Ontario Adoption Records
The world's largest adoption reunion registry for adoptees and families
Start Your Search Today
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.
Register Now Directory
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 1,204,964 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.
Register NowRECENT MEMBERS IN Ontario
-
Shawnammorey
4 hours ago
-
AngelaPuhr
4 hours ago
-
Jaygray
10 hours ago
-
Sven709
52 minutes ago
-
Wecouldbestars
17 hours ago
-
Stownes
21 hours ago
-
Heather83Ashl
22 hours ago
-
Jason15627
22 hours ago
-
Geoff35
1 hour ago
-
Lianeopal
2 hours ago
-
NBlanch66
6 hours ago
-
TBriden21
19 hours ago
-
Rufus1968
1 hour ago
-
TaraFortier
1 hour ago
-
Sandbox2025
2 hours ago
-
TomSnyder-Dan
5 hours ago
-
JenRen519
7 hours ago
-
AmberRTucker
7 hours ago
-
Alexisguinane
9 hours ago
-
Shotingstar19
15 hours ago
A Few of Our Members Currently Searching Within Ontario Who Chose To Be Featured
4096. DorothyMcEvoy : He was born at the Riverside Hospital, Ottawa. Given the name Richard & I believe he has red hair.
4097. MatthewMcGillivray : I am your paternal grandmother, as far as I know your name is Matthew William and your mother’s name was April. I think that you may have been adopted by some of her relatives in the Ottawa area. We sent letters and gifts for you, for the first few years, that your father Adam liked when young through the lawyer and don’t know if you got them. I also sent a long letter about your father who gave you up at 19 after much soul searching thinking it would be best for you. He’s an incredible man and you would be proud to have him as your father as I am proud to have him as my son.
4098. MotherLioness : Dearest Martin I have thought about you and Gabriella every day since you were both taken from me and placed for adoption by an order of the court. You both stated that you wanted to stay with me but you were so young at the time and the Judge disregarded your wishes. She made the decision to place you both for adoption. She also ordered that I could have no contact with you. It was and continues to be a heartbreaking decision that continues to affect me every day. It was unfair for each of us. Since that day and for all of these years‚ I have worried always about how safe you both are. I know that I would have been a good and caring mother if you had been allowed to stay with me and am angry at the system that separates children from the natural and instinctive love that only a birth mother can have for her child. This reality inspires me to go out into the community and actively protest for meaningful change and I have done this for years since the injustice forced on our family. I love you both dearly‚ think about you both always and‚ want with all of my heart for us to be reunited. My love for you both is unconditional and never-ending and will always be so. Martin‚ please contact me so that I know you are safe and ease the pain and worry I carry in my heart. Your brothers‚ Joshua and Robert also want contact with you. They live together in Brockville‚ Ontario. Our forever love‚ Your mother‚ Maureen Fennelly‚ Joshua and‚ Robert
4099. Drewrobson : Searching for birth parents or siblings. Name given by mother was Timothy
4100. Drewrobson : Kristina Marie or Christina Marie
4101. Familysearch97 : Hello‚ looking for my birth family. Born as Virginia “Ginny” Scheuerman on December 29, 1993 to Karen Hughes and Sam Scheuerman. I have a brother Thomas Scheuerman born on September 17, 1995. We were adopted in 1997. My birth parents would be around 55-60 years and were not together when I was adopted. I was born in Meaford‚ Ontario. I am aware we lived in Medford‚ Ontario and Williamsford‚ Ontario. as well. Grey/Bruce CAS handled our case.
4102. Familysearch97 : Hello‚ looking for my birth family. Born as Thomas Scheuerman on September 17‚ 1995 to Karen Hughes and Sam Scheuerman. I have a sister Virginia “Ginny” Scheuerman born on December 29‚ 1993. We were adopted in 1997. My birth parents would be around 55-60 years and were not together when I was adopted. I born in Meaford‚ Ontario. I am aware we lived in Medford‚ Ontario and Williamsford‚ Ontario. as well. Grey/Bruce CAS handled our case.
4103. Rskd : Birth mother‚ Michelle denice delafranier from Kitchener on
4104. StephenBoychuk06 : I was born at Mississauga General Hospital in 1985. Adopted a few weeks later by my Adopting Parents. Was informed at a young age of my adoption and I am now looking to connect with biological mother 38 years later.
4105. Ilovevega : Looking for either of my biological parents. I was born in Toronto on March 7th‚ 1984. I was I foster care after my birth and adopted at the age of 3. I don’t know my biological aren’t and have never had contact or successfully found either.
4106. JenniferStokes : My daughter was taken under a crown wardship order by the Kawartha Haliburton Childrens Aid Society wrongfully and adopted through this agency. I will never ever give up looking for her and since this time the rest of my children were returned and I am hoping to have her as well. She was approximately 1 and a half when adopted and she was born at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre on July 20‚ 2013 this hospital is in Peterborough‚ Ontario
4107. Abbstract93 : Hello‚ my name is Abby and I was adopted at birth at the Scarborough Grace Hospital with Dr. J. Gilmour through the Klein Law Office. My biological Mom’s middle name is Carrie-Anne and her last name is McLaughlin born on February 25‚ 1976 with blue eyes.
4108. Ontariosearch24 : A girl‚ likely born in Kitchener or Cambridge Ontario to birth mother Cheryl Skinner
4109. Cstockdale : I was adopted through the LDS church in September of 1982‚ six weeks after my birth on 8/6/82. I have a letter stating that my name at birth was Jennifer Lynn Rose N. I was born at the Sault Ste. Marie general hospital. Also included in the letter was information stating that my mother was young. 16‚ I believe‚ and my father was in his first year of college. The letter also stated that my mother was 1/2 English and 1/2 Scottish‚ and that my father was Italian.
4110. Joanne8972 : Searching for my birth mother. Her name is Jennifer Wilson (maiden) and she was born on October 26‚ 1953 in New Liskeard Ontario. My maiden name was Joanne Marie Millmore and my birth name was Melissa Leigh Wilson. I was born at St. Michaels in Toronto‚ Ontario in 1974.
