Adoption Records
How to Get Copies of Documents from the Adopttion Court File
Adoption files are confidential. You cannot see an adoption file without an order of the court. To ask for a Court order, submit a Petition on Pleading Paper or Local Form L-1310 to the Family Law Clerk’s Office at the Lamoreaux Justice Center, 7th Floor Room 706.
The Court will mail you an order to tell you if you can or cannot view the records.
You may be required to pay for copies of the requested documents.
Obtaining an Amended Birth Cerificate After Adoption
The Court does not maintain birth certificates. Please contact the County Recorder within the county in which the adoption occurred for birth certificate records.
After the adoption is final, the Court Clerk will mail the Court Report of Adoption (VS-44) to the State Registrar at the California Department of Health Services. After processing, you will receive an amended birth certificate from the State Registrar.