephoned or written back with information concerning the person in question, without even having to buy a certificate. Maybe I was just lucky.

I think what may have happened to Graham's friend is that some register offices are now applying 'the 50 year rule' for anyone who applies for a birth certificate. However, in the case of adoption... since 1975 EVERY adopted person has the legal right to access their original birth certificate and gain the name of their birth mother. The GRO website fully explains how to apply for it, also, it explains the pre 1975 compulsory counselling before accessing their adoption file. Another, good website is www.adoptionsearchreunion.org.uk If you click into 'locating records'... type in the area of birth and it will show with local authority to apply to for accessing your adoption file. Only the adopted person is allowed to access their file. Cheers Gerry

I suppose Graham it depends on why your friend wants the cert? Is it to trace birth parents? The 'adoption' birth cert can be used for any official purpose like getting a passport etc.