Georgia Adoption Records: Andee's Law and the Original Birth Certificate

Georgia changed dramatically on July 1, 2025. Senate Bill 100, known as Andee's Law, amended O.C.G.A. 31-10-14 to let an adult adoptee request their own original, pre-adoption birth certificate directly from the State Office of Vital Records, without a court order. That reclassifies Georgia's original birth certificate (OBC) access from a restricted, court-only model to a direct request model. The adoption court FILE itself, meaning the petition, decree, and agency case record, is governed by a separate statute and remains sealed.

Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Georgia's New Direct Request Path to the Original Birth Certificate

Before Andee's Law, an adult adoptee generally needed a court order to see their own original birth certificate. Senate Bill 100 changed that specifically for the birth certificate itself, amending O.C.G.A. 31-10-14 so that adults born in Georgia who are 18 or older can request copies of their original birth certificate directly, effective July 1, 2025. Two official Georgia government sources confirm the change independently:

'Adults born in Georgia who are 18 or older can request copies [of their original birth certificate]... Senate Bill 100 became effective July 1, 2025, enabling this access.' (georgia.gov)

'Effective July 1, 2025, Andee's Law (SB 100) allows Georgia-born individuals aged 18+ to request uncertified copies of original birth certificates.' (dph.georgia.gov)

The request goes through ROVER, the state's online vital records request system, and costs $25. Because the underlying record is sealed and must be retrieved manually rather than pulled from the standard birth index, there is no pen and ink paper option and no expedited processing for this specific record type. If the adoptee has died, their parents, siblings, or direct line descendants, meaning children or grandchildren, may apply with proof of relationship and a copy of the death certificate.

The Adoption Court File Is Still Sealed

Andee's Law's only substantive change was to the vital records statute. Section 2 of SB 100 added a new subsection (h) to O.C.G.A. 31-10-14; the bill's remaining operative section did nothing but replace the phrase 'certificate of birth' with 'birth certificate' in a list of other Code sections, namely 19-3-36, 19-7-46.1, and fifteen sections of Title 31. O.C.G.A. 19-8-23, the separate statute governing the adoption court file itself, meaning the petition, the final decree, and any Department of Human Services or agency social history record, appears nowhere in the enacted text. That file remains sealed.

Under O.C.G.A. 19-8-23(a)(1), 'all of such court records, including the docket book, that relate in any manner to the adoption shall be kept sealed and locked,' and the department must keep its own adoption records sealed and locked as well. Paragraph (a)(2) then opens that file to a narrow group. The court records and department records 'may be examined by the parties at interest in the adoption and their attorneys,' and only after a written petition filed under seal, at least 30 days' prior written notice to the department and to the appropriate child-placing agency, and an order from the court in chambers permitting the examination. The statute says separately that records relating in any manner to adoption are not open to the general public for inspection, so a person who is not a party at interest has no petition route at all.

One narrower rule adds time, and only in a specific situation. Under paragraph (a)(3), if the adoptee whose records are sought is less than 18 years old when the petition is filed and the petitioner is someone other than one of the adoptive parents, the department must give the adoptive parents written notice by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery, and the court must continue any hearing until not less than 60 days after that notice was sent. Each adoptive parent may then appear, personally or through counsel, and show cause why the records should not be examined. That 60 day continuance does not apply when an adoptive parent is the one petitioning, and it does not apply where the adoptee is already an adult. As always, confirm the current code text or consult a Georgia attorney before relying on this for a specific filing.

The Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry (GARR)

Georgia has run a mutual consent reunion registry since 1990. Until July 1, 2025 it was operated by the nonprofit Families First under contract with the Department of Human Services; oversight then transitioned directly to the Department, on the same date Andee's Law took effect. GARR provides two things: non-identifying information from the sealed adoption record without a court order, available to an adult adoptee or to the adoptive parent of an adoptee under 18, and mutual consent contact facilitation, connecting an adoptee with a birth parent who has also registered and consented, or connecting adult siblings where at least one is an adoptee. Birth parents and siblings can register either a willingness to be contacted or an explicit no contact preference. A fee applies, referenced in GARR's own materials, though the specific amount was not listed on either opened source page.

Non-Identifying Information

An adult adoptee, or the adoptive parent of an adoptee under 18, can request non-identifying information from GARR without a court order. This is separate from, and does not require, the ROVER birth certificate request or a 19-8-23 court petition.

How to Apply

For the original birth certificate: apply online only through ROVER, the Georgia Department of Public Health's vital records request system. The fee is $25 per copy; processing has run 8 to 10 weeks. County registrars cannot fulfill this request.

For the sealed court file: this route is open only to a party at interest in the adoption, or that party's attorney. It requires a written petition, filed under seal, to the court that handled the adoption, plus advance written notice to the department and the placing agency; because of those notice and hearing requirements, consulting a Georgia attorney is advisable.

For the reunion registry: contact the Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry, now overseen by the Department of Human Services.

This article is part of recordinglaw.com's Adoption Records by State series. For a state by state explanation of the original birth certificate concept itself, see How to Get Your Original Birth Certificate. For search strategy and honest expectations, see How to Find Birth Parents. For how mutual consent registries work across states, see Adoption Reunion Registries.

A general, non-adoption birth certificate is a different question with different rules; see Are Birth Certificates Public Records? for that distinction. Sealed adoption files also come up in Georgia's broader public records rules; see Georgia Court Records. Where a birth parent search runs into a death, see Georgia Death Records, and for a name trail after marriage or divorce, see Georgia Marriage and Divorce Records.

Disclaimer

This article explains Georgia's rules for adoption records following the 2025 enactment of Andee's Law. It is general legal information, not legal advice, and is not a substitute for a licensed Georgia attorney. Statutes are amended between legislative sessions, so verify the current statutory text with a Georgia attorney or the courts before relying on it for a specific filing. Fees and processes change; confirm current details with the Department of Public Health or GARR.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11. Fees and forms reflect their published status as of August 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get my original birth certificate in Georgia now?

Yes, if you were born in Georgia and are 18 or older. Andee's Law (SB 100), effective July 1, 2025, lets you request an uncertified copy directly from the State Office of Vital Records through the state's online ROVER system, with no court order required.

How much does it cost to get an original birth certificate in Georgia?

The fee is $25 per copy, paid through the online ROVER request system. Processing has generally run 8 to 10 weeks because the record must be retrieved manually from the sealed file.

Is the Georgia adoption court file public now that Andee's Law passed?

No. Andee's Law amended the vital records statute governing the birth certificate itself and did not touch O.C.G.A. 19-8-23. The separate court file, meaning the adoption petition, decree, and any Department of Human Services case record, remains sealed. Only the parties at interest in the adoption and their attorneys may petition to examine it, and only after at least 30 days' written notice to the department and the placing agency and a court order. It is not open to the general public.

What is the Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry?

GARR is Georgia's mutual consent registry, running since 1990. It provides non-identifying information to an adult adoptee without a court order, and facilitates contact between an adoptee and a birth parent, or between adult siblings, when both sides have registered and consented. The Department of Human Services has overseen it directly since July 1, 2025.

Can a deceased adoptee's family get their original birth certificate?

Yes. If the adoptee has died, their parents, siblings, or direct line descendants such as children or grandchildren may apply through ROVER with proof of relationship and a copy of the death certificate.

Do I need a lawyer to get Georgia adoption records?

Not for the birth certificate itself; that goes through the online ROVER system. A lawyer is generally advisable for a petition to unseal the adoption court file, since that route is limited to parties at interest and involves formal notice and hearing requirements under O.C.G.A. 19-8-23.