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 1,204,959 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
3361. Emmy70 : Hi I was born March 31 1970 in Toronto ont. My birth mother was Jean margaret Mackenzie and she was 38yrs old. She was divorced and had 1 child already. She lived on Andale drive in Willowdale ont. She had named me Jessica. I was born at st micheals hospital. I would love to meet her or my older sibling. I had a good life but always wondered what your like and if I look like you
3362. Mandylj : Hello my name is Mandy and I am looking for my long lost son to whom was adopted out sometime in 2008/2009. The name I gave him would of been Jerame Michael Snelling (his fathers last name) or James (my last name) Jerame was born in Newmarket Southlake Hospital at 7lbs 16oz on November 21st, 2005 I am now living in Trenton Ontario but my family still live in keswick, Ontario where I lived for 16 years. My mother’s name is Lynda, my sisters name is amber and I have a brother named Braydon. Keswick was the last known address when I had Jerame last. I hope to be reunited with him again.
3363. Joehickey : Hello, your name at birth was Mark Allan Saunders and born at the Henderson Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. You were placed for adoption with the Hamilton Children’s Aid Society. your birth mother’s name was Beverly Anne Saunders.
3364. JoanneBaxtrom : I was born in St. John’s NL
3365. Bonnie1965 : I’m trying to find my real parents I know my name was Kelly Ann strong when I was born. I was born at North York Hospital in Toronto Ontario.
3366. Emrilia : London children’s hospital was place of birth Was immediately put into foster care, and later adopted by foster family.
3367. Kerriae : Birth name , Jason Paul Johnston or Johnson . Born in Ottawa . Fathers name James albert , May not be listed on certificate
3368. Rickgilfillan : I was born in Toronto
3369. BrettG : Parents were from Woodstock. My birth name was Andrew Rex Darcy (changed at 9 mos.)
3370. Forget : Fenelon Falls, Ontario
3371. Maryanneminov1982 : I’m trying to find my birth mother for personal reasons .
3372. Maggiemo : Looking for my grandmothers birth mother and father. She was born in (we think) Ontario, and her birthday is April 27th, 1936. Her name is Mary Margaret. We are not sure if that was the name her birth mother gave her, or if it was the name she was given by her adopted family. Not sure when she was adopted, just know her birthdate.
3373. KMills979 : I am searching for the birth parents of my mother, Marion Jean White, born June 7, 1924 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario. She grew up in London, ON with her adopted father, Clyde Elliot White and step-mother, Charlotte (nee McCormick). She trained as a nurse and worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital in London, Ontario until she married Douglas Macklay Vernor Mills in or about 1946. They had 2 children, who were born in London, ON (John Douglas Mills born October 28, 1948 and Charlotte Ann Travis nee Mills born April 3, 1952). My parents moved to Windsor, Ontario in or around 1953. I was born in Windsor on August 16, 1955 (Kathryn Beryl Mills) and my sister, Sarah Jane Bragg (nee Mills) was born October 26, 1958. She was adopted within her first year of birth by Claude Elliot White and Geraldine White (nee Roulston). They resided in London, Ontario. Within approximately 2 years of her adoption, her mother, Geraldine Roulston died. Her father remarried Charlotte Eva McCormick also of London, Ontario. My mother spent her middle age years trying to find her birth parents with no success. She passed away on April 24, 2014 in Burlington, Ontario. I do not know anything about her birth parents or even if my mother was given a name at birth. I do know given my Ancestry DNA results that both her birth parents were 100% Eastern European Jewish decent. I look forward to finding any results that could lead to knowledge of my mother’s birth family.
3374. Stephenrebecca : born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, I have 3 sisters that I am aware of
3375. Momof42020 : I am looking for my dad (Chris) and my aunt Maureen’s birth father. Both my dad and my aunt and their mom (my grandma) have passed away. They were born in the Yukon or in the Northwest territories. Sadly I have no information on their birth father (my biological grandpa) I’m just seeing if I’m able to reach out to someone who may have known them. My grandmas last name that I know of was Shaughnessy, and then became Barrowcliff after marriage to a different man.
