Oregon Adoption Records: How to Access Birth Certificates and the Voluntary Registry

If you are an adopted adult, a birth parent, or a biological sibling trying to find each other in Oregon, the state has two separate — and often confused — systems for records access. Understanding which system applies to your situation, what it can give you, and how to use it correctly will save you a significant amount of time and frustration.

Oregon's records laws are among the most open in the country. Here is how they work.

The Two Systems: Open Records vs. the Voluntary Registry

Oregon operates two distinct frameworks for post-adoption information access:

System 1: Unrestricted Original Birth Certificate Access (Ballot Measure 58 / ORS 432.240). For adoptees born in Oregon who are age 21 or older, the original pre-adoption birth certificate is available on demand. No mutual consent required. No birth-parent permission required. No exceptions.

System 2: The Oregon Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry (ORS 109.425 to 109.507). This is an opt-in system for adoptees 18 or older, birth parents, and biological siblings who want to exchange identifying information and make contact. Both parties must register for a "match" to occur.

These systems serve overlapping but distinct populations. The Voluntary Registry is more useful for adoptees under 21 who want contact before they can access their birth certificate, and for birth relatives (siblings, birth parents) who want to establish contact. The open records law is simpler and more direct for adoptees over 21.

System 1: Oregon's Open Records Law (Ballot Measure 58)

In November 1998, Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 58 by a margin of 57% to 43%, making Oregon one of the first states in the modern era to restore unconditional original birth certificate access to adoptees. The law was challenged in court by birth mothers who argued they had been promised lifelong anonymity, but the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld Measure 58 in 1999, ruling that the Oregon Constitution contains no promise of lifelong confidentiality to birth parents. The law went into effect in 2000 and was codified as ORS 432.240.

Who can request the original birth certificate: Any adopted person born in Oregon who is 21 years of age or older.

What you receive: A certified copy of your original, unaltered, pre-adoption birth certificate — the one issued at birth before the adoption was finalized, which lists the birth parents' names as they appeared at the time of birth.

How to request it: Submit a written application and standard vital records search fee to the Oregon Health Authority Center for Health Statistics, located at 800 NE Oregon St, Suite 225, Portland, OR 97232. The current fee is the standard vital records fee; check the Oregon Health Authority website for the current rate before submitting.

What else you receive alongside the birth certificate: If the birth parent(s) filed a Contact Preference Form (see below), that form will be disclosed to you at the same time as the birth certificate. The Contact Preference Form is purely advisory — it tells you whether the birth parent wants contact — but it does not restrict your legal access to the birth certificate itself.

What if the birth parent does not want contact? They may have filed a Contact Preference Form indicating they do not want direct contact or want contact through an intermediary. You are not legally required to comply with this preference. The birth certificate is yours by right.

The Contact Preference Form

Under HB 3194, passed in 1999 as a compromise during litigation over Ballot Measure 58, birth parents may file a Contact Preference Form with Oregon Vital Records. This form allows them to indicate one of three preferences:

1. I prefer direct contact (includes contact information)
2. I prefer contact through an intermediary (names a specific person or organization)
3. I prefer no contact

This form is filed voluntarily by birth parents. It is not a restriction on the adoptee's access to records. When an eligible adoptee requests their birth certificate, the Contact Preference Form — if one exists — is disclosed alongside the birth certificate. The vast majority of birth parents have not filed a form, which means most adoptees receive only the birth certificate.

For adoptees: the Contact Preference Form is useful information but does not create legal obligations. For birth parents: filing a form is a way to communicate your preference to an adult adoptee who may contact you, but it is not a guarantee of anonymity.

System 2: The Oregon Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry

The Oregon Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry is administered by ODHS under ORS 109.425 to 109.507. It serves three groups: adult adoptees (age 18 or older), birth parents, and biological siblings.

How it works: Eligible individuals register their identifying information — name, contact details, and relationship to the adoption — with the registry. ODHS then checks whether the other party has also registered. If there is a mutual match — meaning both the adoptee and the birth parent (or sibling) have registered — the registry facilitates the exchange of identifying information and contact.

Who can register:

• Adult adoptees aged 18 or older (even before they can access the birth certificate at 21)
• Birth parents of any age
• Biological siblings (who are adults) of an adoptee

Searching within the registry: For adoptees looking for birth parents who have not registered, Oregon law provides a search mechanism. An official "searcher" — a licensed social worker or similarly authorized individual — can be engaged to search for and contact birth relatives who have not registered. This is a more active process than simply waiting for the other party to register, and it carries associated costs.

Medical history access: Even without a mutual match, Oregon law provides adoptees a pathway to obtain non-identifying health and medical history of their biological relatives. This can be requested through ODHS without requiring the other party's consent.

Court Records: A Separate Category

Finalized adoption records in Oregon Circuit Courts are sealed and not publicly accessible. The adoption case file — which includes the original petition, consent documents, home study, financial disclosure, and related materials — is confidential under ORS 109.287 (the ASSIS requirement).

However, adult adoptees and birth parents may petition the court for access to specific records under limited circumstances, particularly for medical necessity. Courts evaluate these petitions on a case-by-case basis. An attorney can file the petition, but court access to sealed records is not guaranteed.

International Adoptees Born in Oregon

If you were internationally adopted but were born in Oregon (which is unusual but possible), Ballot Measure 58 and ORS 432.240 apply — your original Oregon birth certificate is accessible under the same open records rules as domestic adoptees.

If you were born outside Oregon and adopted by Oregon residents, the open records law of your birth state governs access to your original birth certificate, not Oregon's law. Oregon will have records of the adoption itself (the Circuit Court adoption judgment and related filings), but Oregon cannot issue an original birth certificate for a child born in another state or country.

Practical Steps for Adoptees Over 21

1. Contact the Oregon Health Authority Center for Health Statistics to request your original birth certificate. Bring or submit: written request, proof of age, proof of identity (government-issued photo ID), and the applicable fee.

2. When you receive the birth certificate, review any Contact Preference Form that may accompany it. If the birth parent expressed a preference for contact through an intermediary, the intermediary's contact information will be included.

3. Consider also registering with the Oregon Voluntary Adoption Registry, which may surface biological siblings or other birth relatives who have also registered.

4. For medical history without full contact, request non-identifying health history from ODHS separately.

For context on how Oregon's adoption records system relates to the broader process — including what happens to the original birth certificate after finalization and when the amended birth certificate is issued — the Oregon Adoption Process Guide covers the complete post-finalization administrative process.

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