Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1805
Sponsors: TURNER, BRAUTIGAM, DAVIS, FAIRCLOTH, FLOOD, HAMPER, TUTTLE, SNOWE-MELLO
Amends: 18-A MRSA §9, 22 MRSA §2765, 22 MRSA §2768, 22 MRSA §2769

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Legislative Document 
No. 1805 
.. _------. __ ._._-_ ... _-_._---
... _.--_._---- -----
HP. I ~-+5 
House of Representatives, January 3,2006 
:\n :\ct To Provide Adult Adoptees Access to Their Original Birth 
Certificates 
Approved tor introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
.20_~. 
Rcceiyeu by the Clerk of the House on December 28,2005. Refen'ed to the Committee on 
JudIciary pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representatiye DAVIS of Falmouth. 
_ 
Cosponsored by Senator TURNER of Cumberland and 
--7Y/dt~1d:: /'17 .17/t1£~V0{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BRAUTIGAM of Falmouth, CCl\1MINGS of Portland, DAVIS of Augusta, 
FAIRCLOTH of Bangor, FLOOD of Winthrop, HAMPER of Oxford, TUTTLE of Sanford, 
Senator: SNOWE-MELLO of Androscoggin. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 18-A MRSA §9-310. first 1[, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 
694, Pt. C, §7 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read: 
Notwi thstanding any other provision of law, 
and except as 
];!.;r;:Qyiq~_Lj.~1'i tle. __ -.22_L._JH~ctJ_QJL"'?~.Qll.L all Probate Court records 
relating to any adoption decreed on or after August 8, 1953 are 
confidential. 
The Probate Court shall 
keep records of those 
adoptions segregated from all other court records. 
If a judge of 
probate court determines that examination of records pertaining 
to a particular adoption is proper, the judge may authorize that 
examination 
by 
specified persons, 
authorize 
the 
register 
Gf 
probate 
to 
disclose 
to 
specified 
persons 
any 
information 
contained in the records by letter, certificate or copy of the 
record 
or 
authorize 
a 
combination 
of 
both 
examination 
and 
disclosure. 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §2765, sub-§2-A. 1[c, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
574, §24, is further amended to read: 
C. 
When a new certificate of birth is established following 
adoption or legitimation, it must be substituted for the 
original certificate of birth. 
After that substitution, the 
original certificate of birth and the evidence of adoption 
are not subject to inspection except upon order of the 
Probate Court or the Superior Court or pursuant to sect,iop 
2768. 
The application for legitimation may be released to 
persons 
listed 
on 
the 
original 
birth 
certificate 
upon 
completion of written application to the State Registral of 
Vital Statistics or the registrar's designee. 
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §2765. sub-§5. as amended by PL 1979, c. 168, 
§2, is further amended to read: 
4.6 
5. 
Copies 
of 
original 
certificate. 
When 
the 
new 
certificate of birth is established, the state registrar shall 
provide each municipal clerk who is required by law to have 
a 
copy of the certificate of birth on file with a copy of the new 
certificate of birth. In the case of a Maine certificate of birth 
established for a person born in a foreign country, a copy of the 
certificate 
saa~~ 
must 
be 
provided 
to 
and 
saa~~ 
mus~ be 
maintained on file by the clerk of the municipality where the 
adoptive parents resided on the date of the adoption. All copies 
of the original certificate in the custody of any municipal clerk 
saa~~ ~ 
be sealed from 
inspection, 
except as provided in 
section 2768, or surrendered to the state registrar as ae-6hall 
ai~ee~ the state registrar directs. 
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §2768 is enacted to read: 
t 
§2768. 
Access to original birth certificate by adopted person 
An 
adopt~d person 
may 
obtain 
a 
copy 
of 
that person's 
original certificate of birth from the State Registrar of vi tal 
Statistics, referred to 
i~_ this section as "the state registrar, " 
in accordance with this section. 
1. 
Requi~nts. 
The adopted person must be at least 18 
years of age and have been born in this State. 
2. 
AppJj,cati_Q:j:t. 
The 
~plication with and provide 
to the state registrar. 
adopted person must file a written 
appropriate proof of identification 
3. 
Issuance of birth certificate and forms. 
Upon receipt 
QJ-..---t...h~itten applica~gnd proof of identification pursuM..t 
to subsection 2 and fulfillment of the requirements of subsection 
4, the state registrar shgll issue a noncertified copy of the 
unaltered original certificate of birth to the applicant. 
If a 
contgct preference or medical history form has been completed and 
Jiubmitted to the state registrar pursuant to section 2769, the 
state registrar also must provide that information. 
4. 
Fees; waiting ~riod. The state registrar may require a 
;.}'p.iting 
period 
and 
impose __ Q._ fee 
for 
the 
noncertified 
copy 
provided pursugnt to subsection 3. 
The fees and waiting period 
imposed under this subsection must be identical to the fees and 
waiting period generally imposed on persons seeking their own 
birth certificates. 
5. 
Form~yles. The state registrar shall develop by rule 
_the application form as required by this section and may adopt 
other 
rules 
for 
the 
administration of this 
section. 
. Rules 
adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules 
as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2 A. 
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §2769 is enacted to read: 
§2769. 
Contact preference and medical history forms 
The State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall provide upon 
request each birth parent a contact preference form and g medical 
history form as described in this section. 
J.. __ 
P~~ip.j.~ions. 
As 
used 
in 
~ontext 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
Lollowing meanin~ 
tl;tis 
section, 
following 
terms 
unless----'!:'lle 
have 
the 
A~doptee" means 
th._e_~_rson who is the subject of a birtl1 
certificate. 
B. 
"Birth 
par_ell~J]1eanS the person who is the biological 
pg~nt of 
a~L~do1?t5!_e_ QIt<Lwho---.iS_DQllled as the parent on the 
original birth certificate of the adoptee. 
C. 
"Contact preference form" means the form developed by 
the state registrar pursuant to subsection 3. 
D. 
"Medical history form" means the form developed by the 
state registrar pursuant to subsection 2. 
E. 
"State 
registrar" 
means 
State 
Registrar 
of 
Vital 
Statistics. 
2. 
Medical history form. 
The state registrar shall develop 
g.nd distribute upon reguest to birth parents a medical history 
form. 
A birth parent may use this form to describe the medical 
history of the birth parent. 
A birth parent shall fill out a 
medical history form if that birth parent fills out a contact 
preference form. 
3. 
Co~tact 1?reference 
fo~. 
Th~ state registrar shall 
develop a contact preference form on which a birth parent may 
state a preference regarding contact by an adoptee. 
The form 
must contain the following statements from which the birth parent 
may choose only one. 
A. 
"I would like to be contacted. 
I have completed this 
contact preference form and a medical history form and _.Q.m 
filing them with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics .. 
~ 
B. 
"I 
would 
prefer 
to 
be 
cpntacted 
only 
through 
an 
intermediary. 
I have completed this contact preference form 
and a medical history form and am filing them with the State 
Registrar of Vital Statistics." 
C. 
"I would prefer not to be contacted. 
I may change this 
preference by fillin_9 out another contact preference form. 
I 
have completed this contact preference form and a medical 
history form and am filing them with the State Registrar of 
Vital Statistics." 
t 
f 
4. 
Attachment Qf forms 
tQ birth certificate_; 
trea~!lt. 
Upon receipt of a completed contact preference form or medical 
history form, the state registrar shall attach the completed form 
to the appropriate original birth certificate of the adoptee. 
A 
completed contact preference form and medical history form have 
" 
• 
,. 
level 
of 
confidentialitj' 
as 
the 
original 
birth 
certificate. 
5. 
Forms; 
rul~~. 
The state registrar shall develop by rule 
tl;1e forms as required by this section and may adopt other rules 
i~he administration of this section. 
Rules adopted pursuant 
tQ----.t.hiL-Sub_lie..ction are routine technical rules as defined in 
Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 6. Effective date. 
This Act takes effect January 1, 2007. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes a process by which an adult adopted 
person may obtain a 
copy of that person's original, unaltered 
birth certificate. 
This bill also allows 
a 
birth parent to 
include with the child' s original birth certificate a form that 
indicates whether the parent wishes to be contacted by the child 
and a medical history form.