HB 1369 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1369-00
Page 1 of 7
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to release of adoption information; 2
amending s. 63.162, F.S.; authorizing only one avenue 3
for the disclosure of certain adoption related records 4
without a court order; removing authorization for 5
certain adoption related records to be disclosed 6
without a court order; removing a required fee for 7
certain services and expenses; amending s. 382.015, 8
F.S.; authorizing a court to break the seal of 9
specified birth records upon the request of certain 10
persons under certain conditions; amending s. 63.085, 11
F.S.; conforming a cross -reference; providing an 12
effective date. 13
14
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 15
16
Section 1. Subsections ( 4) through (7) of section 63.162, 17
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 18
63.162 Hearings and records in adoption proceedings; 19
confidential nature. — 20
(4)(a) A person may disclose the following from the 21
records without a court order: 22
1. The name and ide ntity of the birth parent, if the birth 23
parent authorizes in writing the release of his or her name and 24
the adoptee is 18 years of age or older. If the adoptee is 25
HB 1369 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1369-00
Page 2 of 7
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
younger than 18 years of age, the adoptive parent must also 26
provide written consent to disclo se the birth parent's name; 27
2. The name and identity of the adoptee, if the adoptee is 28
18 years of age or older and authorizes in writing the release 29
of his or her name; or, if the adoptee is younger than 18 years 30
of age, written consent to disclose the adoptee's name is 31
obtained from an adoptive parent; or 32
3. The name and identity of the adoptive parent, if the 33
adoptive parent authorizes in writing the release of his or her 34
name. 35
(b) A person may disclose from the records without a court 36
order the name and identity of a birth parent, an adoptive 37
parent, or an adoptee under s. 382.015(4) upon order of the 38
court for good cause shown . In determining whether good cause 39
exists, the court shall give primary consideration to the best 40
interests of the adoptee , but must also give due consideration 41
to the interests of the adoptive and birth parents. Factors to 42
be considered in determining whether good cause exists include, 43
but are not limited to: 44
1. The reason the information is sought; 45
2. The existence of m eans available to obtain the desired 46
information without disclosing the identity of the birth 47
parents, such as by having the court, a person appointed by the 48
court, the department, or the licensed child -placing agency 49
contact the birth parents and request specific information; 50
HB 1369 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1369-00
Page 3 of 7
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
3. The desires, to the extent known, of the adoptee, the 51
adoptive parents, and the birth parents; 52
4. The age, maturity, judgment, and expressed needs of the 53
adoptee; and 54
5. The recommendation of the department, licensed child -55
placing agency, or professional that prepared the preliminary 56
study and home investigation, or the department if no such study 57
was prepared, concerning the advisability of disclosure. 58
(5) The adoptee or other person seeking information under 59
this subsection shall pay the department or agency making 60
reports or recommendations as required hereunder a reasonable 61
fee for its services and expenses. 62
(6) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4), 63
identifying information regarding the birth parents, ad optive 64
parents, and adoptee may not be disclosed unless a birth parent, 65
adoptive parent, or adoptee has authorized in writing the 66
release of such information concerning himself or herself. 67
Specific names or identifying information must not be given in a 68
family medical history. All nonidentifying information, 69
including the family medical history and social history of the 70
adoptee and the birth parents, when available, must be furnished 71
to the adoptive parents before the adoption becomes final and to 72
the adoptee, upon the adoptee's request, after he or she reaches 73
majority. Upon the request of the adoptive parents, all 74
nonidentifying information obtained before or after the adoption 75
HB 1369 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1369-00
Page 4 of 7
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
has become final must be furnished to the adoptive parents. 76
(7) The court may, upon petition of an adult adoptee or 77
birth parent, for good cause shown, appoint an intermediary or a 78
licensed child-placing agency to contact a birth parent or adult 79
adoptee, as applicable, who has not registered with the adoption 80
registry pursuant to s . 63.165 and advise both of the 81
availability of the intermediary or agency and that the birth 82
parent or adult adoptee, as applicable, wishes to establish 83
contact. 84
Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 382.015, Florida 85
Statutes, is amended to read: 86
382.015 New certificates of live birth; duty of clerks of 87
court and department. —The clerk of the court in which any 88
proceeding for adoption, annulment of an adoption, affirmation 89
of parental status, or determination of paternity is to be 90
registered, shall wit hin 30 days after the final disposition, 91
forward to the department a certified copy of the court order, 92
or a report of the proceedings upon a form to be furnished by 93
the department, together with sufficient information to identify 94
the original birth certif icate and to enable the preparation of 95
a new birth certificate. The clerk of the court shall implement 96
a monitoring and quality control plan to ensure that all 97
judicial determinations of paternity are reported to the 98
department in compliance with this sect ion. The department shall 99
track paternity determinations reported monthly by county, 100
HB 1369 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1369-00
Page 5 of 7
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
monitor compliance with the 30 -day timeframe, and report the 101
data to the clerks of the court quarterly. 102
(4) SUBSTITUTION OF NEW CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH FOR 103
ORIGINAL.— 104
(a) When a new certificate of birth is prepared, the 105
department shall substitute the new certificate of birth for the 106
original certificate on file. All copies of the original 107
certificate of live birth in the custody of a local registrar or 108
other state custodian of vital records shall be forwarded to the 109
State Registrar. Thereafter, when a certified copy of the 110
certificate of birth or portion thereof is issued, it shall be a 111
copy of the new certificate of birth or portion thereof, except 112
when a court order requ ires issuance of a certified copy of the 113
original certificate of birth. 114
(b) In an adoption, change in paternity, affirmation of 115
parental status, undetermined parentage, or court -ordered 116
substitution, the department shall place the original 117
certificate of birth and all papers pertaining thereto under 118
seal, not to be broken except by order of a court of competent 119
jurisdiction or at the request of the person whose birth is the 120
subject of the certificate of birth, provided that such person 121
is 18 years of age or older, or as otherwise provided by law. 122
However, before the seal may be broken and the record opened 123
without a court order, the requesting person must first identify 124
himself or herself to the satisfaction of the state registrar. 125
HB 1369 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1369-00
Page 6 of 7
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Section 3. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 126
63.085, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 127
63.085 Disclosure by adoption entity. — 128
(2) DISCLOSURE TO ADOPTIVE PARENTS. — 129
(a) At the time that an adoption entity is responsible for 130
selecting prospective adoptive pare nts for a born or unborn 131
child whose parents are seeking to place the child for adoption 132
or whose rights were terminated pursuant to chapter 39, the 133
adoption entity must provide the prospective adoptive parents 134
with information concerning the background of the child to the 135
extent such information is disclosed to the adoption entity by 136
the parents, legal custodian, or the department. This subsection 137
applies only if the adoption entity identifies the prospective 138
adoptive parents and supervises the placement o f the child in 139
the prospective adoptive parents' home. If any information 140
cannot be disclosed because the records custodian failed or 141
refused to produce the background information, the adoption 142
entity has a duty to provide the information if it becomes 143
available. An individual or entity contacted by an adoption 144
entity to obtain the background information must release the 145
requested information to the adoption entity without the 146
necessity of a subpoena or a court order. In all cases, the 147
prospective adoptive parents must receive all available 148
information by the date of the final hearing on the petition for 149
adoption. The information to be disclosed includes: 150
HB 1369 2022
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb1369-00
Page 7 of 7
F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
1. A family social and medical history form completed 151
under s. 63.162(4) pursuant to s. 63.162(6) . 152
2. The biological mother's medical records documenting her 153
prenatal care and the birth and delivery of the child. 154
3. A complete set of the child's medical records 155
documenting all medical treatment and care since the child's 156
birth and before placement. 157
4. All mental health, psychological, and psychiatric 158
records, reports, and evaluations concerning the child before 159
placement. 160
5. The child's educational records, including all records 161
concerning any special education needs of the child before 162
placement. 163
6. Records documenting all incidents that required the 164
department to provide services to the child, including all 165
orders of adjudication of dependency or termination of parental 166
rights issued pursuant to chapter 39, any case plans drafted to 167
address the child's needs, all protective services 168
investigations identifying the child as a victim, and all 169
guardian ad litem reports filed with the court concerning the 170
child. 171
7. Written information concerning the availability of 172
adoption subsidies for the child, i f applicable. 173
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 174