How to get identifying information for TN adoption

August 9, 2000

Originally Posted By Mary Lou

Confidentiality

All records of the adoption shall be placed under seal and opened only upon a court order. A new birth certificate is issued upon adoption and the original birth certificate is then placed under seal with the other adoption papers and shall not be released for inspection except upon a court order.

Upon request of the adoptive parents or the adoptee, who is 18 years of age or older, nonidentifying information may be released about the adoptee and the adoptee's biological family. If the adoptee, who is 21 years of age or older, requests identifying information about the biological parents, then the Department of Human Services shall locate the parents and find out if they consent to such release. If they do not consent, then no information will be released. If the biological parents cannot be located, the office of Vital Records may release the original birth certificate.

If one sibling 18 years or older has been adopted and either that sibling or another sibling 18 years or older has requested information or expressed a desire to be reunited with the other sibling, then if the other sibling has previously given or currently upon request gives a release to the Department, the Department will release identifying information.

tennesseemn

June 1, 2003

I would like some more information on how a sibling can find a adopted sibling. I am 32 years old and my brother would be 22/23. My e-mail is tennesseemn@yahoo.com. Thank you

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solar6

June 19, 2003

Please note that Tennessee now has an open records law. I have received a copy of my original birth certificate, parents names, address, etc. The state did not have to contact my birthparents for permission to release any of this information to me.

Charlene

June 23, 2003

Hi Solar6 can you tell me more about you getting your birth certiticate from Tennessee? I have been trying and they say I don`t have enough details for them to search the records and that even if they did find it I could not have the info until she was contacted and wanted me to have the info or not!

I do not understand how you got yours? I am very frustrated by all the runaround I get on this!

I am the birth mother searching for my daughter who was born on April 14,1964 in Tennessee.

Any help you could give me will be appreciated! Thanks.

solar6

July 7, 2003

Charlene,

I am an adoptee, so maybe the rules are different for birth parents to obtain information regarding their children. I had to wait 2 years, but I finally received my entire file, including my birth parents' names, addresses, home study write-ups, birth certificate, birth name, etc. I talked to the post adoption services in Nashville. The only catch to receving all of my information from the state is that I can't use it to do any searching on my own. If I desire a search for my birthfamily, I have to pay more money(It cost me over $300.00 to obtain the info that I have) for the state to contact them. Hope this helps. By the way, I think that TN changed to an open records state in October of 1999.

Charlene

July 10, 2003

Hi Solar,you are right. Tennessee does have open records,but if you don`t have all of the info they need to search the records they say it is a waste of time! If I knew all they wanted,I would not need their help!!!!!!

Yes,as you say,maybe it is different for the adoptee. I can only hope my daughter will search for me! After all these years I don`t hold out much hope for her finding me! I sometimes wonder if she even knows she is adopted!!!!

Well thanks for the help,good luck!