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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10,986 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 1,205,526 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
4696. Elgin4066 : Born at Riverside Hospital‚ Ottawa Ontario
4697. MLD1964 : Born in Toronto - Wellesley Hospital Name given at birth - Margaret
4698. Search985 : My birth name was Nancy Jo Mary M. My adoptive name is Kristin Marie MacMillan and my adoptive parents are Janet Lyn MacMillan and George Robert Lee MacMillan. I was born at Brockville General Hospital in Brockville‚ Ontario on February 5‚ 1981.
4699. Sunflower55 : Born in Toronto May have been a triplet
4700. Smashley1983 : My mother gave up a child for adoption and my sister and I would like to find them.
4701. JohnSeymour : Mother was living in or around the town of Omemee‚ Kawartha Lakes Ontario.
4702. Sarahmkjohnson1986 : my chante was taken after her 3rd birthdate.... a couple weeks after their fun party family matters stirred up and it wound up that my defending my kids and home resulted in me getting put into incarseratiobn. at the time i was made to look bad. was then railroaded by family and children services and the girls were aprehended. being that i was young with fewer supports i was robbed of my family home and life with my children.... spending years trying to regain my life back i now have the means‚ accomodations and home to start over and do right by my daughters... we must find them and reunite us. im happy to have found this site. the free lawyers havent been much help
4703. KatieTask : Hi! I am searching for my Aunt. I have very limited information. My Granda Patricia Rose Walsh had a baby girl. In the years of 1946-1951 somewhere I assume Toronto or around. There is 4 siblings one passed who you may have. My name is Katie. I’d love to find my moms sister. My grandma was unwed and we don’t know the father of this baby. Whoever you are I’d love to find you.
4704. LynLark72 : Born Carolyn Louise Larkin in Scarborough hospital to Shelley Arlene Larkin. There are two older siblings‚ myself born 1972 and a brother 1973‚ who were both adopted out as well. We reunited. Hoping to find Carolyn
4705. Althorp : Birth name Stacy brent beddard‚ not sure if last name correct born at south peel hospital‚ mississauga ontario dob Feb 01 1969
4706. TianaISquires : I am looking for my Birth Mother Natalie. Last name initial A. I’ve been in touch with my birth father Mark. Just searching for my birth mother and in hopes to find any and all siblings.
4707. Geneaology106 : Born Gerald Edward Buck on October 7‚ 1929 in Toronto. Birth mother Eileen Buck. Was never told name of birth father.
4708. Willjackson : I am looking on behalf of my friend shauna Laney. Her birth parents came from Siberia Russia. She also has a sister named zoey laney. Her biological parents gave both girls up when shauna was 5 years old and zoey was 2 months old. Her adoptive parents live in leamington Ontario. It was a international adoptive exchange. Both girls moved from Siberia to leamington Ontario to live with their adoptive parents. Shauna currently lives in windsor Ontario.
4709. Lilltoad : My Birth Name was: Diane Krista Hoffman Diane Krista Hofmann Diane Krista Hofman Or Krista Diane Hoffman Krista Diane Hofmann Krista Diane Hofman Some variation of these names Born in Owen Sound Ontario
4710. JamesDawson : I was born by a young lady possibly 16 years old in Ottawa Ontario who already had a daughter possibly one year old and couldn’t imagine having two children so young.I later learned‚ my birth mother had another baby approximately four year after myself a boy she also put up for adoption which my adoptive parents were told about roughly two months after adopting my brother and they also couldn’t imagine two infants and myself I guess so declined. I was in an orphanage but it no longer exists nor do I know of its name. Just in Ottawa Ontario I do believe my adoptive parents said they saw a photo of my parents my mother was young and plain and my father was much older and handsome. They believe these were also the same biological parents to my two other siblings. This is all I have been ever told as it was a closed adoption then. Oh and my name at the time was Sean Ray or Shawn Ray which was changed when I was adopted around 15-18months although I was put up into the orphanage from the hospital we believe I’m 50 now so if my mother was roughly 16 I guess she would be 66-68 depending on their accuracy I’d have a older sister and a younger brother.
