Identifying information includes the names of birth parents, their birth dates, and possibly addresses contained in court files, in addition to non-identifying information. Restricted access may depend on the adoptee's date of birth or whether the birth parents have filed a consent for release of information or a request for non-disclosure. Only Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, Oregon, and Tennessee routinely provide an uncertified copy of the original unaltered birth certificate to adopted adults. Registries allow parties to the adoption to consent or not to consent to have their identifying information released. Passive registries , also called mutual consent or volunteer registries, depend on both parties registering, a match being found, and the follow-up notification by a registry administrator.
Active registries require one party to register.
A designated individual is then assigned to contact those persons being sought and determine their wishes for the release of information. Confidential intermediaries , assigned by the courts, have access to sealed adoption files for the purpose of conducting a search. They make contact with each party and obtain each person's consent or denial for the release of information. In an affidavit system, parties can give prior written permission affirming their consent to the release of identifying information. A veto is a document in which one party registers his or her refusal to be contacted or for release of his or her identifying information.