Access to Adoption Records

Who May Access Information
Citation: Ann. Code §§ 78B-6-143; 78B-6-144

Nonidentifying information is available to:

• The adoptive parents
• The adoptee's legal guardian if the adoptive parents are deceased
• The adoptee
• The adoptee's spouse or guardian of the adoptee's child if the adoptee is deceased
• The adoptee's child or descendant
• The birth parent or adult birth sibling

Identifying information is accessible to:

• The adult adoptee
• Birth parents
• A birth sibling who is age 18 or older

Access to Nonidentifying Information
Citation: Ann. Code § 78B-6-143

A detailed health history and a genetic and social history of the adoptee shall be available upon request to the persons listed above.

Mutual Access to Identifying Information
Citation: Ann. Code § 78B-6-144

The adult adoptee and birth parents, upon presentation of positive identification, may request identifying information from the adoption registry maintained by the bureau. The bureau may only release identifying information when it receives requests from both the adoptee and the birth parent. After matching the request of an adult adoptee with that of at least one birth parent, the bureau shall notify both the adoptee and the birth parent that the requests have been matched and disclose the identifying information to those parties. However, if the adiult adoptee has a sibling of the same birth parent who is under age 18, and who was raised in the same family setting as the adult adoptee, the bureau shall not disclose the requested identifying information to that adult adoptee or the birth parent.

The adult adoptee and adult siblings, upon presentation of positive identification, may request identifying information from the registry, following the same procedure outlined above.

Information registered with the bureau is available only to a registered adult adoptee, and his or her registered birth parent or registered adult sibling. Information regarding a birth parent who has not registered a request with the bureau may not be disclosed.

Access to Original Birth Certificate
Citation: Ann. Code § 78B-6-141

A petition for adoption, the written report described in § 78B-6-135, and any other documents filed in connection with the petition are sealed. These documents may only be open to inspection as follows:

• Upon order of the court expressly permitting inspection or copying, after good cause has been shown
• Through registration with voluntary adoption registry, as provided under § 78B-6-144

Those records shall become public on the 100th anniversary of the date the final decree of adoption was entered.

If the adoptee is an adult at the time the final decree of adoption is entered, the documents described in this section are open to inspection and copying without a court order by the adoptee or a parent who adopted the adoptee, unless the final decree of adoption is entered by the juvenile court that has jurisdiction over a vulnerable adult, as described in § 78B-6-115(3)(b).

Contact:

Utah Department of Heath
Vital Statistics
288 North 1460 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0500
(801) 538-6105

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