Arizona
Arizona Adoption Records: Original Birth Certificates Since 2021 and How to Request One
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 11, 2026). · Law checked current as of August 11, 2026. · 4 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Arizona's original birth certificate law changed on December 31, 2021, but the change reaches far fewer adoptees than the headline suggests. Arizona Revised Statutes § 36-340(A) requires the state registrar to provide a copy of the original birth certificate to an individual who is at least 18 years old, was born in the state, and submits a written request. Subsection J of the same statute then bars the registrar from providing that certificate to anyone "born from and after June 20, 1968 and before September 29, 2021."
Read together, those two subsections leave almost no one eligible right now. An adoptee born before June 20, 1968 can use the direct-request path, and that person is at least 58 years old. An adoptee born on or after September 29, 2021 is not barred, but is 4 or younger and will not reach the statute's minimum age of 18 until September 2039. Everyone born in the 53 years in between is excluded. That is why Arizona is still accurately described as a restricted or compromise state rather than an unrestricted-access one. This page covers who the direct-request process actually reaches, what is left for everyone else, the optional forms, the separate sealed court file, Arizona's confidential-intermediary program, and the nonidentifying health and genetic history record available under ARS § 8-129.
Information last verified on 2026-09-02. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
Can an Adult Adoptee Get an Original Birth Certificate in Arizona?
Only a narrow group can. ARS § 36-340(A) states that from and after December 31, 2021, the state registrar shall provide to an individual a copy of the individual's original birth certificate that has been sealed due to an adoption if the individual is at least eighteen years of age, was born in this state, and submits a written request.
Subsection J of the same statute cancels most of that reach. It provides that the state registrar "may not provide to an individual a copy of the individual's original birth certificate that has been sealed due to an adoption, if the individual was born from and after June 20, 1968 and before September 29, 2021."
Those two provisions do not overlap the way a reader would expect. Subsection A sets a floor of 18 years old, and subsection J removes a 53-year block of birth dates ending less than five years ago. The result is a gap that covers virtually every living adult adoptee born in Arizona:
| Birth date | Barred by § 36-340(J)? | Meets § 36-340(A) age 18 test? | Direct request available? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before June 20, 1968 | No | Yes, age 58 or older | Yes |
| June 20, 1968 through September 28, 2021 | Yes | Yes for most | No |
| On or after September 29, 2021 | No | No, age 4 or younger | Not until September 2039 |
For an adoptee the direct-request path does reach, there is no birth-parent veto and no redaction step. Subsection D of the statute offers a birth parent the option to file a contact preference form and an updated medical history form. Neither form conditions or delays release; they exist to pass along information alongside the certificate.
If You Were Born Between June 20, 1968 and September 29, 2021
Subsection J leaves no administrative route to the original birth certificate for this group. What remains is the sealed adoption court file, which a court may authorize a person with a legitimate interest to inspect under ARS § 8-120(B), and the Confidential Intermediary program under ARS § 8-134. Both are discretionary, and neither is a guaranteed route to the certificate itself. In practice this is the restricted, court-order model, not an open-records one.
The nonidentifying health and genetic history record under ARS § 8-129, described below, is a separate track and is not affected by the subsection J date bar.
How to Request Your Original Birth Certificate
Requests go to the Arizona Department of Health Services, Bureau of Vital Records, 150 North 18th Avenue, Suite 120, Phoenix, AZ 85007, reachable at (602) 364-1300 or (888) 816-5907. Adoption-related requests are handled by appointment. Confirm your birth date falls outside the § 36-340(J) window before applying.
ARS § 36-340(C) states that the fees and procedures that apply to obtaining a copy of a registered certificate also apply to obtaining a copy of an original birth certificate. The exact current dollar figure was not independently confirmed for this article; AZDHS directs applicants to its website or phone line for the current fee schedule. As of September 2026, confirm the specific amount directly with the Bureau before submitting a request.
The Sealed Adoption Court File
Separately from the birth certificate, Arizona's adoption court file stays under an unusually long seal. ARS § 8-121 makes it unlawful for any person to disclose information involved in an adoption proceeding except as released under that section or under sections 8-120, 8-129, 8-134, or 36-340. After one hundred years have elapsed from the date of the adoption order, the court transfers the file to the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.
ARS § 8-120(A) withholds adoption files, records, and reports from public inspection except as provided in section 8-129. Subsection B of that statute allows the court to authorize inspection by persons and agencies having a legitimate interest in the case, which is the discretionary opening a barred adoptee would have to ask for.
The court file and the birth certificate are separate tracks. For an adoptee excluded by the § 36-340(J) date bar, the sealed court file is one of the few remaining places to ask, and opening it requires the court's authorization rather than a form submitted to a state office.
Confidential Intermediary Program
Arizona runs a court-listed Confidential Intermediary program under ARS § 8-134. A confidential intermediary is authorized to inspect the otherwise-sealed § 8-120 and § 8-121 documents to search for and, with consent, facilitate contact with a specific person. Eligible requesters include the adoptee, birth parents, biological grandparents, and biological siblings, among others.
This is Arizona's closest equivalent to a reunion registry. It is not a mutual-consent database that automatically matches two registered parties; it is a search service performed by a court-approved intermediary on a specific requester's behalf. As with any search process, contact is not guaranteed, and some searches end without a response.
Non-Identifying Information
Arizona has a dedicated nonidentifying-information statute, and it sits outside the sealed court file entirely. ARS § 8-129(A) requires the division, the agency, or the person placing the child to compile and provide to the prospective adoptive parents detailed written nonidentifying information, including a health and genetic history and all nonidentifying information about the birth parents or members of a birth parent's family, set out in a document that is separate from any document containing identifying information. That requirement does not apply if the birth parents are deceased, their whereabouts are unknown, or the information is not otherwise reasonably available.
Those records must be retained for ninety-nine years by the division, agency, or person who placed the child. Under § 8-129(B)(3) they must be available on request throughout that period to a defined list of people, including the adoptee once the adoptee is eighteen years of age or more, the adoptive parents, a birth parent, and other biological children of the birth parent. The request goes to the division, agency, or person who placed the child. No court order is required and no intermediary is involved. Under § 8-129(C), the person requesting the information pays the actual and reasonable cost of providing it.
The 100-year court-file seal does not capture this material. ARS § 8-120(A) opens with the phrase "Except as provided in section 8-129," and § 8-121(A) lists section 8-129 among the provisions under which information may lawfully be released, so the health and genetic history record is expressly carved out of both confidentiality bars.
The limit worth naming is what § 8-129 delivers: medical and background information, not identity. It does not name a birth parent, and it is not a substitute for the original birth certificate.
Related Arizona Records
See Arizona death records for locating a deceased birth parent's record, Arizona court records for how the sealed adoption file fits into the state's broader court-records rules, and Arizona marriage and divorce records for tracing a name change. For the general difference between a standard and an original birth certificate, see are birth certificates public records. For the national landscape and search strategy, see how to get your original birth certificate and how to find birth parents.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about Arizona adoption-records law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees, forms, and office contact information change; verify current details with the Arizona Department of Health Services or a licensed Arizona attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation. Locating a birth relative, whether through the Confidential Intermediary program or otherwise, is not guaranteed to succeed or to lead to contact.
Last updated: 2026-09-02. Fees and forms reflect their published status as of September 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get my original birth certificate in Arizona without a court order?
Only if you were born before June 20, 1968. ARS § 36-340(A) lets an Arizona-born adoptee who is 18 or older request the certificate directly from the Department of Health Services, but subsection J bars the state registrar from releasing it to anyone born from and after June 20, 1968 and before September 29, 2021. Adoptees born on or after September 29, 2021 are not barred, but they do not reach the statute's minimum age of 18 until September 2039.
Can a birth parent block release of my Arizona birth certificate?
No. Arizona has no birth-parent veto, and the contact preference and medical history forms under ARS § 36-340(D) are optional and do not gate release. The real blocker is statutory rather than parental: ARS § 36-340(J) bars release to anyone born from and after June 20, 1968 and before September 29, 2021, no matter what any birth parent wants.
What are my options if I was born inside the June 1968 to September 2021 window?
There is no administrative path to the original birth certificate for that group. The remaining routes are asking a court to authorize inspection of the sealed adoption file under ARS § 8-120(B) as a person with a legitimate interest, and the Confidential Intermediary program under ARS § 8-134. You can also request the nonidentifying health and genetic history under ARS § 8-129, which the date bar does not affect.
Can I get my birth family's medical history in Arizona?
Yes. Under ARS § 8-129 an adoptee who is 18 or older may request the written nonidentifying health and genetic history from the division, agency, or person who placed the child. Those records are kept for 99 years, no court order or intermediary is needed, and the requester pays the actual and reasonable cost of providing the information.
How much does it cost to get an original birth certificate in Arizona?
Arizona ties the fee to the standard registered-certificate fee. Contact the Bureau of Vital Records for the current amount before submitting a request.
How long does Arizona seal the adoption court file?
100 years under ARS § 8-121, one of the longest seals among the states covered in this cluster. After that the file transfers to the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.
Does Arizona have a way to search for a birth relative?
Yes, a court-listed Confidential Intermediary program under ARS § 8-134, open to the adoptee, birth parents, and certain biological relatives. It performs a search on the requester's behalf; it is not a mutual-consent matching database.
Updates
Corrected the original birth certificate section to reflect ARS § 36-340(J), which bars release to anyone born from and after June 20, 1968 and before September 29, 2021, and replaced the incorrect statement that Arizona has no non-identifying-information statute with the health and genetic history record available under ARS § 8-129.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 36 (Public Health and Safety), Chapter 3 (VITAL RECORDS AND PUBLIC HEALTH STATISTICS), Article 3 (Death Registration and Birth Registration Certificate Requirements)
§ 36-340Adopted individual; sealed original birth certificate; contact preference and medical history forms; confidentialityIn forcecited in 2 of our articles
A. From and after December 31, 2021 and except as provided in subsection I of this section, the state registrar shall provide to an individual a copy of the individual's original birth certificate that has been sealed due to an adoption and any evidence of the adoption that is held with the original birth certificate, if all of the following are true: 1. The individual is at least eighteen years of age. 2. The individual was born in this state. 3. The individual submits to the state registrar a written request to receive a copy of the original birth certificate. B. The copy of the original birth certificate shall clearly indicate that it is not a certified copy and that it may not be used for legal purposes. C. The fees and procedures that apply to obtaining a copy of a registered certificate apply to obtaining a copy of an original birth certificate pursuant to this section. D. The state registrar shall develop a contact preference form to be filled out by a birth parent, at the birth parent's option, and kept with the original birth certificate as provided in this section. The preference form shall do all of the following: 1.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-02 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at azleg.gov
Cited in 1 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 1991
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Arizona Board of Regents v. Phoenix Newspapers, Inc. (Arizona Supreme Court 1991, 167 Ariz. 254)“…gulations promulgated by the Department of Health Services, A.R.S. § 36-340(A). I agree with the majority in Boa…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Arizona Birth Certificate: How to Order, Fees and Who Can Get One
Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 8 (Child Safety), Chapter 1 (ADOPTION), Article 1 (General Provisions)
§ 8-121Confidentiality of information; exceptionsIn force
A. It is unlawful, except for purposes for which files and records or social records or parts thereof or information therefrom have been released pursuant to subsection C of this section or section 8-120, 8-129, 8-134 or 36-340, or except for purposes allowed by order of the court, for any person to disclose, receive or make use of, or authorize, knowingly allow, participate in or acquiesce in the use of, any information involved in any proceeding under this article directly or indirectly derived from the files, records, reports or other papers compiled pursuant to this article, or acquired in the course of the performance of official duties until one hundred years after the date of the order issued pursuant to section 8-116. After one hundred years has elapsed from the date of the order issued pursuant to section 8-116 the court shall transfer all files, records, reports and other documents in possession of the court relating to the adoption to the Arizona state library, archives and public records. The items transferred pursuant to this subsection shall be available for public inspection during business hours and may be made available in an alternative format. B.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-08-04 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at azleg.gov
§ 8-134Confidential intermediaryIn force
A. Any of the following persons may use the services of a confidential intermediary who is listed with the court: 1. The adoptive parents of an adoptee who is at least eighteen years of age or, if the adoptive parents are deceased, the adoptee's guardian. 2. An adoptee if the adoptee is at least eighteen years of age. 3. If an adoptee is deceased, the adoptee's spouse if the spouse is the legal parent or guardian of any child of the adoptee. 4. If an adoptee is deceased, any progeny of the adoptee who is at least eighteen years of age. 5. Either of the birth parents of an adoptee. 6. The biological grandparent of the adoptee or other members of the adoptee's extended biological family. 7. A biological sibling of the adoptee if the sibling is at least eighteen years of age. B. An adoption agency licensed by this state, the division or an individual who meets the requirements adopted pursuant to subsections I and J of this section may serve as a confidential intermediary. C. Notwithstanding sections 8-120 and 8-121, a confidential intermediary may inspect documents compiled pursuant to this article.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-08-04 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at azleg.gov
Cited in 2 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 1981
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- L. H. v. Jamieson (Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 1981, 643 F.2d 1351)“…st, it is unclear whether the state legislature in enacting Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 8-134(2)(c)(i) meant to confer an implied cau…”
- L. H., M. D., E. M., R. C., and T. D., by Their Attorneys and Next Friends John G. Balentine and Terry D. Oehler, Individually and on Behalf of All Other Persons Similarly Situated v. William S. Jamieson, Jr., Director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and Bruce E. Babbitt, Governor of the State of Arizona, Individually and in Their Official Capacities (Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 1981, 643 F.2d 1351)“…st, it is unclear whether the state legislature in enacting Ariz.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 8-134(2)(c)(i) meant to confer an implied cau…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
§ 8-129Health and genetic history; compilation; availability; costsIn force
A. Before placing a child for adoption, the division or the agency or the person placing the child, if the child is not placed by the division, shall compile and provide to the prospective adoptive parents detailed written nonidentifying information, including a health and genetic history and all nonidentifying information about the birth parents or members of a birth parent's family set forth in a document that is separate from any document containing identifying information. This subsection does not apply if the birth parents are deceased, their whereabouts are unknown or the information is not otherwise reasonably available. B. Records containing the information prescribed in subsection A of this section: 1. Shall be retained by the division, agency or person placing the child for ninety-nine years, and if an agency or person ceases to function, the agency or person shall transfer these records to the division, except that an agency ceasing operations may transfer these records to another agency within this state, provided the agency transferring the records gives notice of the transfer to the division. 2.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-08-04 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at azleg.gov
§ 8-120Records; inspection; exception; destruction or transfer of certain recordsIn force
A. Except as provided in section 8-129, all files, records, reports and other papers compiled under this article, whether filed in or in possession of the court, an agency or any person or association, shall be withheld from public inspection. B. Such files, records, reports and other papers may be open to inspection by persons and agencies having a legitimate interest in the case and their attorneys and by other persons and agencies having a legitimate interest in the protection, welfare or treatment of the child if so ordered by the court. C. This section does not prohibit persons employed by the court, the division or an agency from conducting the investigations or performing other duties pursuant to this article within the normal course of their employment. D.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-08-04 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at azleg.gov
Cited in 4 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 1998
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Carlson v. Pima County (Arizona Supreme Court 1984, 141 Ariz. 487)“…olicy toward public records; for example: adoption records (A.R.S. §§ 8-120 and 8-121); consumer fraud investigatio…”
- Scottsdale Unified School District No. 48 v. KPNX Broadcasting Co. (Arizona Supreme Court 1998, 191 Ariz. 297)“…exceptions to this public right of inspection. See, e.g., A.R.S. §§ 8-120 and 8-121 (adoption records), § 39-123…”
- Hanson v. Rowe (Court of Appeals of Arizona 1972, 18 Ariz. App. 131)“…making this argument the State analogizes A.R.S. § 8-519 to A.R.S. § 8-120, dealing with adoption records, which b…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Sources and References
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 36-340, Adopted Individual; Sealed Original Birth Certificate; Contact Preference and Medical History Forms; Confidentiality(azleg.gov).gov
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 8-121, Confidentiality of Information; Exceptions(azleg.gov).gov
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 8-134, Confidential Intermediary(azleg.gov).gov
- Arizona Department of Health Services, Bureau of Vital Records(azdhs.gov).gov
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 8-129, Health and Genetic History; Compilation; Availability; Costs(azleg.gov)
- Arizona Revised Statutes § 8-120, Records; Inspection; Exception(azleg.gov)