Iowa Adoption Records
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Accessing Iowa Adoption Records
Iowa adoption records are sealed, and you can only access them with a court petition. However, Iowa recently began allowing adoptees to obtain copies of their original birth certificates. This document usually lists the birth parents’ names, unless they’ve requested to remain anonymous.
Like in many other states, accessing adoption records in Iowa can be a long and overwhelming process. At Adopted.com, we created a better way to quickly connect family members through mutual consent.
When you join Adopted.com, you can search for biological relatives in Iowa and across the country. You don’t need to fill out a complicated form or plead your case to a court. You just need to answer ten easy questions about the adoption, which most people already know.
We have the largest voluntary adoption reunion registry in the United States. Whether you’re in Dubuque, Sioux City, or anywhere in between, you have the opportunity to reunite with your birth family on Adopted.com.
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3,973 Are Iowa Adoption Records Public?
No. Iowa seals all records once an adoption is finalized. These records aren’t accessible without a court order showing good cause to open them.
While Iowa adoption records are sealed, adult adoptees can request some information from their files, including medical histories. This information won’t include the birth parents’ names.
How to Find Adoption Records in Iowa
In 2022, a new state law went into effect that allows an adult adoptee born in Iowa to get a non-certified copy of their original birth certificate. This document will have the names of the adoptee’s biological parents. However, birth parents can request to redact their names if they don’t want them released.
If you want to obtain your original birth certificate, complete an application with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH). Your application must be notarized. Submit the notarized application, a copy of a government-issued photo ID, and a fee to IDPH Bureau of Health Statistics in Des Moines. You can mail the form or submit it to the bureau in person.
Only adoptees over the age of 18 can request original birth certificates in Iowa. However, other relatives can get these records if an adoptee has died. These include an adoptee’s spouse, children, grandchildren, and their adoptive parents, siblings, and grandparents.
After making your request, the state estimates it will take six to eight weeks to get an original birth certificate.
How to Unseal Adoption Records in Iowa
For adoption records besides the original birth certificate, you need to petition the court for access. Complete an adoption affidavit form, which requires you to provide a reason for the request. Have the form notarized and file it with the court that handled the adoption.
If you’re trying to locate a birth relative, you have one other option through the state. Iowa has a Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry for adoptees, birth parents, and biological siblings. If you and one of your family members both join the registry, the state will notify you of the match. There’s no guarantee there will be a match, and the state will not conduct a search for your birth relatives.
You can register with the country registrar’s office where you live. Country registrars usually work in county courthouses or county administration offices. You must pay a fee and provide a copy of your birth certificate to join the registry.
Are Adoptions Closed in Iowa?
In Iowa, adoptions can be open or closed. An open adoption means the adoptive family knows the birth parents’ identities. The birth mother or both birth parents may have ongoing contact with the child through phone calls, social media, or in-person visits. In a closed adoption, the birth parents’ identities remain confidential, and they have no contact with the child after the adoption.
Whether an adoption is open or closed, Iowa seals all adoption records. You can only access them by petitioning the court.
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 1,189,520 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 Iowa Who Chose To Be Featured
16. JessicaBroessel : I am looking for my cousin...he was born Oct. 5, 1974 at Finley hospital in Dubuque Iowa. He is the son of my paternal uncle, Mike Broessel.
17. DawnMarieF : I was born in May,1971 at Shoitz Hospital in Waterloo, Iowa. My birth mothers last name at the time was McGee and her OBGYN was Dr Telfer as was my adopive mothers. I lost my adoptive mother when I was 18 and would love to find my birth mother. I have had 6 children of my own and need some family medical history, 4 of those children I placed for adoption at birth, so I could never judge anyone in a harsh way!!
18. Tessthescrapper : Your name was Kenneth Gray. Your mother was Joan Lucile Gray. You were given up to be adopted through the Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls, SD. I am your sister and just found out about you a couple of years ago. My father made her give you up. He told her he would not raise another man’s child. Please contact me.
19. Tksmth : I am interested in finding my birth mother so that I can get information about my family health history. I was born at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City, Iowa. I believe my birth mother was from Illinois and the adoption took place through Catholic Society/Charities in Davenport, IA.
20. Linhan : I was born3/11/1942 and may have been adopted from the Iowa Soldiers Orphans Home with the help of a man Harold Skeelsr affiliated with the University of Iowa when I was 7 months old and taken to Texas by my adoptive mother. I would very much like to talk with you, my birth parents and siblings if there are any. I was raised as an only child and could not have children and adopted 2, a boy and a girl. I have helpedson find his parents and siblings and it was so wonderful. I would like to have that feeling of knowing my birth family. I had a very great life and wanted you to know that and to thank you for giving me the opportunity to grow up in my adoptive family. We are not getting any younger. I hope we can find each other. Love, Linda
21. MikePollock : Born in Des Moines Iowa
22. Calobro35 : Baby girl named Lisa at birth. Believe she was adopted out of Fairfield‚ Iowa. Mothers name Nancy VonEnde Witt
23. Kessea123 : My self and his family (parents and full blooded sister), have been looking for him for years. With no luck. But we try everything and anything to find him. He’s was born in Waterloo, Iowa on February 28, 1970.
24. Bufford22 : Born at Fort Madison Hospital. Adopted thru Lutheran Social Services
25. 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.
26. Aecroxton : i am looking for my grandmothers daughter she gave up when she was 16 or17 she remembers her name being jennifer linn but nothing else alll we know is her births date is roughly 2-2-1954 my grandma kept this a secret for 40 years and recently wrote a book and told the truth and told me to find her daughter and that she never wanted to give her up but her mom and the dr told her she had no choice and has never reveald the father.
27. 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.
28. Areillyfletcher : I am trying to locate my daughter that I placed for adoption in 1981. I always hoped that she would find me‚ I even have my personal information updated on her closed adoption records in case she wanted to find me. I think about her every day and wonder if she thinks about me too. My husband and I don’t have any children and I have always wondered if we could form some kind of relationship. I hope she had a great life growing up and hope her and her older sister had wonderful parents. I have many questions and hopefully many answers to share if I could just locate her.
29. 0310 : My last name was Hobbs. I was adopted when I was 8
30. Vheard99 : I just completed my ancestrydna profile so I’m on there as well.
