F.A.Q.
- I am adopted and want to trace my birth family. How do I do this?
- I am adopted and don’t want to trace my birth family. Do I need to do anything?
- I am adopted and would like to know if a birth relative makes an enquiry about me. Do I need to do anything?
- I don’t want my birth family to contact me. How can I prevent this? How do I register a “veto”?
- My children were placed for adoption. I don’t want to disrupt their lives but just want to know how they are. Can I get this information?
- My children were placed for adoption. I’ve heard that the law has changed and I can now have contact with them. How do I go about it?
- I don’t want the child I placed for adoption many years ago to contact me. How can I prevent this from happening?
- I want to contact a relative who has been adopted. Is this possible?
I am adopted and want to trace my birth family. How do I do this?
If you are over 18 years of age and adopted through us (ask your parents if you are not sure) please get in touch. We hold your records and will share these with you. We will try to trace your birth relatives on your behalf and offer support to them as well as to you, acting as an intermediary right up to the time you meet each other, if such an outcome is desired by both parties.
I am adopted and don’t want to trace my birth family. Do I need to do anything?
You do not need to do anything although you need to know that we will contact you if a birth relative contacts us about you. If you do not want us to contact you, you need to register a “veto” (see below).
I am adopted and would like to know if a birth relative makes an enquiry about me. Do I need to do anything?
If you are over the age of 18, please keep us informed of your address. The address on our files is likely to be the one where you lived when you were placed for adoption, which is probably a long time ago!
I don’t want my birth family to contact me. How can I prevent this?
How do I register a “veto”?
Birth relatives have no legal right to information about you and we are not allowed to disclose any information to a birth relative which may reveal your identity or whereabouts without asking you first. If you wish to protect your privacy further, you can register a “veto” with us. This prevents us or another intermediary agency from approaching you. You can register an “absolute veto” or a “qualified veto” with us. If another intermediary agency contacts us they will be told that a veto has been registered. Registering a veto is an important decision and we are required by law to talk this through with you to ensure you understand the implications of your decision, prior to a veto being registered.
You can also formally register a wish for “no contact” on the Registrar General’s Adoption Contact Register. Look on www.gro.gov.uk for the procedure for this. Remember that your birth relatives will only be informed about your registration if they themselves contact the Registrar General.
My children were placed for adoption. I don’t want to disrupt their lives but just want to know how they are. Can I get this information?
Yes you can. If the adoption was arranged by us, we will arrange to see you and pass on any non-identifying information that we have on our files. However, if the adoption was a long time ago, the information may be quite minimal. We also offer an intermediary service and would contact an adopted person (as long as they are over the age of 18) to let them know about your interest, if this is what you wanted us to do.
My children were placed for adoption. I’ve heard that the law has changed and I can now have contact with them. How do I go about it?
If your children are over the age of 18 we will try and contact them to let them know of your interest unless they have registered a “veto” (see above). If we are successful and they agree to contact, we offer an intermediary service which will support you both through the process right through to a reunion. We have a comfortable house in pleasant surroundings in Heaton Mersey and this is where many reunions take place.
I don’t want the child I placed for adoption many years ago to contact me. How can I prevent this from happening?
If the adoption was arranged by us, you can contact us to let us know your wishes. We would then inform the adopted person when he/she contacted us. However, this would not guarantee you would not be contacted as all adopted people are entitled to a copy of their original birth certificate once they reach the age of 18 and they do sometimes try and trace a birth parent themselves. If this did happen to you, do get in touch as we can still act as an intermediary on your behalf. You can also formally register a wish for “no contact” on the Registrar General’s Adoption Contact Register. Look on The General Register Office for the procedure for this.
I want to contact a relative who has been adopted. Is this possible?
Yes, as long as the person is over the age of 18. If you think the adoption was arranged by us, please get in touch and we will check our records. If we are the agency, we will offer you an intermediary service which means we will arrange to see you and, provided the adopted person has not registered a “veto” (see above), try and contact the adopted person to let him/her know about your interest. Outcomes are varied: sometimes we are unable to trace adopted people (they may have emigrated), sometimes we do trace and they do not wish to have contact and sometimes the response is very positive and we support all parties right through to the reunion.