Support for Adopted Adults not connected with Adoption Matters

Tracing members of your birth family – for adopted adults

Tracing members of your birth family is known as a ‘Search and Intermediary Service’ for Adopted Adults

Prior to employing a search and intermediary service, we would recommend that you access the General Register Office website and add your details to the Adoption Contact Register.  This means that if any of your birth family have added their names to this, you will be linked and you will be informed and given your birth relative’s details and last known address.  They will not be given any of your details so that you have the control in this situation.  There is a £15 one off charge for entering your name on the register.  This is the link: https://www.gov.uk/adoption-records/the-adoption-contact-register

Services we offer:

Initial consultation – cost £100 for 1-1.5 hours. 

This will include having sight of your ID and a discussion around what you already know and what you hope to achieve. A discussion will be had about the potential that the person you are searching for cannot be found or does not want any contact. We will give advice about accessing your adoption records, if you have not already done this.  We will then make contact with the adoption agency who hold your records, and seek their view about any potential contact with birth family.

Tracing Service – cost £300. Up to 5 hours. Additional hours, for more complex searches, costed at £60 per hour

Having identified the birth relative you wish to search for, we will endeavour to find them on your behalf. We will use public records, social media and subscription based services. We may need to access birth, marriage or death certificates, to validate the person’s identity. The cost of up to two certificates is included. If the search proves to be more complex then we will ask you to cover the cost of any additional certificates (currently £11 each).

It may be that you already know the whereabouts of the person you wish to make contact with and therefore you just want an intermediary service.

Intermediary service – cost £300. Up to 5 hours of work. Additional hours costed at £60 per hour.

Having identified the whereabouts of the person you wish to have contact with, we will begin the process of approaching them.

Once contact is established, we would then support you in gradually sharing and receiving information be that by letter, email or telephone calls.

The final stage would be a reunion, where you will meet with your birth relative in a safe environment supported by our staff.