Reunion Registry

When an adoption is finalized, the adoption record, which contains the adoptee's pre-placement birth certificate, is sealed and filed with the state. An adoptee looking for more information about his or her biological parents may find they need to access their birth certificate and get in touch with their birth parents. The No. 1 reason for search and reunion is to get in touch with birth relatives and discuss medical developments. However, curiosity also plays a role in search and reunion.

Nearly every state has a reunion registry. These registries are relatively passive in approach. They require mutual consent from both adoption parties before any identifying information is released.

For those who want to take reunion matters into their own hands, voluntary and active registries are also routes to reunion. Voluntary registries are usually websites where people create profiles and search through other users who may have registered in search of a match. Active reunion registries provide search services that seek out the relative in question.

Another option is to contact the agency from which an adoption was conducted for an out-and-out search. Before doing so, the searcher must register with the state's reunion registry. With these, a state judge will appoint an intermediary who will communicate confidentially with each party and mediate a possible reunion. Confidential intermediaries, or C.I.s are court order appointed and will have access to the sealed adoption records a searcher does not.