Arkansas Adoption Records
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Accessing Arkansas Adoption Records
In 2018, Arkansas implemented a new law that allows adoptees to unseal their adoption records once they turn 21. While the law provides a way to access Arkansas adoption records, it also comes with red tape, including notary requirements and a fee.
If you want an easier way to reunite with your biological relatives, Adopted.com can help. We offer a voluntary adoption reunion registry where adoptees, birth parents, and others impacted by adoption can connect very quickly.
To join our registry, you don’t need to get a form notarized or pay a fee. All you need to do is answer ten simple questions that most people know about the adoption.
Our registry spans the state of Arkansas, from Fayetteville to Little Rock and everywhere in between. We offer a safe, secure way to reconnect with your birth family. Register for free today to join a community where reunions happen every day.
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2,875 Are Adoptions in Arkansas Open?
Yes, Arkansas allows families to arrange open adoptions. In an open adoption, the adoptive family knows the birth parents’ identities. One or both birth parents may even have ongoing communication with the adopted child, such as phone calls or face-to-face visits.
However, the official adoption files are sealed even in an open adoption. You cannot access the adoption records unless you’re an adoptee over 21 years old.
How Do I Get My Original Birth Certificate if I Was Adopted in Arkansas?
Your original birth certificate is part of your adoption file. You can get this document by submitting a written request to the Arkansas Department of Health if you’re over 21. When you receive your original birth certificate, it will be marked “not intended for official use.”
Arkansas allows birth parents to redact their names from an adoptee’s original birth certificate. If one or both of your birth parents have asked to keep their identities confidential, their names will be removed from the copy you receive.
How to Unseal Adoption Records in Arkansas
Adoptees in Arkansas can request their adoption files once they’re 21 years old. You must complete a form from the Arkansas Department of Health to unseal your adoption records. You’ll need to provide proof of your identity, such as a driver’s license. You’ll also need to have the form notarized.
If an adoptee has passed away, their surviving spouse, child, or child’s guardian can also request their adoption records. You’ll need to complete the same form and include proof of your identity. You’ll also need to submit your own birth certificate and notarized documentation of your relationship to the adoptee. A marriage or birth certificate can satisfy this requirement.
For all requests, there’s a $100 fee to access adoption files. You can submit a check or money order to the Arkansas Department of Health with your mailed application.
How Do You Access Arkansas Public Adoption Records?
Arkansas adoption records aren’t public, and you can only access them if you’re an adoptee or the spouse, child, or child’s guardian of an adoptee who has passed away. If you don’t fall into one of those categories, you’ll need a court order to unseal adoption records in Arkansas.
While the state limits who can access adoption records, you may be able to access some information through the Arkansas Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry (MCVAR). This voluntary registry can connect birth relatives if they both consent to having contact.
You can register to identify your birth relatives if you’re:
- An adoptee who’s at least 18
- A birth parent
- A birth grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, or sibling
To register with the MCVAR, you must complete an affidavit form, attend a one-hour counseling session, and pay $20. Once you complete these steps, you will be notified if one of your biological relatives joins the registry.
Additionally, the MCVAR can provide non-identifying information about an adoption, including genetic, health, and social histories. This information doesn’t include the names of the adoptee, the adoptive parents, or the birth parents.
You can register to access this information if you’re:
- An adoptee who’s at least 18
- A birth parent
- A spouse, child, or child’s guardian of a deceased adoptee
- An adoptive parent or a legal guardian
- A child welfare agency with custody of an adoptee
To obtain this report, you must complete an affidavit form and pay $5.
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Let Adopted.com help you find your lost family today!
Adopted.com is a powerful adoption reunion registry designed to help you reconnect with your birth parents. By registering, you gain access to a growing database of over 1,185,520 profiles, increasing your chances of finding your biological relatives. The platform respects your privacy and allows you to update your profile anytime.
Registration is free, and the unique search tool ensures measurable match results. When you find your birth parents, remember to approach the reunion with an open heart and understanding, as it can be an emotionally significant experience for everyone involved.
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A Few of Our Members Currently Searching Within Arkansas Who Chose To Be Featured
1. Scbysnack1 : FOUND - AUGUST 2022 Michigan‚ Muskegon‚ Grant‚ Washburn‚ Constance‚ Jerry‚ Loretta‚ Lima‚ Newaygo‚ Ken‚ Larry‚ Orville‚ Ravenna‚ White Cloud‚ Westbrook
2. Grandmonk : 16 year old Mother was at Cookson Hills School in Siloam Springs Arkansas , adoption could have taken place in Oklahoma ,1980 .Mother has red hair name is Kae Lynn Mccaleb , lived in Amarillo Tx
3. Sweetpea42f : Springdale Memorial Hospital
4. TheresaLopezSymonds : I hope you had great parents and a great upbringing. I miss you every day! You mean the world to me! I hope some day soon I will meet you. You have two brothers name Christian and Steven and they can not wait to meet you. I am here for you in any way and everyway you want me to be. I love you and respect your wishes but I hope and pray you will come looking for us soon. Love Mom
5. Heeler : My child was born in September of 1978 at Drew Memorial hospital in Monticello, Arkansas. It was a private adoption. I have used Ancestry as well as 23 and Me to try and find a match.
6. Outkast : Would like to find my birth daughter name was given Jordan Michelle Thompson, She was born in Arkansas. Her birth mother is Jessica Thompson from Russellville, Arkansas. Jordan should be around 28 years of age in 2018. I did not know about adoption until after it was done, so my name would not be on birth certificate. My last name is Wilson.
7. Melissakayamesbarton : I was born Melissa Marlene Perrin. In Wynne Arkansas May 7,1967. I was adopted at 22months old to a family in Illinois perhaps through Catholic Services.
8. Jamielent09 : I’m looking for a sister. She would be younger than me. I was born in April of 1980. I have found our brother. His name is Corey. He was born in 1976. I am looking for the third child. I was told her fathers name is Frank Aversa and she was named after him‚ so her name would be Francis Aversa. I don’t know how much younger she is. Corey is 46 and I am 42‚ so our sister must be in her late 30’s. I don’t know if she was adopted or not‚ or if her name was changed like Corey and I. My name used to be Donna Toree‚ and his name used to be Robert. If it helps‚ I was born with congenital scoliosis just like our mother.
9. Katamber : I have been searching for my Birth Child for years now. I have reason to believe he is a son but not positive. He was born in Jacksonville, Ar at Jacksonville Memorial Hospital, and the doctor was Dr Chapman. I was told the adoptive family was a military family and the father an officer at LRAFB. My adult daughters and myself have a great desire to locate their brother or sister. They are full sisters to my Birth Child. I pray and will continue to pray that all of us will be united one day.
10. Choward161 : I am looking for my younger half brother. I know his name is Tony and I hope he has looked for me. His biological name is Anthony ‘Tony’ Howard. I don’t know what his adopted last name is.
11. Amersonjc : Was born at Rebsamen memorial hospital in Jacksonville‚ AR. My adoptive parents took me home from the hospital so I was adopted at birth. There is an Air Force base in Jacksonville so I’ve always wondered if my mother could have possibly been in the military or worked there in some capacity ? Who knows ?
12. Amydawncox : My biological mother’s name is Sandra Kay Dreher. She was born in 1954 in Arkansas. The name she gave me on my birth certificate was Donald Eugene.
13. Mdouglas413 : Searching for an adopted sibling. Father would be Hugh "Butch" William Allison Jr‚ u sure of mothers name‚ possibly Jones or Clutts. Was told she had red hair.
14. Aloha105 : Looking for my mother’s birth parents. Possibly last name Mitchell (Charles and Cora). Birth occurred in Sallisaw, Oklahoma and adoption shortly after birth in Fort Smith, Ark. Adopted parents were named Frank and Mary Chambers.
15. Nstrong : Born 1944, female. I found out I was adopted from relatives and friends who knew after my parents died. Wisconsin adoption records are sealed. They told me that my record may be in another state. Dr. O’Briens is on my birth record. His daughter was the adoption agent for the county in Mauston, Wisc.. I think My Birth Father came to se me in 1956. My brother and I were sent upstairs right before the man arrived and told NOT TO COME DOWN while the man was there. I started to come downstairs to get my crochet yarn and stoped as I knew I would be in trouble. The only word I heard the man say was ADOPTION. I thought maybe mom and dad were thinking of adopting a child. The discussion was I could tell upsetting to them after the man left. My adopted father was killed in a car wreck that same year. There was no money from his death. Later HIS mother passed leaving me and my brothers some money. When I got my savings account book as a savings had been set up for my brothers also when she died. Only when I got married and saw my savings book did I notice that my account was started with a large amount $1000 the in the summer before my adopted father was killed in a car wreck and his mother had died after that. Then I looked at my brothers savings and theirs both started after my adopted father’s mother passed. I always wondered why I had all that money more. Then when my adopted mother passed and I was told by my brother that I was adopted did I think about the man who came to our house and I heard him speak the word ADOPTION. I desperately wanted to find out and went to Wisconsin every year starting 1982. Father on my birth record shows Everett S. Sharp, Mother Margaret Casey (which Margaret was never a Casey that was a stepfather when she would have been about 11 which all of her school records showed her last name as Margaret Rodeck. Mary Casey was her mother and my Grandmother.
