Ontario Adoption Records
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Accessing Adoption Records in Ontario
In 2008, Ontario opened adoption records to allow adoptees and birth parents access to personal and family information. The province keeps records for all adopted children born in Ontario, even if the adoption was handled elsewhere.
While Ontario adoption records are open, the steps you need to complete to access the information you want can be overwhelming. Lengthy processing times may delay your search, and some information isn’t available to biological siblings, grandparents, or other relatives.
If you’re having trouble getting adoption records in Ontario, Adopted.com is here to help. Our voluntary reunion registry allows anyone impacted by an adoption to register and search for their family members. Reunions happen through mutual consent, whether you have official records or not.
To begin your search, you just need to fill out a simple form with ten questions you likely know about your adoption. If there’s a potential match on the platform, you’ll be notified right away.
We have the largest voluntary adoption registry in the world, with people searching for family members in Toronto, Ottawa, and across the entire province. Register today to take the first step toward a potential reunion.
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10,373 Are Adoption Records Public in Ontario?
Yes, Ontario passed a law in 2008 to open adoption records, including birth registrations and adoption orders. Under this law, adoptees and birth parents can access information from sealed adoption records. The information includes an adoptee’s original name and their birth parents’ names. Birth parents can learn the name the child was given after the adoption.
By request, the Ontario government will release this information, as long as the adoptee or birth parent has not filed a disclosure veto to protect their privacy.
How to Find Adoption Records in Ontario
There are different steps to find adoption records in Ontario, depending on your involvement in the adoption and the information you want to access. You can request both identifying and non-identifying information through ServiceOntario.
Non-identifying information refers to details that don’t reveal the names or contact information of anyone involved in the adoption. This information can include the adoption date, the adoption agency, and the birth family’s medical history.
You can request non-identifying information in Ontario if you’re:
- An adoptee who’s at least 18 years old
- An adoptee under 18 with your adoptive parent’s consent
- An adoptive parent
- A biological parent, grandparent, or sibling of the adoptee
- A child of a deceased adoptee
- A birth parent’s sibling
You may also have access to identifying information from an original birth registration or an adoption order. This information can show you the identities of people involved in the adoption. It may include the adoptee’s name at birth or after adoption, the birth parents’ names, and the adoptive parents’ names.
You may be able to access this information if you’re:
- An adoptee who’s at least 18 years old
- A birth parent if the adoptee is at least 19 years old
There’s no fee to access adoption records in Ontario. You just need to complete the correct form and mail it to the address listed. You can’t fax, email, or deliver an application in person.
How Can I Find a Biological Parent in Ontario?
If you’re an adoptee, you can find your biological parents’ names by requesting post-adoption information through ServiceOntario. However, if one or both of your birth parents have asked to keep their identities private, you will not receive this information.
Birth parents can also agree to release information but ask not to be contacted. If your biological parent has completed a no-contact notice and you attempt to contact them anyway, you can be fined up to $50,000.
How Can I Find Someone Who Was Adopted in Ontario?
You can only request an adoptee’s identifying information if you’re the biological parent. The adoptee must also be at least 19 years old before you can search for them. This rule gives an adoptee one year after they turn 18 to file their privacy and contact preferences.
Just like birth parents, an adoptee has the right to keep their identity private or ask not to be contacted by their biological family. If the adoptee has a no-contact notice on file and you contact them anyway, you can be fined up to $50,000.
Other biological relatives, including grandparents and siblings, can’t access identifying information from adoption records, but they can join the Adoption Disclosure Register. If you register, you’ll be notified if or when a match occurs.
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 Ontario Who Chose To Be Featured
136. Swanson70 : I was born in Scarborough, Ontario on January 16th, 1970. The name given to me on my birth certificate was : Christopher Charles Chalk. Update: I found my Birth Mother, her name was Donalda Chalk, unfortunately she passed away in 2005. I did find 4 half siblings (3 f, 1 m) and possibly a full sibling (f). I do not know the name of my Birth Father. Donalda was not married at the time of my birth and possible full sibling. Donalda was 38 years old at the time of my birth and separated/divorced from her husband William Chalk for many years prior to my birth and birth of my possible full sibling. I have been told that it is possible that Donalda was having an affair with a married man whom had fathered me and my possible full sibling. My half siblings at the time of my birth were between the ages of 6-17 .
137. Britkat : I really want to find my birth mother, she had me in London Ontario, I think about her every day. I believe her name is Mary. <3
138. Kparker64 : my name was Diana Marie Rodgers born at 5:06am on 1/15/64 in Toronto. My adopted name is Kelly Marie Matthews. I relocated to the USA when I was 5.
139. Ridergirl : Looking for brother - born in Sept/Oct/Nov 1962 at Grace Hospital Ottawa, Ontario. Born Richard Scott Hollis.
140. Jhann : Born in Wingham
141. Blakeney59 : Milligan, Perth Ontario
142. IDesLauriers : My baby girl was taken from me at Kingston General Hospital within days of birth due to heart complications and doctors using confusing medical terms while I was low on sleep to make me seem non compliant. Following that I rarely saw my daughter. Whenever I did, she had a tube in her nose to feed her through. Seeing her for visits was rare, and she cried as if she didn’t know me at all whenever a visit happened. In the end, the Belleville Ontario Children’s Aid Society won their case against me, using trumped up charges as a reason to take my daughter away from me. They would allow me to give her a toy that could not be traced back to me and a letter that had no last names on it so she could not easily trace me. When she was born, I was Muslim. Her mother was an American Citizen. My name is Ian Deslauriers. That is what’s on my birth certificate. My daughter Aziza was born with her mother’s middle name Kay and my middle name Anthony, to be unique. Her Ontario health card, which I still have to this day, has her name as Aziza K DesLauriers
143. Ryanryder : windsor ontario‚ hotel dieu grace hospital‚ lastname at birth was ryder
144. Amtwhite : I am adopted person born in Toronto at Princess Margaret Hospital. Parents were from New Brunswick, last name Murray. I understand parents were married at the time, and am aware of a brother approximately two years old when I was born. Given up shortly after birth to a foster mother.
145. Lorrielal : I am looking for a birth Uncle or his family, my father’s brother. My father was born in Windsor Ontario Canada in 1936 and adopted through Children’s Aid Society, his brother was born into the same situation in 1943 and adopted finalized in 1945. Adoptive father was a mechanic and operated a garage, born in 1910 and Belgian in origin. Mother was born in 1913. They adopted another male child in 1944 and a female child born in 1951.
146. Gwenjkaiser : Leigh Ann Simons
147. Spellbinder22 : My birth name was david shunk and born in scarborough
148. ClaudeEagle : Mother’s date of birth is July 11th, 1963. Same as mine. Lived in Thunder Bay area at the time of conception.
149. Debbdockrill : You were named Nathan Chancellor Jeffery. I tried to be your Mother for 6+ months but was so frightened for your future. I was not in a good place and did NOT want you to be affected negatively in any way. You deserved to be with parents who were stable financially and emotionally. I loved you then and haved loved you everyday since then. You were born in Edmonton, Albert but we moved to my Father’s and step Mother’s home in Pembroke, Ontario, just after you were born. You were given up for adoption through the Children’s Aid Society in Pembroke, Ontario. My name is Deborah Leigh Dockrill (nee: White) born 10 Sep 1964.
150. Bigdog44 : I am looking for my brother. You were born in Toronto and your birth mothers first name was Rose and you had an older brother named Rick that’s me. Your adopted mother was a pianist and your father was a private pilot. Your first name is Kevin and your adopted parents adopted a sister for you at about age 6 You were adopted through the Catholic children’s aid on Welseley st in Toronto.
