Access to Adoption Records

Who May Access Information
Citation: Ann. Code § 93-17-207

Nonidentifying information may be provided to:

• The adoptee who is age 18 or older
• The adoptive parent
• The legal guardian or custodian of an adoptee
• The offspring or birth sibling of an adoptee if the requester is age 18 or older

Identifying information is available to the adoptee who is age 21 or older.


Access to Nonidentifying Information
Citation: Ann. Code §§ 93-17-205; 93-17-207; 93-17-209

The Bureau of Vital Statistics shall maintain a centralized adoption records file for all adoptions performed in this State after 7-1-2005 that shall include the following information:

• The medical and social history of the birth parents, including information regarding genetically inheritable diseases or illnesses and any similar information about the adoptee's grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters
• A report of any medical examination that either birth parent had within 1 year before the date of the petition for adoption, if available
• A report describing the adoptee's prenatal care and medical condition at birth, if available
• The medical and social history of the adoptee, including information regarding genetically inheritable diseases or illnesses, and any other relevant medical, social, and genetic information

Any birth parent may file with the bureau at any time any relevant supplemental nonidentifying information about the adoptee or the birth parents, and the bureau shall maintain this information in the centralized adoption records file.

Nonidentifying information shall be released for a reasonable fee to any qualified person listed above. If the information is not on file, the adoptee may request the bureau to locate the birth parent and obtain the information.

If an agency receives a report from a physician that a birth parent or another child of the birth parent may have a genetically transferable disease or illness, the agency shall notify the adoptee of the existence of the disease or illness if he or she is age 21 or older, or the adoptee's guardian, custodian, or adoptive parent if he or she is under age 21. If an agency receives a report from a physician that an adoptee may have a genetically transferable disease or illness, the agency shall notify the adoptee's birth parent of the existence of the disease or illness.

Mutual Access to Identifying Information
Citation: Ann. Code §§ 93-17-205; 93-17-215; 93-17-217; 93-17-219

The bureau shall maintain as part of the centralized adoption records file the following:

• The name, date of birth, Social Security number (both original and revised, where applicable), and birth certificate (both original and revised) of the adoptee
• The names, current addresses, and Social Security numbers of the adoptee's birth parents, guardian, and legal custodian
• Any other available information about the birth parent's identity and location

The birth parent may file with the bureau at any time an affidavit authorizing the bureau to provide the adoptee with his or her original birth certificate and with any other available information about the birth parent's identity and location, or an affidavit expressly prohibiting the bureau from releasing any information about his or her identity and location, and prohibiting any licensed adoption agency from conducting a search for such birth parent. An affidavit filed under this section may be revoked at any time by written notification to the bureau.

An adoptee age 21 or older may request identifying information regarding either birth parent, unless that birth parent has executed an affidavit prohibiting the release of such information. The adoptee must submit to counseling in connection with any release.

If an affidavit is not on file, the adoptee may request the agency to undertake a search for the birth parent who has not filed an affidavit.

Access to Original Birth Certificate
Citation: Ann. Code §§ 93-17-21; 93-17-205

The original birth certificate shall not be a public record and shall not be divulged except upon the order of the court or pursuant to §§ 93-17-201 through 93-17-223.

The birth parent may file with the bureau at any time an affidavit authorizing the bureau to provide the adoptee with his or her original birth certificate, or an affidavit expressly prohibiting the release of any information. The affidavit may be revoked at any time by written notification to the bureau.

Where the Information Can Be Located

• Mississippi Department of Health, Vital Records
• The licensed agency involved in the adoption

Credits: Child Welfare Information Gateway (http://www.childwelfare.gov)