Most requests for Michigan adoption papers will need to be handled through the Family Division of a Circuit Court.
Adopted parties, or their biological family, often desire to reunite as years pass. While it used to be difficult to find or request copies of records and adoption papers in the past, most states have passed laws that allow certain parties access to these records in their search for biological family. If you were adopted in Michigan, or you are seeking someone that was adopted in Michigan, you may be entitled to copies of the Michigan adoption papers if they are requested properly.
Instructions
1. Request a copy of the Michigan adoptive birth record record from the State Vital Records Office. This specific record can only be obtained by the adopted party; no one else will be allowed access to it without a court order. You may request the birth record online at Michigan.gov, or by calling 517-335-8666. You will need to know your name at birth (if possible), your adopted name, and your adoptive parents' name.
2. Write the Department of Community Health (DCH) to request the name of the Circuit Court, Family Division, that finalized the adoption and sealed the Michigan adoption papers. This court will only be found in the county where the adoptive parents lived while the adoption was completed. The DCH may be reached at:
Department of Community Health
Vital Records
Lansing, MI 48909
3. Request information on the agency that placed the adoption and holds the Michigan adoption papers from the applicable Circuit Court after receiving this information from the DCH. You may legally request these papers if you are an adult adoptee, a former parent or adult sibling of the adopted party, or an adoptive parent. Once the court has received the request for the record from a qualifying party, it must identify the agency that placed the adoption.
4. File a request in court to gain access to, as well as copies of, the Michigan adoption papers once the adoption placement agency has been made known. This request, or petition, must be filed with the Circuit Court that finalized the adoption, and must be made by a qualifying party. The court considers a direct descendant of an adoptee that is now deceased to be eligible for this information as if the descendant were the adopted party.
Tags: adoption papers, Circuit Court, Michigan adoption, Michigan adoption papers, adopted party