How to Open Closed Adoption Files in Washington State

If your family was separated by adoption in Washington state, you can reconnect with the help of the courts.

Washington state adoption records are confidential and can only be opened with a court order. If you are an adoptee under 21 years of age, you must have your adoptive parents' consent to petition the court for your file, and if you are the birth relative of an adoptee, you must wait until she has come of age to conduct your search. Within these restrictions, all Washington state adoptees and birth relatives can gain access to their adoption files if they go through the proper legal channels.

Things You'll Need

• Court order
• Confidential intermediary's fee

Instructions

1. Gather all the information you have on the adoption. Make a list of known facts and, if you have any documents proving those facts, compile them and make copies. The more information you can provide, the faster the authorities will be able to identify your case and issue your court order. The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, which manages adoptions, lists the adopted child's birth name, date of birth, adoptive name, adoptive parents' names, the date of the adoption and the county where the adoption took place as information that may be helpful.

2. Visit your county's clerk of courts office. If you don't know where it is, look it up in the Court Directory on the Washington Courts Website (see Resources). Tell the clerk that you need a court order to open a closed adoption file. Procedures for obtaining the court order may vary from county to county, but the clerk will be able to tell you exactly how to proceed. Follow his instructions in petitioning the court.

3. Ask the court for a confidential intermediary. This is a neutral third party the court will appoint to review the identifying information in your file and use it to conduct a search for your birth relatives or the adoptee. This way, adoption reunion is possible without breaking Washington's strict confidentiality laws. The confidential intermediary will deliver the information in your files to you and find and contact your relatives if that is your wish. You will need to pay the confidential intermediary for her services.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't worry if you don't have all of the information mentioned in Step 1. It is helpful but not required.

• If you're feeling overwhelmed by the process of petitioning the courts or would like help, contact the Washington Adoption Reunion Movement (WARM). Submit your information to it and the organization will obtain your court order and dispatch one of its own confidential intermediaries. WARM services cost money, but the organization also has a free search registry that will match you with your relatives if you both enter your information (see Resources).

• If you would be content with non-identifying information about your relatives, such as first names and details about heritage, occupation and education, you do not need to go through the court order process. You can request this information directly from the Department of Social and Health Services.

• Searching for family members can be an emotional process. Consider joining a support group. WARM offers groups for adoptees and their birth relatives (see Resources).

References

• Washington Department of Social and Health Services: Adoption Search in Washington State

Resources

• Washington Courts: Superior, Juvenile, District & Municipal Courts by County
• Washington Adoption Reunion Movement (WARM)