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 1,204,963 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
2686. SeekingAlbinoBrother : I am not sure what day in april of 1975 he was born. He is albino!!
2687. Kellysykes4567 : I’m looking for my birth dad. My mom doesn’t know much about him but I know I was convinced around October 21st in 2000 possibly St. Catharines Ontario since she lived there at the time. Her name is Lindsey and she would have been 19 around that time
2688. Richard08021969 : I was adopted twice once at a year old then again at four I grow up in Saugus I live in Exeter now
2689. Lyndareid1962 : I am looking for a helen ann mcLachlan (birth name) born Oct 29,1959 birth mothers name is Jean ellen mcLachlan, she was born june 6,1944 in leeds england. I was born in Kingston Ontario. Birth mother lived with an aunt and uncle in Kingston, their last name was Pollock
2690. TraceyFroome : Born in Ottawa at the Grace Hospital Father is Terry Turnbull (born May 24/1954-56) Son’s name was James Robert Froome Mother is Tracey Marie Froome (born April 3, 1961)
2691. Belletsa1972 : Adoptive parents names Sy and Libby
2692. Hollyfontyn : My grandmother gave up a baby for adoption between the ages of 18 and older. Her name was Helen Elstone‚ I’m looking for her or any relatives that fit this description
2693. Shaybear24 : Tyeden Alexander Moore crown ward of C.A.S. Toronto adopted 2012 born women’s collage hospital mom Shannon yarrow dad jamiel moore
2694. Jess_calder2 : I really don’t know much all I know was that I was born in St. Catherines and that on my first ever health card my last name was Gordon
2695. MandyB2018 : Adoption took place in Brampton hospital, adoptive parents were Joyce and Samuel Walker
2696. Angdillabough : Looking for my brother who was adopted, may have been named Alexander at birth. I have no idea of month of birth. I was born in Dec, 1973.
2697. Patricia2011 : I am looking for my birth mother her name Is Janet Olga Hnatuik. I was born November 21st 1954 a St Michael Hospital in Toronto,Ontario. There also is a sibling by DM Martin
2698. Carryann : Looking for twin grandsons given names were Cody and Dylan Rowles
2699. Ellenlainez001 : Looking for my granddaughter born in Ottawa Aug 14, 1995. Named Sheena Berry at birth.
2700. Darylnelson : Hi my mother was adopted when she was a baby and I need too find out more information about her biological parents as my mother was clearly Aboriginal and this is required for aboriginal status application and it would be good too know more . My mother has since passed away I remember her telling me that when she was adopted as a baby her new parents changed her name from Michel too Karen but I’m not totally sure her full name was Karen Lyn Freelen
