RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 470 (HB 450) 2022 Regular Session Charles Owen
Existing law (Ch.C. Art. 1186) provides that adoption records shall be retained in
confidential court files and that it shall be unlawful for anyone except the biological or
adopting parent to disclose identifying information concerning an adoption case except upon
order of the court or for purposes directly connected with an adoption agency's
responsibilities in relation to adoption work.
Existing law (Ch.C. Art. 1188) authorizes an adopted person or his legal representative on
his behalf to file a motion for disclosure of information pertaining to his adoption.
Existing law (Ch.C. Art. 1127) authorizes an adopted person or his legal representative on
his behalf, or a surrendering biological parent to, upon written request, obtain nonidentifying
medical or genetic information from the agency, firm, or lawyer involved in an adoption.
Existing law provides that the motion for disclosure and the limited medical exception
provided by existing law are the exclusive means for gaining access to records of adoptions.
Existing law provides procedures for the confidentiality of adoption records for adoptions
completed prior to July 27, 1938 (R.S. 40:73), adoptions of a person born in La. completed
in a court in any other state or territory of the U.S. (R.S. 40:77), and all other adoptions (R.S.
40:79).
Existing law requires that when a final decree of adoption is entered, the clerk of court shall
forward his certificate of the decree to the state registrar of vital records who shall make a
new certificate of live birth of the adopted person and shall seal and file the original
certificate of birth with the certificate of the decree. This sealed package may be opened only
by court order.
New law provides that in addition to receiving an original birth certificate through the
existing law motion for disclosure and the limited medical exception, an adopted person who
is 24 years of age or older may request an uncertified copy of his birth certificate from the
state registrar. Provides that the registrar shall open the sealed package and issue an
uncertified copy of the original birth certificate to the adopted person in accordance with
regulations promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act for a certified
copy of a vital record.
New law provides that a birth parent may at any time request from the registrar of vital
records a contact preference form that shall accompany the adopted person's original birth
certificate.
New law provides that the contact preference form shall allow for the birth parent to indicate
whether and how he would like to be contacted.
New law provides that the contact preference form is a confidential communication from the
birth parent to the person named on the sealed birth certificate and shall be placed in the
sealed packet containing the original birth certificate. The contact preference form shall be
released to an adopted person when he requests his original birth certificate.
Effective August 1, 2022.
(Amends Ch.C. Arts. 1186(A) and 1188(C) and R.S. 40:73(A), (B), and (D), 77(A), (B), and
(D), and 79(A)(4) and (D); Adds R.S. 40:73(E) and (F), 77(E) and (F), and 79(E) and (F))