IMPORTANT: Please read through this guide thoroughly before starting the application process. Incomplete information may result in delays in processing your request.
If you are applying as a birth parent, please refer to the Birth Parent’s Guide. If you require additional information about the adoption information disclosure reforms taking place in Ontario, such as information about a Disclosure Veto, No Contact Notice or a Notice of Contact Preference, please see our website www.ServiceOntario.ca.
As an adopted person 18 years of age or older, you may apply for Post Adoption Birth Information. If you are eligible, you may be entitled to receive the following documents:
These documents may contain identifying information about your birth parents, such as their names.
Please read prior to submitting your application.
If a birth parent has filed a Disclosure Veto which is in effect, the Registrar General is prohibited from disclosing that birth parent’s identifying information to you. If you, as the adopted person, request and would otherwise be entitled to that birth parent’s identifying information, a copy of any Statement completed by that birth parent, containing any medical or family history, or reasons for not wanting his or her information disclosed to you, will be given to you.
If a birth parent has filed a No Contact Notice which is in effect, and you, as the adopted person, request and are entitled to your birth parents’ identifying information, no information can be released to you until you have signed a written agreement stating you will not contact or attempt to contact that birth parent. Once you have signed and returned the agreement, a copy of any statement completed by that birth parent, containing any medical or family history, or reasons for not wanting to be contacted, will be given to you along with your original birth registration and/or registered adoption order.
Note: Under the Vital Statistics Act, you are prohibited from directly or indirectly contacting or attempting to contact the birth parent who has filed a No Contact Notice. If you are convicted of violating a No Contact Notice, you may be subject to a fine of up to $50,000.
If a birth parent has filed a Notice of Contact Preference which is in effect, and you, as the adopted person, request and are entitled to your birth parents’ identifying information, a copy of the statement outlining that birth parent’s preferences on how he or she wishes to be contacted will be given to you along with your original birth registration and/or registered adoption order.
Completing an Application for Post Adoption Birth Information:
The application has several sections. Please fill in all the information requested to the best of your ability by printing
clearly in blue or black ink.
Some areas of the application will not apply to you and should be left blank.
Applicant’s Name and Mailing Address:
Please indicate your current legal surname (your last name) and your first and any middle names you may have.
Your legal name is usually the name on your current birth certificate.
A mailing address is necessary so we can contact you in case additional information is required.
A telephone number is optional. If provided, it may be used to contact you if clarification is required. If you do not wish to be contacted by telephone, leave blank.
Identification of the Applicant: Please use this section to confirm you are the adopted person by checking only the box beside adopted person in this section of the application.
As the adopted person, please fill in the information requested to the best of your ability. Please try and include at a minimum: your legal surname (last name after adoption) and first name, sex, date of birth, place of birth (country, province/state, city and/or town), legal surname (last name) of adoptive parents after adoption, and birth registration number found on your birth certificate, if known (e.g. 1954 05 234567).
Additional information requested in this section of the application may help us to process your application more quickly.
Note: This area is intended primarily for applicants who are birth parents. If, as an adopted person, you are aware of some of the particulars of your birth parents, or birth details prior to adoption, please provide those details in this section. Otherwise, as the adopted person, you may leave this section blank.
As the applicant, you must sign and date the application as indicated on page 3 in order for it to be processed.
Under the Vital Statistics Act, if you wilfully make or cause to be made a false statement in this application, you may, on conviction, be liable to a fine of not more than $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years less a day or both.
Mailing Instructions
Once you have completed your application, you must mail it to:
ServiceOntario
Office of the Registrar General
PO Box 9000
Thunder Bay ON P7B 0A5
The Registrar General cannot accept applications that have been faxed, e-mailed or hand-delivered.