Finding birth parents or adopted children
If you were adopted, Islington Adoption Service can help you find your birth parents.
We can do this if:
- you were born in Islington
- you now live in Islington
- Islington Council handled your adoption
If you’re 18 or over, you have the legal right to information about your adoption. Counselling is available to help discuss matters of adoption tracing and reunion. If you were born before November 1975, you must seek counselling before you’re given access to your birth records.
If you’re under 18 and want to find out about your birth parents, speak to your adoptive parents and ask them to share the information they have with you. They can contact the adoption team for more information.
If you know your birth name, you can get a copy of your birth certificate from the General Register Office. This will contain the name of your birth mother and possibly your birth father. You can then contact the adoption team or begin tracing your birth parent(s) yourself. Our social workers can provide counselling and give advice on people and organisations that can help you further.
You can add yourself the Adoption Contact Register. If your birth parents have also done this, the service will then let them know that you’re trying to contact them. No information is passed without the knowledge of each party. It costs £15 to add your details to the register.
Finding an adopted relative
If you're a relative who has been affected by adoption, such as a parent, grandparent or sibling, we can offer you advice and help in making contact with an adopted relative. This could include advice on registering your details on the Contact Register or searching from public records.
We also offer a counselling service for birth relatives seeking information or wishing to trace an adopted child, to help you prepare for the information you may receive, and before and after meeting your relative.
Contact
Phone: 0800 073 3344
Phone: 020 7527 4777; Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm