Vital
Statistics Agency
Access to Vital Statistics Records
Under the Adoption Act
This guide explains the release of records under the new Adoption Act and how to file the Application for Service Pertaining to an Adopted Person or Birth Parent Form. Additional forms may be obtained from any British Columbia Vital Statistics Office or Government Agent office in the province. The addresses of Vital Statistics Agency Offices are listed on the back of the guide. Staff in those offices are available to provide information and guidance regarding the requirements for filing this application for service form. The forms are also available for download from this site in PDF format. Select one of the links above for more information about these files.
Access To Adoption Information
Over the last few decades societal attitudes toward adoption have changed. Increasingly, people involved in adoptions want greater openness and access to information. Many adopted people want to know about their biological origins and cultural heritage. Many birth parents want information about the current health and well being of children for whom they made an adoption plan. Many adopted people and birth parents also want to meet one another. The new Adoption Act of 1996 provides for greater openness in adoption. Adopted people and birth parents may apply to the Vital Statistics Agency to obtain provincial adoption records on file with the Vital Statistics Agency.
Eligibility Under The New Adoption Act
The option of filing an application for service is available to adopted people 19 years of age or older and to birth parents when the adopted person has reached 19 years of age.
What Records Are Available To Eligible Applicants?
Adopted people, who were born and adopted in British Columbia, will receive a copy of their original birth registration in their birth name (including the names of any birth parents on record) and a copy of their adoption order provided a disclosure veto has not been filed.
Birth parents of people born and adopted in British Columbia will receive a copy of the adopted person's original birth registration, a copy of the adopted person's birth registration following adoption including any change of name consequent to the adoption, and a copy of the adoption order.
Adopted people, who were not born in British Columbia but were adopted in the province, will receive a copy of the adoption order and any identification particulars of the adopted person. Similarly, birth parents of people adopted in British Columbia but not born in the province will receive a copy of the adoption order and any identification particulars of the adopted person following the adoption.
Before any adoption record is released to a birth parent, all identifying information pertaining to adoptive parents is deleted to protect their right to privacy.
What Are The Fees And Accompanying Identification Required For This Service?
For each search of records and a copy of a birth registration and adoption order the genealogy search fee of $50 will apply. As proof of identity, applicants are required to attach a photocopy of their birth certificate to the Application for Service Pertaining to an Adopted Person or Birth Parent Form.All applicants are requested to fill out this form to the best of their ability. Due to the expected high volume of applications after November 4, 1996, applicants should expect a delay of six to eight weeks for the release of their documents for the first six months.
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Limitations
When a search for adoption records is successful but a disclosure veto filed under Section 65 of the Adoption Act exists (as annotated on the birth event), the Vital Statistics Agency will release adoption records provided the information contained in the records does not allow for the identification of the person filing the disclosure veto. Where a written statement has been filed by an adopted person or a birth parent who has filed a disclosure veto, the Vital Statistics Agency will forward this statement to the other applicant.
When a search for adoption records is successful but a no-contact
declaration filed under Section 66 of the Adoption Act exists
(as annotated on the birth event), the Vital Statistics Agency
will contact the applicant and advise them of the situation. The applicant
will be provided with a Statutory Declaration
and Undertaking Form (that will require notarization of the
undertaking), that specifies the conditions under which information
will be released. Only after processing the undertaking will the adoption
information be released including a copy of any written statement filed
with the no-contact declaration. Failure to submit the undertaking in
the form required will result in the information not being released.
In addition, failure to submit the undertaking within 90 days of notification
by the Vital Statistics Agency will result in the forfeiture of the
service fee. Subsequent requests will be assessed the normal service
fee.
The filing of a disclosure veto or no-contact declaration applies only to records held by the Vital Statistics Agency. For more information on disclosure vetoes and no-contact declarations, please request a copy of our pamphlet on these subjects from any Vital Statistics Office or Government Agent office in the province.
Written Statement
In recognition of the importance of information to an adopted person or birth parent, the person filing a disclosure veto or no-contact declaration has the option of filing a written statement with the Vital Statistics Agency. This written statement may include social, medical, and health information, and possibly, information on why contact or disclosure of identifying information is not desired at this time. Where a written statement has been filed by an adopted person or a birth parent who has filed a disclosure veto or no-contact declaration, the Vital Statistics Agency will forward this statement to the applicant upon completion of the processing of their application for birth registration and adoption order information.
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