Arkansas has a mutual consent registry to access adoption records.
Adoption laws vary from state to state. State legislatures and courts restrict access to adoption records to protect the confidentiality of everyone involved in the adoption. Adoption records may include an original birth certificate, court records and social services files, if an agency was involved. Arkansas, like many other states, has a mutual consent adoption registry system that enables eligible individuals to access non-identifying and identifying information by registering themselves. The Arkansas Department of Human Services and licensed adoption agencies maintain these registries.
Instructions
1. Determine if you are eligible to obtain Arkansas adoption records. Nonidentifying information is available to certain people:
• The adoptive parents of the child or the child's guardian;
• The adoptee;
• If the adoptee has died, the adoptee's children, widow or widower, or the guardian of any child of the adoptee;
• The birth parent of the adoptee;
• Any child welfare agency having custody of the adoptee.
Identifying information is available to a more select group of people, and will not be released until the adoptee is 21:
• The adult adoptee;
• The birth parents;
• Any person related to the adult adoptee within the second degree (biological grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin or sibling).
2. Find out the name of the agency that handled the adoption. The adoptee, the adoptive parents or the adoption attorney can provide this information. If this information is unavailable, you may need to register with multiple adoption agencies to access the records.
3. Contact the agency that handled the adoption. If the adoption was arranged by the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) or by an agency that has transferred its records to DCFS, an eligible individual can register with the Arkansas Mutual Consent Voluntary Adoption Registry. Submit an inquiry in writing that contains a brief explanation of the type of information you are seeking, your adopted name, your date of birth, your adopted parents' names and your return mailing address:
Arkansas Department of Human Services
Division of Children and Family Services
Adoption Registry
PO Box 1437, Slot S565
Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
Fax: 501-682-8094
Phone: 501-682-8462 or 888-736-2820
If the Department of Human Services does not have the adoption records, you can contact other adoption agencies to determine if they handled the adoption and to learn their procedures for accessing the records (see References).
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