Delaware Adoption Records: The Birth-Parent Veto That Can Block Your Birth Certificate

Delaware is often described online as an open-records state for adult adoptees, and that description is incomplete in a way that matters. Delaware Code, Title 13, § 923 does let an adoptee 21 or older request their original birth certificate from the State Registrar without a court order, but the same section gives a birth parent the power to block that release entirely, through a renewable, notarized disclosure veto. Delaware is a compromise, veto-holding state, not an unrestricted one.

This page walks through the mechanic that most summaries miss: how the veto works, who it affects, and the different rule that applies when the vital-records event being requested happened before January 18, 1999. It also flags a section-numbering change scheduled for the end of 2026.

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 Delaware, Unless a Birth Parent Objects?

13 Del. C. § 923 provides that an adoptee 21 years of age or older may obtain a copy of such adoptee's original record of birth from the State Registrar pursuant to § 3110(b) of Title 16, even if that record has been impounded. Read alone, that sentence describes an open-access rule.

The same section then adds the exception that changes the picture: this section shall not apply if the birth parent has, within the most recent 3-year period, filed a written notarized statement with the Department of Health and Social Services Office of Vital Statistics denying the release of any identifying information. While that veto is active, the Office of Vital Statistics will not release the record. Because the veto is renewable indefinitely, a birth parent who wants to keep the record sealed can do so on a permanent basis simply by refiling every three years.

The Pre-1999 Records Track: Affidavit Check First, Then Notice

Section 923(c) sets up a second track, and it is easy to describe it wrongly. The statute keys this track to the date of the event the records document, not to the date the adoption decree was entered. Its opening words are that if an adoptee 21 years of age or older seeks vital records about any event occurring before January 18, 1999, the consult-and-notify process applies. For an original birth certificate, the event is the birth, so an adoptee born before January 18, 1999 falls on this track even if the adoption itself was finalized years later, which is common in older-child and foster adoptions.

The first required step on that track is not a notice to the birth parent. Under § 923(c), the Office of Vital Statistics must first consult Family Court to determine whether an affidavit is on file expressing a birth parent's desire to keep information about the adoption confidential. What happens next depends on what that check turns up.

If an affidavit authorizing release is on file, § 923(c)(1) directs the Office of Vital Statistics to request a copy of the affidavit and, on receiving it, release the authorized records. There is no notice step and no 35-day wait in that situation.

The notice process appears only in § 923(c)(2), which applies when the affidavit on file denies release or when no affidavit is on file at all. In that case the Office of Vital Statistics mails notice to the birth parent or birth parents. The statute requires the Office to search a computerized telephone or address database, along with Delaware's Division of Motor Vehicles and voter records, to determine the most likely address, falling back on the last known address if no current one is available, and to mail the notice within 30 days from when the adoptee requested release of the records. The notice explains the confidentiality requirements and supplies the forms. If a written notarized statement denying release is not received within 35 days from the date of mailing, or if the birth parent specifically authorizes release, the Office of Vital Statistics releases the records to the adoptee. If a notarized denial does arrive within that window, the records stay closed.

Note that every step in § 923(c) is assigned to the Office of Vital Statistics. The State Registrar is the office named in § 923(b) for the general age-21 request.

Where the vital-records event occurred on or after January 18, 1999, § 923 sets no consult-and-notify step. A birth parent can proactively file the veto described above at any point, on the same rolling, renewable 3-year cycle.

How to Request Your Original Birth Certificate

Requests go to the Delaware Office of Vital Statistics, part of the Department of Health and Social Services, phone (302) 744-4549. No separately numbered request form or independently confirmed fee amount was located for this article; contact the office directly for the current form and fee before submitting a request.

The Sealed Adoption Court File

Separately from the birth-certificate process, Delaware seals the adoption court record itself. Title 13, § 924, in the same adoption-chapter subchapter as the § 923 birth-certificate veto, requires all court records of any adoption to be treated as strictly confidential and kept by the Clerk of the Court in a sealed container, opened only by order of the Family Court judge. A related but distinct provision, § 1112, separately seals the court record of a termination-of-parental-rights proceeding; that governs a preceding TPR case, not the adoption record itself.

A petitioner seeking to inspect the sealed adoption file must explain their reasons to the Family Court judge under the companion § 925 process; the judge refers the petition to the Department or a licensed agency for investigation before deciding whether disclosure serves the adoptee's and the parties' interests. That is a functional good-cause-style standard, though Delaware's statute does not use the phrase good cause shown verbatim. Section 924 also lets a party petition for release of medical information needed for the adopted individual's or a blood relative's health, even while the rest of the record stays sealed.

A Coming Section-Number Change

The effective-until bracket in the Delaware Code runs section by section, not across a whole chapter. Within the Title 13 adoption subchapter, § 923 and § 925, along with several others including §§ 921 and 928, are marked as effective only until December 6, 2026, ahead of a scheduled recodification. Other sections in the same subchapter, including § 922 (Birth certificate), § 924 (Confidential nature of Court records) and § 929 (Exchange of identifying information), carry no such bracket. Section 1112, which sits in Title 13, Chapter 11 rather than the adoption chapter, carries the same December 6, 2026 bracket.

The substance described on this page, the age-21 access right and the birth-parent veto mechanic, is confirmed current as of this article's verification date. Anyone citing a specific section number after that date should re-check it against the current Delaware Code, since the numbering itself is expected to change.

No Formal Registry, but Agency Search Services Exist

No separate mutual-consent registry or confidential-intermediary statute was located for Delaware, consistent with the pattern in other states where direct adoptee access already exists for at least some adoptees. Search-and-reunion services, distinct from a formal state registry, are described as available through licensed adoption agencies to adoptees 21 and older who have already obtained their birth certificate. As with any search process, results and contact are not guaranteed.

Related Delaware Records

See Delaware death records for locating a deceased birth parent's record, Delaware court records for the state's broader court-records rules, and Delaware 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 Delaware adoption-records law. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees, forms, and section numbers are subject to change, including a recodification that several Title 13 sections are marked as taking effect on December 6, 2026; verify current details with the Delaware Office of Vital Statistics or a licensed Delaware attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation. Locating a birth relative is not guaranteed to succeed or to lead to contact.

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Last updated: 2026-09-02. Fees and forms reflect their published status as of August 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Delaware an open-records state for adult adoptees?

Not entirely. An adoptee 21 or older can request their birth certificate without a court order, but a birth parent can fully block release with a renewable, notarized disclosure veto under 13 Del. C. § 923. Delaware is a compromise, veto-holding state.

How does the Delaware birth-parent veto work?

A birth parent files a written, notarized statement with the Office of Vital Statistics denying release, within the most recent 3-year period. The veto blocks release while active and can be renewed indefinitely by refiling every 3 years.

What if the record I am asking for is from before January 18, 1999?

Section 923(c) is keyed to the date of the vital-records event, so an original birth certificate for a birth before January 18, 1999 falls on this track no matter when the adoption was finalized. The Office of Vital Statistics must first consult Family Court about a birth-parent affidavit. If the affidavit authorizes release, the records go out with no notice and no waiting period. If it denies release or there is no affidavit, the Office mails notice to the birth parent and releases the records if no notarized denial arrives within 35 days, or sooner if the birth parent authorizes release.

How old do I have to be to request my Delaware original birth certificate?

21.

Does Delaware have an adoption reunion registry?

No formal state-run registry was located. Licensed adoption agencies offer search-and-reunion services to adoptees 21 and older who have already obtained their birth certificate.