NEW MEXICO Law/ReformSince 1950 all adoption records have been sealed upon becoming final. A Court Order is required to release any information from them. The state adoption department will release non-identifying information to an adult (age 18) involved party. New Mexico is not an open state, meaning that all records are sealed. They are not available to the adult adoptee, birth parents, or the adoptive parents. Because so many would like to know more about their heritage and birth parents would like to know how a child has gotten along in life, a system has been worked out with the District Court to allow this to be accomplished. An INTERMEDIARY system has been put into place so that an adult adoptee, a birth parent of a child 18 years of age or older, or a sibling of an adopted person who is 18 years can petition the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico in Santa Fe to have the adoption file opened. In order to do this you need to have a lawyer. You may either hire your own lawyer or use the lawyer who is working with the program. The Attorney at Law who works with Operation Identity does this for a reasonable fee. Because she does so much of this work she knows the system. New Mexico Links
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