Guidance notes for an adopted person to apply for entry onto part 1 of the Adoption Contact Register (accessible version)
Updated 4 March 2024
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Please use these guidance notes when completing the application form.
The Adoption and Children Act of 2002 provides for the Registrar General for England and Wales to operate an Adoption Contact Register allowing adopted people and their birth relatives to register their contact wishes.
In order to register on Part 1 of the Contact Register you must be 18 years or over and a record of your birth or adoption must be held by the Registrar General for England and Wales.
The registration fee for an adopted person is £15.00.
If you are an adopted person and a relative you want to contact is also adopted you may wish to register on Part 2. Please contact GRO for advice.
If your birth or adoption took place in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Eire you may also wish to contact the organisations below for advice:
Birth Link, Family Care
Tel: 0131 225 6441
Fax: 0131 225 6478
Email: mail@birthlink.org.uk
Website: Birthlink
Northern Ireland General Register Office
Tel: :0300 200 7890
Email: gro_nisra@dfpni.gov.uk
Website: Northern Ireland General Register Office
General Register Office Eire
Tel: +353 (0) 90 6632900
How to complete the form
Section 1 Your Current Details
If a link is made your contact details will not be passed onto your birth relative
1.1 Provide your current name and address.
1.2 Provide a telephone number for use if our office needs to contact you about your application
1.3 Indicate if you are happy for GRO to email you
Section 2 Intermediary/Third Party Details
If you need any assistance completing this section please contact us for advice on the number or email below.
2.1 Complete this section if you wish to use a third party address Section
Section 3 Your Birth Details
If you do not know the required * birth details please contact us for advice on the number or email below.
3.1 Complete your surname and forename(s) and date of birth. If you were not given a forename at birth please state “none given”
3.2 Complete birth mothers surname at time of your birth, this could assist us to trace your details
Section 4 Your Adoption Details
4.1 Provide the details relating to your adoption
Section 5 Declaration
You can register a wish for contact and/or no contact. If you need any assistance completing this section, please contact us for advice on the number or email below.
5.1 You must complete your current full name, address and date of birth
5.2 Pease state who you wish to have contact with. You may want to state ‘all’ relatives, or select particular relative(s).Continue to 5.4 Declaration, unless you also want to record a wish for No Contact
5.3 Please state your relationship to the person who you do not wish to have contact with. You may want to state ‘all’ relatives or select particular relationships e.g. birth mother. See “If a link occurs” overleaf.
5.4 You must sign and date the declaration
By completing Section 5 you are declaring that you are the adopted person and you wish to have your details entered on to Part 1 of the Adoption Contact Register.
Section 6 Payment Details
Return your completed application form and payment to:
Adoptions Section Room C202
Smedley Hydro, Trafalgar Road
Southport, Merseyside
PR8 2HH
Telephone: 0300 123 1837
Text Relay: 18001 0300 123 1837
Email: adoptions@gro.gov.uk
Website: Adoption records: Accessing your birth records - GOV.UK
What happens once you have registered
We will write to you to confirm that your wishes have been registered and whether or not a link has been made.
If a link occurs
Contact with all relatives
If you have registered a wish for contact with “all” relative(s) and your birth relative(s) have also applied for contact you will be notified of their wishes and given their name and contact details, it is then up to you to make contact if you wish. We notify your birth relative(s) of the link but we do not pass them your contact details. If you have used a third party intermediary (Section 2) we will also inform them that a link has been made.
Specific Contact
If you have registered for specific contact with a particular birth relative and that relative has also applied for contact you will be notified and given their name and contact details, it is then up to you to make contact if you wish. We notify your specified birth relative(s) that a link has occurred but we do not pass them your contact details. You will also be advised of any other relatives who have registered a wish for contact, however if they are not the relative you have specified they will not be notified of the link.
No Contact
If you have registered a wish for no contact we will still notify you of any birth relatives who have applied for contact. We will not inform these relatives of your no contact wish.
If a birth relative uses an Intermediary Agency to assist in tracing, and that agency applies to us for information from the Contact Register, the agency will be informed of your wish for No Contact. Therefore an Intermediary Agency may still approach you to confirm your current contact wishes.
If a birth relative has registered a wish for no contact you will not be informed by us. We can only pass their no contact wishes to an Approved Intermediary Agency if an application is made to us for that information.
Intermediary/Adoption Support Agencies
Adopted people and birth relatives can also approach Registered Intermediary Agencies for advice on tracing. These Agencies can obtain information from the General Register Office which may assist them to find an adopted person or a birth relative(s).If you wish to find out more about these services please contact the Adoption Section on the number shown above. Please be aware they may charge for their services
If you wish to change any of your details or be removed from the register, you will need to inform GRO in writing or by email.