If you were adopted, how do you obtain your original birth certificate/other documents?

Asked by jaeger (164

) April 7th, 2008

I was adopted at age 6, and the process was finalized at age 8. My current birth certificate is an official document [able to be used for passport information, etc]. It was made official by a judge who stamped it with a State of Michigan seal 8 years after my birth.

The current birth certificate has my name changed to that of my current parents, and has them listed as birth parents, along with their SS#‘s etc.

I want my original information. I have seriously considered divorcing my current family. I want to find my original Puerto Rican heritage and to get my Hispanic name back – and dump this European name.

Now that you know the background, what are the departments or official bodies I should contact?

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4 Answers

I was in San Francisco requesting my birth certificate a couple of months ago. On the form, it asks if you were adopted, and if so, for the names of your birth parents. I would imagine other county vital records departments would have a similar way of tracking your original birth certificate.

jz1220 (829

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What state department office were you in when getting those records?

jaeger (164

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It was called the San Francisco Public Health office, and inside the building there’s a place to retrieve vital records like birth, marriage and death certificates.

jz1220 (829

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