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 1,204,964 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.
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A Few of Our Members Currently Searching Within Ontario Who Chose To Be Featured
436. Hobart54 : Looking for my late husbands brother who was adopted in the Niagara/Hamilton area in 1953
437. Hpjrt : nothing at this time
438. MorganStasiewicz : Blonde hair, blue eyes, Caucasian, medium build (130lbs). 5"4, shoe size 8, epileptic. no freckles, no allergies, no illnesses or other disorders, attached earlobes, I think I’m type O blood type. Kitchener hospital Latter day saint adoption, Mormon. (Not sure if that important) Josi & Stan are my adopted parents I live in Mississauga
439. GerryRunolfson : My brother Larry Runolfson,,who died in 1992 had a child in about 1957 when he was about 14 or 15 years old. I want to include this child in my will as I am now 76 years old and have been trying for many years to find him. I can send you a copy of my brothers death certificate. I do not know for sure which hospital in Regina was involved in the birth of this child. The mothers name was Darlene Stewart of Raymore Sask, and my brother was from Semans Sask. Can you please help me locate my nephew. Thank You Regards Gerry Runolfson , Vancouver BC
440. Everythingbutyou : I was adopted out of Peterborough Ontario...through the Children’s Aid Society.
441. Babyboy1977 : Looking for mother/father. Boy born Feb 1977 With birth name SEAN or SHAWN. I was adopted i think before i was 6 months old. Mother was very young. I believe I was born in Toronto and went threw the catholic childrens aid society adoption. I am above average tall so 1 or both parents will be giant height. I believe both my parents were involved with horses (trainer, Breeder, something like that)
442. Suzan58 : My adopted parents are both deceased and I would like to find y birth parents .Foe many reasons health being the main reason
443. JelenaG : Given name at birth: Michelle Maiden name of birth mother starts with ’B’. Maternal ancestry: Swiss
444. Bubby : my given name was hudgens and I was born in Toronto general hospital would like to meet mother father or sibs also need medical history
445. Belfast64 : The name given to me at birth was Jane Mary McKenna. I was born on May 9, 1964 at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario Canada. My birth mother’s name was Jane Mary McKenna. Jane, along with her parents Gerald & Maureen, and siblings Roberta, Carol, Noel, Paul and Jerry came to Toronto Ontario, from Belfast Ireland in 1957. My birth father’s name might be Peter Smith. His date of birth is approx 1937. He might have been raised in either Toronto or Nova Scotia. He may also have a degree in Engineering. Jane and Peter were a couple in the summer of ’63.
446. Sarahjashfield : -Born in london Ontario, St. Joseph’s hospital -I believe that my birth mother’s surname is Angus
447. Charlotte83 : I am searching for my son. He was born on Jan. 24 1983. His given name was Christopher Lee O’Connor. Born at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown PE. Either Catholic family Services or the Province of PEI were the adoption agencies. The adoption would have taken place after March 1983.The adoption was possibly in Ontario.
448. Jcollar : Birth mother name Jennifer Born in Belleville General Hospital Belleville Ontario Cas handled adoption
449. JacquelineSchett : I was born Rayann W. on May 19, 1979 at Scarborough General Hospital. My birth mother gave me up for adoption because I was concieved out of wed lock and she wanted me to have every opportunity in life, which she felt she could not provide. She never told my birth father about me, as he was married with children and did not want to cause an upset for his family. She was very close with her own father who passed away when she was 12, still had her mother and brother at the time of my birth. She was very traumatized by the entire ordeal and could hardly speak about the birth. In 1999 the Toronto Children’s Aid Society reached out to her to see if she would like to make contact, at which point she did not saying it was simply too painful. In 2008 she signed a VETO to keep my family name from my original birth certificate stating that my "adoptive family was my realy family in every way" and that she "could offer nothing to me at this point". I desperately want to find her and thank her in person for being such a courageous and amazingly strong woman who put her baby’s needs before her own. I also would like medical information as there are some issues with my own health and those of my daughters. I hope we find each other.
450. Tmavin : May 5th 2017. I was born Todd Arron Burke, in the East York Hospital in Toronto Ontario, April 12 1987. I received letters from my adoptive parents when I was 13, as per your wishes. In those letters you told me you loved and cared for me so deeply and that this was the hardest thing you would ever have to do. You let me know I had a brother and that you would always keep your name in the registry with the Ontario adoption agency. I reached out to the agency and received the adoption records, and I now have your name. Marie Dale Burke.... I have so many questions to ask and so much to tell. If you see this Mom, come find me....
