2015 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 7 - Municipalities
Chapter 93 - Registrars of Vital Statistics
Section 7-53 - *(See end of section for amended version and effective date.) Birth certificates of adopted persons born in this state.

(a) Upon receipt of the record of adoption referred to in subsection (e) of section 45a-745 or of other evidence satisfactory to the department that a person born in this state has been adopted, the department shall prepare a new birth certificate of such adopted person, except that no new certificate of birth shall be prepared if the court decreeing the adoption, the adoptive parents or the adopted person, if over fourteen years of age, so requests. Such new birth certificate shall include all the information required to be set forth in a certificate of birth of this state as of the date of birth, except that the adopting parents shall be named as the parents instead of the genetic parents and, when a certified copy of the birth of such person is requested by an authorized person, a copy of the new certificate of birth as prepared by the department shall be provided. Any person seeking to examine or obtain a copy of the original record or certificate of birth shall first obtain a written order signed by the judge of the probate court for the district in which the adopted person was adopted or born in accordance with section 45a-753, or a written order of the Probate Court in accordance with the provisions of section 45a-752, stating that the court is of the opinion that the examination of the birth record of the adopted person by the adopting parents or the adopted person, if over eighteen years of age, or by the person wishing to examine the same or that the issuance of a copy of such birth certificate to the adopting parents or the adopted person, if over eighteen years of age, or to the person applying therefor will not be detrimental to the public interest or to the welfare of the adopted person or to the welfare of the genetic or adoptive parent or parents. Upon receipt of such court order, the registrar of vital statistics of any town in which the birth of such person was recorded, or the department, may issue the certified copy of the original certificate of birth on file, marked with a notation by the issuer that such original certificate of birth has been superseded by a replacement certificate of birth as on file, or may permit the examination of such record. Immediately after a new certificate of birth has been prepared, an exact copy of such certificate, together with a written notice of the evidence of adoption, shall be transmitted by the department to the registrar of vital statistics of each town in this state in which the birth of the adopted person is recorded. The new birth certificate, the original certificate of birth on file and the evidence of adoption shall be filed and indexed, under such regulations as the commissioner adopts, in accordance with chapter 54, to carry out the provisions of this section and to prevent access to the records of birth and adoption and the information therein contained without due cause, except as provided in this section. Any person, except such parents or adopted person, who discloses any information contained in such records, except as provided in this section, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both. Whenever a certified copy of an adoption decree from a court of a foreign country, having jurisdiction of the adopted person, is filed with the department under the provisions of this section, such decree, when written in a language other than English, shall be accompanied by an English translation, which shall be subscribed and sworn to as a true translation by an American consulate officer stationed in such foreign country.

(1949 Rev., S. 580; 1957, P.A. 298, S. 2; 1961, P.A. 319; 1972, P.A. 127, S. 5; P.A. 75-170, S. 1; P.A. 77-246, S. 17; 77-604, S. 63, 84; 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 88-364, S. 73, 123; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-26; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-202, S. 3; P.A. 01-163, S. 15; P.A. 03-19, S. 17.)

*Note: On and after July 1, 2015, this section, as amended by section 2 of public act 14-133, is to read as follows:

“Sec. 7-53. Birth certificates of adopted persons born in this state. (a) Upon receipt of the record of adoption referred to in subsection (e) of section 45a-745 or of other evidence satisfactory to the department that a person born in this state has been adopted, the department shall prepare a new birth certificate of such adopted person, except that no new certificate of birth shall be prepared if the court decreeing the adoption, the adoptive parents or the adopted person, if over fourteen years of age, so requests. Such new birth certificate shall include all the information required to be set forth in a certificate of birth of this state as of the date of birth, except that the adopting parents shall be named as the parents instead of the birth parents and, when a certified copy of the birth of such person is requested by an eligible party as described in subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 7-51, a copy of the new certificate of birth as prepared by the department shall be provided. Immediately after a new certificate of birth has been prepared, an exact copy of such certificate, together with a written notice of the evidence of adoption, shall be transmitted by the department to the registrar of vital statistics of each municipality in which the birth of the adopted person is recorded. The new birth certificate, the original certificate of birth on file and the evidence of adoption shall be filed and indexed, under such regulations as the commissioner adopts, in accordance with chapter 54, to carry out the provisions of this section and to prevent access to the records of birth and adoption and the information contained in the records, except as provided in this section.

(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section and section 45a-751c, an original certificate of birth may only be issued if the person named in the certificate of birth is deceased and the person seeking to obtain such certificate of birth is an authorized applicant, as defined in section 45a-743. Any authorized applicant seeking to obtain a copy of the original certificate of birth shall first obtain a written court order issued in accordance with section 45a-751c. Upon receipt of such court order, the department may issue an uncertified copy of the original certificate of birth on file, marked with a notation by the issuer that such original certificate of birth has been superseded by a replacement certificate of birth as on file.

(c) Upon request, the department shall issue an uncertified copy of an original certificate of birth to (1) an adopted person who is eighteen years of age or older whose adoption was finalized on or after October 1, 1983, or (2) such adopted person’s adult child or grandchild. Such certificate shall be marked with a notation by the issuer that such original certificate of birth has been superseded by a replacement certificate of birth as on file. Additionally, a notice stating that information related to the birth parents’ preferences regarding contact by such adopted person or such adopted person’s adult child or grandchild and a medical health history form completed by the birth parent may be on file with the Department of Children and Families shall be printed on such certificate or attached thereto.

(d) Any person, except such birth or adoptive parents, such adopted person or such adopted person’s adult child or grandchild, who discloses any information contained in such records, except as provided in this section shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both.

(e) Whenever a certified copy of an adoption decree from a court of a foreign country, having jurisdiction of the adopted person, is filed with the department under the provisions of this section, such decree, when written in a language other than English, shall be accompanied by an English translation, which shall be subscribed and sworn to as a true translation by an American consulate officer stationed in such foreign country.”

(1949 Rev., S. 580; 1957, P.A. 298, S. 2; 1961, P.A. 319; 1972, P.A. 127, S. 5; P.A. 75-170, S. 1; P.A. 77-246, S. 17; 77-604, S. 63, 84; 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 88-364, S. 73, 123; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-26; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-202, S. 3; P.A. 01-163, S. 15; P.A. 03-19, S. 17; P.A. 14-133, S. 2.)

History: 1961 act authorized department to accept evidence satisfactory to it of fact of adoption, provided for adopted person or adopting parents to give written authorization for certification or examination of original record, provided for sending a copy of the new certificate rather than notice to other municipalities and required that copy of adoption decree in foreign language be accompanied by English translation; 1972 act changed age of majority from 21 to 18; P.A. 75-170 deleted provision which allowed adopted person or adopting parents access to birth certificate upon written request; P.A. 77-246 substituted “genetic parents” for “natural parents” and “adoptive” for “adopting” and allowed release of certificate on order of adoption records review board or of any court; P.A. 77-604 replaced release upon order of any court with release in accordance with Sec. 8 of P.A 77-246 (Sec. 45-68k); P.A. 77-614 substituted department of health services for department of health, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 88-364 substituted order of the probate court for order of the adoption records review board; P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-26 added provision requiring that copy of original birth certificate be noted that it has been superseded by a new certificate; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-202 made technical change; P.A. 01-163 made technical changes, added provision re requests for no new certificate of birth and revised provisions re issuance of certified copy and examination of record, requiring probate court order to examine or obtain a copy of the original record or certificate of birth; P.A. 03-19 made technical changes, effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 14-133 designated existing provisions re preparation of new birth certificate as Subsec. (a) and substantially revised same, designated existing provisions re obtaining copy of original certificate of birth as Subsec. (b) and substantially revised same, added Subsec. (c) re issuance of uncertified copy of original certificate of birth and notice re birth parents’ contact preferences, designated existing provisions re disclosure of information contained in records as Subsec. (d) and amended same to add references to “birth or adoptive” parents and “adopted person’s adult child or grandchild”, designated existing provisions re adoption decree from court of foreign country as Subsec. (e) and made technical and conforming changes, effective July 1, 2015.

See Sec. 19a-41 re regulations specifying methods of reporting, recording, issuing, maintaining, indexing, correcting and amending vital records and statistics.

Cited. 138 C. 599. The enactment of public act 77-246 while appeal was pending effected a “substantial change in the law” concerning the disclosure of adopted persons’ birth records and, thus, was not applied retroactively. 177 C. 93.