Adopted adults

If you have been adopted we can offer help and support. We provide a counselling service to adults who want information about their birth history.

Please call 0345 155 1076 or email adoptsouthwestsupport@devon.gov.uk to access this support.

Finding your birth relatives

At the age of 18, you can apply to the get a copy of the original birth certificate by contacting the General Register Office.

  • Online: www.gov.uk/adoptionrecords (the form you need to complete is called Access to Birth Certificate Information Before Adoption)
  • Write to: General Register Office, Adoptions Section Room C202, Smedley Hydro, Trafalgar Road Southport PR8 2HH.
  • Telephone: 0300 123 1837 and press option 8

If you were adopted before 12 November 1975, you will have to attend a counselling session with an adoption counsellor before your birth details are released.

We will meet with you and will try to track down information about the circumstances of your adoption. This information comes from files that may still be held by adoption agencies, other local authorities, adoption charities, or the relevant courts.

In situations where you are affected by issues stemming from adoption, some counselling may also be provided.

Adoption Contact Register

The national Adoption Contact Register helps to put adopted people and their birth family in contact with each other if this is what they both want.

You can also use the Adoption Contact Register to say that you don’t want to be contacted. Tell your agency and register a veto if you don’t want to be approached by an intermediary agency.

More information about intermediary agencies and registering a veto can be found at GOV.UK – Adoption records.

More information