Frequently Asked Questions

The Utah State Legislature established the Utah Adoption Registry in 1987. It is a valuable resource for adult adoptees born in Utah, their birth parents, and their birth siblings who are searching for one another. Pursuant to Utah Code 78B-6-144, it is set up to release identifying information to an adult adoptee born in Utah, their birth parent, or birth sibling only when both the adoptee and their birth parent or sibling consent to share information by joining the registry.

Log in any time to review your information and check the status of your match search.
Update the match information you wish to share with your match.
Update the information you wish to receive from your match.
Birth parents may decide to use an intermediary instead of sharing their own information.
Birth parents may register their consent to release a non-certified copy of the original birth certificate to the adoptee with or without releasing any other contact information.
Birth parents may upload documents such as non-identifying health and social history or other information for the adoptee to access. These documents can be made available with or without sharing any other contact information.
Adoptees may request a copy of their original non-certified birth certificate after birth parent consent or if their birth parents are deceased.
Adoptees may login any time to download their non-certified original birth certificate or other documents submitted by their birth parent after their match is verified.

If you have registered in the past, there will be no charge to re-register in our new application portal. Please DO enter a new registration in our new application because you now have the option of entering a lot more information than was registered in our old system.

You do not need a password or login from the old system, the old system did not have a login feature. You will create a UtahID login, or use your existing UtahID login to create a new registration for the Adoption Registry.

When you get to the payment info page at the end of the registration, click the box indicating you have registered previously and your registration fee will be waived.

If you choose not to re-register in the new application, your previous registration data will be made available for matches in the new system. However, you will not have the advantage of the new online features and options available. Your data will not be streamlined for efficient matching if you do not re-register in the new application.

To join the registry, you must be an adult adoptee born in Utah, a birth parent of an adoptee, or a birth sibling of an adoptee. Adoptees and siblings must be 18 years or older to join the registry.

If there is a a sibling of the same birth parent who is under the age of 18 years, and who was raised in the same family setting as the adult adoptee, the office may not disclose the requested identifying information to that adult adoptee or the adoptee's birth parent.

It can take 8 weeks or more for our staff to complete the first search. If you have a match who is already registered and positively identified, our staff will send you a notification of the match as soon as we verify it. If no match is found, your online account will show a status of 'Searched – no match'.

Your information will remain in the database to be searched every time a new individual registers.

Once we have matched an adoptee with a birth parent who consents to allow them access to the non-certified birth certificate, it may take an additional 6-8 weeks to research the files and attach the birth certificate for downloading.

The Utah Adoption Registry is the only official adoption registry administered by the State of Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Vital Records and Statistics (OVRS). The OVRS is the only entity other than a Utah court authorized to access sealed adoption information and it is the only place where pre-adoption birth certificate records for all Utah births can be found. With consent from both parties, our staff can make a 100% positive match between an adult adoptee and a birth parent by using the information in the sealed file, without the expense of DNA testing or hiring a private investigator.

No. Joining the Utah Adoption Registry is voluntary and no identifying information is released unless both an adult adoptee and a birth parent or a birth sibling consent to join and share information. Choosing to connect with an adult adoptee or birth family is a personal choice and we do not try to influence this decision. Our staff only act as a resource to those who have already decided that they would like to connect with members of their birth family.

Once you have registered in the new online system, you can login to your account to update your information at any time by clicking the 'Login' button at the top of this page. There is no fee to update your contact information or change your elections online.

OR Submit a paper application form and check the box for 'Update'.

If you submit your update on a paper form and/or change the information used to search for a match, there will be a $10 update fee.

If you registered in the old system prior to June 2021, you will need to create a new account in our new online system in order to be able to update your contact information online. There will be no fee for existing registrants to create a new registration in the new application.

It is possible to register your non-consent in the Registry. Click the 'Login' button at the top of the page to access the online registration portal and you may change your consent choices at any time. There is no fee to change your elections online.

OR Submit a paper application with your choice to not share or receive information (Non-consent) and check the box for 'Update'.

If you submit your update on a paper form there may be a $10 update fee.

If an adult adoptee is positively matched with a birth parent or sibling, our staff will share the contact information they each have given us so they may contact each other.

As of November 1, 2021 House Bill 345 will go into effect which allows a non-certified original birth certificate to be shared with an adult adoptee with a birth parent’s consent whether or not either party chooses to share any other identifying information.

If there is a Non-Identifying Health, Genetic and Social History form filled out and uploaded by the birth parent, the adoptee can have access to that either by joining the Registry or by filling out the application for non-identifying health history.

Yes. You may request a search for medical or health history information submitted by a birth parent by completing an application for non-identifying health history. There is a $25 fee. This fee is distinct from the $25 Adoption Registry fee. Birth parents are invited to fill out this non-identifying health history form at the time of adoption and the form is included in the adoption file, if completed.

Birth parents now have the option of uploading their non-identifying health, genetic, and social history form to the Adoption Registry. Birth parents can update their information by logging in and uploading a new version any time.

If the birth parent has uploaded their non-identifying health, genetic and social history documents to the Utah Adoption Registry, the Adoptee who chooses to join the Registry and has a confirmed match will be able to download those documents at any time by logging in to their Adoption Registry account.

Yes. Birth parents can upload or send in the non-identifying health, genetic, and social history form or a letter at any time. They may join the Adoption Registry and specify that they do not want to share their contact information with their birth child. This non-identifying information can then be shared with their birth child after the child reaches the age of 18 years, if the birth child also joins the Registry or submits an application for non-identifying health history.

A birth parent may also choose to give consent to their adopted child to have access to their non-certified original birth certificate without sharing any additional contact information.

One limitation of the Utah Adoption Registry is that it only has information related to Utah births. If an adoptee was born outside of Utah, the Utah Adoption Registry will not have information for them or their birth parents.

Another limitation is that although matches between consenting adoptees and birth parents do happen, it is common for someone to join the registry and never be matched with their birth family. The Utah Adoption Registry is voluntary and both an adoptee and a birth parent must join before our staff can share identifying information. For this reason, it is likely that one party may never consent or they may never know about the registry.

Other factors that make it difficult to match registrants are lack of the father’s name on the original birth certificate or if a birth mother used an alias name at the hospital at the time of birth. It is also possible that a birth parent forgets the actual date or location of the birth. These factors all can reduce the likelihood of a match being made.