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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10,989 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 1,204,960 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
1816. Randyleedoucette : My sister’s name was Janet Elizabeth Yuratovich at birth. She was adopted to a family in the Kitchener Waterloo area in approx 1956 i believe. Her birth brother born Michael James and I have met and maintain a relationship. Please if you read this message - contact me. Thank you
1817. Tweety66 : I was born in Sue St. Marie Ontario. Birth name was Tammy-Ann Margret Franklin. Have been told my maternal grandfather worked for Algoma steel. Was adopted within a few days of birth.
1818. Roseee : I was born in North York General hospital My birth mother’s first name is Charlotte She was 15 or 16 in 2001
1819. Suskkat1111 : Grace hospital
1820. ArthurClarke : Birth name was James Blythe
1821. DawnLeeMoroz : My birth name was Dawn Lee Moroz born in Windsor Ontario at Grace Hospital.
1822. CStanton : My son wants to meet his birth father some time I have no clue how to help. His name is Bob Brown or Robert from Toronto On he lived on Kingston Road .
1823. Lookin4seester : Mothers name was Georgette Peterson, place of birth would have been Cornwall Ontario. Sister would have been born sometime between the 20 and the 25 of March 1965.
1824. Christa_Brownlee : Mother’s name at birth is Heather Harris and father’s name is Robert Brownlee I think the adoption happened in Brantford Ontario
1825. Suetravel : Gayle Pearce birth mother City of birth mom Rexdale City of birth North york Age of birth mom at time of birth 19yrs
1826. Las1069 : Her birth last name would be Andrew. Her birth mother was born in Hamilton, Ontario. She would have been born at St. Joseph’s in Hamilton. Her birth mother had 3 sisters. Not quite sure of the birth month.
1827. PhilippeLahoud : Looking for mom lived in Chatham in my dad’s apartment complex
1828. Johnwalker2121 : Born chatham on at st Joseph hospital Oct 20 1970
1829. Catlingjm88 : I am a 30 year old mother, looking for her very much missed sister who was born 10 years and 11 days (if I remember correctly if not 10 days) after me, in the same hospital, on the same floor. My father died (we shared a father and her mother was my step mother) in 2001 and my step mother was then some how deemed unfit to care for her. Her name is or was Terri-Lynn Hamilton-Catling. She was born June 10/11th 1998 in London Ontario. She’d be 20 this year. Her father loved her so so much. We love her so so much. I think of her very often. Almost daily. I think she was around 4-5 when she was adopted. Between the years of 2002-2003 I believe. Or at least placed in foster care with her soon to be adoptive parents. I’d just like her to know she wasn’t not loved. She WAS AND IS loved. And is missed. Very very much. She’s an aunt to a little nephew and soon to be another. I’d love to see the woman she’s grown to be and tell her her father also loved her so very much. And talked everyday of fighting to get her back. I’d love to tell her she was never forgotten.
1830. Mjahn84 : My dad was adopted in Port Arthur, Ontario. His original birth name was Gerald Stirrup.
