O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 21-21—HB 6105
Planning and Development Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING AC CESS TO ORIGINAL BIR TH
CERTIFICATES BY ADUL T ADOPTED PERSONS
SUMMARY: This act expands access to birth certificates for adopted persons
age 18 and older and their adult children or adult grandchildren by allowing them
to obtain an uncertified copy of the adoptee’s original birth certificate upon
request, regardless of when the adoption occurred. Prior law provided this access
only for adoptions finalized on or after October 1, 1983.
For adoptions before that date, prior law allowed access to the original
certificate by these individuals only through a court order. If the birth parents
were alive, the court could issue the order only with their consent or, in certain
circumstances, the consent of a legal representative or guardian ad litem (GAL).
The act also transfers, from the Department of Public Health (DPH) to
municipalities, the responsibility to issue the original birth certificate upon an
eligible individual’s request. Specifically, it requires the registrar of vital statistics
in the municipality of the adopted individual’s birth to issue the uncertified copy
of the certificate to the adoptee age 18 or older or his or her adult child or adult
grandchild. The registrar must do so within 30 days after a written request by
these individuals. Prior law did not set a timeframe for DPH to issue these birth
certificates.
The act similarly transfers, from DPH to municipalities, the responsibility to
issue original birth certificates to certain relatives (e.g., adult descendants or
biological siblings of the adoptee) upon a court order in cases where an adoptee is
deceased. (In these cases, the same requirement to obtain consent from the living
birth parents or a legal representative or GAL applies as noted above.)
The act also makes conforming and technical changes, including repealing
certain expired reporting requirements.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2021, and changes to court petitions apply to
petitions filed on and after July 1, 2021.
BACKGROUND
Adoptee Birth Certificates
In most cases, DPH seals the original birth certificate when a court notifies it
that a child born in Connecticut has been adopted. It prepares a new certificate
substituting the adoptive parents’ names for those appearing on the original
certificate (CGS § 7-53).