California

Vital Records and Other Help

The address for Vital stats office, 
Vital Statistics Section, 
304 S Street, P.O. Box 730241, 
Sacramento CA 94244-0241, 
916-445-2684
Note: all info is public information. $12.00 for a birth Cert. & marriage copies, $8.00 for death copy

You can get a copy of your amended birth certificate for $12 by writing to the address above.
It is somewhat quicker to fax your request, but then there is an added $5.00 credit card fee. fax number is 
916 445-1719.

DMV, 
PO Box 11231, 
Sacramento, CA 95813,
 $6.00 by mail for information on someone's vehicle ownership. Driver's License information no longer available in CA

Every county is different and not every Adoptive parent or attorney can go in to the court house and get copies of adoption files. In most cases there has to be a court order to get the adoption file opened. Adult adoptees can file their own petitions. You don't have to have an Adoptive parent or attorney do it. In the six open counties, it seems you must have the adoptive parent send for the information. (Some counties do not like to deal with individuals and may require an attorney.)

Opening an adoption file that has been sealed is not easy. You must show a reason beyond the the norm for having the records open. You can't have them opened just because you want to know.

Most, not all adoption files are opened for very serious medical reasons. The petitions pleading medical reasons include letters from the adoptees doctors stating the seriousness of the medical condition. The judge will determine whether it is an emergency or not. I am hearing of more people who have gotten their records opened on medical grounds. The key in each of those cases seems to be the letter from their doctor. Without that letter there isn't much hope. Get to know your doctor better.!

Another reason for opening adoption files is to determine American Indian heritage so an adoptee may secure benefits from his ethnic heritage. This can only be done if your non-identifying states that the Bmom or Bdad is of American Indian heritage. You can then petition under that particular California Section Code.

Do remember that not every case will be opened. Every judge is different as are the reasons to open the adoption file. Some judges will throw out the Indian petitions just because they don't know any better and some don't understand the seriousness of an illness. So it is hit and miss on these petitions.

You can petition more than once. You may petition the court in the county where you live or petition the court in the county where the adoption took place. Some counties have preprinted forms you can use, others require you to use pleading paper, legal sized paper.

Do your homework before you present a petition. Find out what percentage of adoption files are opened in a particular county and for what reasons. Find out who the judge is and what his feelings are on opening adoption files. If your doing it yourself ask the adoptions clerk at the court house, or his personal secretary what's the best way to go about getting your file opened.

CA has no state registry They use the "waiver system" Contact the state agency for a form. Agencies are not required to automatically search files for a match. If you previously signed a waiver form, write the agency and ask them to please do a file check for you.

All hospital records are supposed to be available to the patient. I have not heard of an adoptee being able to get any of their birth records from a hospital.

California Open Counties:

Some counties in CA are considered to be OPEN COUNTIES ie. These counties consider "the adoptive parents parties to the adoption, and therefore entitled to the court records.". NOTE* Getting conflicting reports on this. Some Open Counties are now saying that the adoptive parents are not parties to the ORIGINAL adoption. They claim that the original adoption was to the State as Guardians. Makes NO sense. It is reported that you MUST have your case number when you go to the court house, so be sure to call first to get it, if you don't have it.

Hearing that some counties are "opting out" of this and saying they are no longer Open counties.

Alameda County,
 Clerk of the Court, 
1225 Fallon Street RM 109,
Oakland, CA 94612, 
510-272-6752

Contra Costa County, 
834 Court Street, 
Martinez, CA 94553 
must send for their form to use.

Marin County,
 Hall of Justice, 
3501 Civic Center, 
San Rafael, CA 94903
 must send for their form to use.

Orange County Superior Court, 
Probate Dept. 341, 
The City Drive, Orange, CA 92668, 714-935-7236
 Must send for their form to use.

Santa Clara County, 
191 N. First St.,
 San Jose, CA 95113,
 408-299-2966
Request must be made in person by adoptive parent or by sending a notarized letter from adoptive parent. See NOTE above.

Shasta County, 
PO Box 880,
 Redding CA 96001
 916-246-5631 
must send for their form to use.

Santa Barbara County,
Clerk of the Court,
 PO Box 21107, 
Santa Barbara, CA 93121, 
805-568-2220

Reunion Registry
Department of Social Services
744 P St., M.S 19-31
Sacramento, CA 94814

You can order your birth certificate through them, and their estimated time is much quicker, about 2 weeks. They suggest you fax the info, along with a credit card #, expiration date, day time phone number, and return address. However, they also state that a legislator could NOT request a file--so there are some discrepancies here.

Fees can vary, from 50 cents a page to $1.00 per page. You should include $20.00 to $40.00, any money not used would be returned.

Have one of your adoptive parents send a notarized letter. Provide the case number, and the date your adoption was finalized. Adoptive parents need to give their full names, including the mother's maiden, send a copy of a picture ID, and their SS#. Also include the adopted name of the adult adoptee and original birth-name, if you have it.

If the Sacramento office turns down your request, then you would contact the Santa Clara office; they should send a form to fill out, requesting to a judge that your files be open to you. Apparently you do not have to go in person to California for this, nor does there appear to be any fee, although they warned that it was unlikely your files would be opened for "curiosity" reasons only. See above for information about medical reasons.

Library Genealogy sections may have the CA marriage index through 1987. Well worth checking into.

NORCAL Genealogy Index gives a list of some libraries that carry the California Marriage Index, Bride and Groom, 1960-1987, on microfiche.

The UC Berkeley Libraries

Stanford University Libraries & Information Resources

UC Irvine Libraries Home Page

Tulare Co. Obituary Index

UCLA Library

Contra Costa County Library
this will tell you about libraries in that county

Birth Certificate Fees

California Home Page

California State Library

CA USGen web Project

If you experience any difficulties with any links, 
please contact the Web Master