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
2386. LaurieAnne87 : Looking for my brother Kevin David Angus . Born in Toronto September 8th 1969 . He has six siblings and a mother looking for him who never wanted to give him up for adoption . please if your out there contact me .
2387. Chantelle34 : As far as I know her name is Jade and her sisters name is Brooklyn.. they were both my daughters. And they were adopted within a few months. Jade was born in 2006 and Brooklyn (they changed her name without our consent it was Jasmin) in April 2008. We had an arrangement with the family to get letters and pictures and they were faithfully sending them till 2018 And just recently no one can get ahold of them we used to get pictures and now I don’t.
2388. Lauren112 : I am looking my half brother who was born in toronto Ontario in 1969. Birth parents are margaret ross and David laprairie. My father doesn’t remember the exact date but it was 1969 in toronto ontario. He was a resident of ville st Laurent (montreal qc) as was Margaret ross I believe also at the time . I picked January as the month because I was not able to continue otherwise. It may very well be any other month.
2389. JonPolley : Dwayne Duane Daryl-Anne Ray Ontario New Brunswick
2390. Kyzzle : Curiosity
2391. PaulAwalt1979 : I am looking for my son Paul Awalt born june 7‚ 2010 in St Catherince‚ Ont‚ and his two sisters Amanda Awalt and Natalie Awalt. All got adopted together parents names are Paul Awalt jr and Sarah Melkert‚ worker’s name was Zanka Marinick. They were adopted in 2014/2015 and for what i heard they got adopted to a family in Welland‚ Ontario. I live in ontario. with there 12 year old sister Alexis Awalt.
2392. ACampbell8763 : My mother, Ruth Campbell, gave birth to a boy. Early 1950’s in either Detroit or Windsor. Not sure.
2393. Rlaura711 : I am looking for my son. I named him Michael at birth and he was re-named Josiah Michael by his adoptive parents, Chris and Lydia. It’s an open adoption. He was born on May 11, 2000 in Ottawa at the Queensway-Carleton hospital. He was adopted on mother’s day that year, when he was 3 days old. He has a younger brother named Levi who Chris and Lydia also adopted a couple of years after Michael.
2394. Cody1Adnitt2 : Born in Burlington Ontario, adopted by Bob and Dorothy Adnitt, birth mom was young. Birth mom may of been using and had mental illnesses.
2395. Davidm1961 : i was born in toronto, ontario. my maternal name was david george dean.
2396. Erica1979 : Looking for half sister or possibly brother born mid 70’s. We share the same birth father, Donald Ross Perry who was of London Ontario Canada. Birth mothers name is possibly Victoria black? Adoption was closed.
2397. Janetmclean1963 : I have new information that might have my name as Marie Coth at birth and not Cote.
2398. Judybelair74 : Looking for my birth father and his family. Maybe mom was Arlene Jacobs born 1959. My father was in his 40s and she was 15 when I was born in 1974 in Toronto.
2399. SusanCap : Hi I would like to connect up with my paternal birth family. I am of Irish descent, born at Brantford General Hospital. Brantford Children Aid handled everything concerning my being made a ward of the crown and future adoption.
2400. TerriHughes : My mom had a son in 1954 at age 16. She care for him for between 11 months and a year and a half before surrendering him. He was wanted and loved. His birth name was Douglas John Kirby.
