You can order a replacement adoption certificate online in the same way you would order a birth certificate. The adoption certificate serves the same purpose as a birth certificate and supersedes the original birth certificate.

When a court issues an adoption order a new birth entry is made in the Adopted Children Register. This replaces the original birth entry.

The Adopted Children Register is a record of all adoptions granted by courts in England and Wales since 1927. The order also instructs the General Register Office to ensure the original birth entry is marked ‘adopted’.

As such the adoption certificate serves the same purpose as a birth certificate and supersedes the original birth certificate.

Some people have just the short version of an adoption certificate as they do not wish there to be a reference of adoption when providing documents to certain bodies, however in most circumstances a full version of the certificate will be required.

All adoption certificates we supply are full/long form, certified and are suitable for legal purposes. 

The adoption certificate will normally include the following:

• Full Adoption Name
• Date of Birth
• Sex
• Place of Birth (where known)
• Adoptive Parent(s’) name(s)
• Adoptive Parents address and Occupation at time of adoption
• Date of the Adoption Order and description of the court which made it
• Date of entry into the Adopted Children Register

Should you wish to order an adoption certificate, you can order using the birth certificate order form. Where possible please enter ‘ADOPTION’ next to your name on the birth order form, ensuring you provide the person’s adopted name, and the details of the adoptive parents.

The most effective way to get the ball rolling on this, is for you to order online. 

To find out more about our adoption certificate service, click here.