Mississippi Adoption Records: The Adoption Confidentiality Act's Consent System

Mississippi does not give adult adoptees an automatic right to the original birth certificate. Under the Mississippi Adoption Confidentiality Act, whether the state hands over the certificate turns on whether the birth parent has filed an affidavit authorizing it. What the Act does give an adoptee, when no affidavit is on file, is a way to ask: a licensed-agency search that puts the question to the birth parent, and a chancery court petition the court must grant for good cause shown.

This page covers how the affidavit system works, the two age thresholds that apply to different kinds of information, what the July 1, 2005 date in the statute actually limits, and the routes available when no affidavit has been filed.

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

How Mississippi's Consent System Works

Mississippi Code Section 93-17-205(4), part of the Mississippi Adoption Confidentiality Act, provides that 'any birth parent may file with the bureau at any time an affidavit authorizing the bureau to provide the adoptee with his or her original birth certificate and with any other available information about the birth parent's identity and location, or an affidavit expressly prohibiting the bureau from providing the adoptee with any information about such birth parent's identity and location.' The same subsection lets a birth parent revoke an affidavit at any time by written notice to the bureau.

That structure makes Mississippi meaningfully different from states that give an adult adoptee a direct request right, and different again from states where a birth parent can only redact information or set a contact preference without blocking release. Here the birth parent's affirmative authorization is what unlocks the original birth certificate.

Silence, though, is not the end of the matter. An adoptee whose birth parent has never filed anything has two further routes under the same Act, described below, and even a filed prohibition leaves the chancery court petition open.

The Act, Sections 93-17-201 through 93-17-223 of the Mississippi Code, folds the records file, the consent affidavits, non-identifying information, agency searches and court petitions into a single article rather than treating them as separate systems.

What the July 1, 2005 Date Actually Limits

The July 1, 2005 date in this statute is narrower than it first appears. It sits in Section 93-17-205(1), which directs the bureau to 'maintain a centralized adoption records file for all adoptions performed in this state after July 1, 2005.' What it limits is that file-maintenance duty.

It is not the Act's effective date. The Mississippi Adoption Confidentiality Act was enacted as Laws 1992, chapter 306, and Sections 93-17-201, 93-17-207, 93-17-209, 93-17-215, 93-17-217, 93-17-219, 93-17-221 and 93-17-223 all took effect July 1, 1992. The 2005 date arrived later, through an amendment to Section 93-17-205 alone.

The provisions an adoptee actually uses carry no date cutoff. The affidavit right in Section 93-17-205(4) is expressly available to a birth parent 'at any time,' the Act's definitions section describes an adoptee as a person who is or has been adopted in this state at any time, and Sections 93-17-207, 93-17-215, 93-17-219 and 93-17-221 set no cutoff of their own.

The practical caveat is about contents rather than eligibility. For an adoption finalized well before 2005, the centralized file may simply hold less, so a properly made request can still turn up little. Section 93-17-209 exists partly for that situation, letting a licensed agency go and gather background that is not already on file.

When No Affidavit Is on File

Section 93-17-219 treats the absence of an affidavit as the trigger for the next step rather than as a dead end. If the bureau holds no affidavit from a known birth parent, and no record that the birth parent was already contacted and refused, the adoptee may ask a licensed agency to search for that birth parent.

On locating the person, the agency must make at least one verbal contact and tell them what information was requested, when it was requested, and that they have the right to consent to or prohibit release by filing an affidavit with the bureau. Within three working days the agency must give the birth parent a written statement of the request and an affidavit form. If the birth parent authorizes release, the agency discloses the information. If the birth parent files nothing after being contacted, the agency does not disclose, and only one contact is permitted on behalf of the same adoptee. The agency may charge for the search, and it must notify the adoptee before the fee exceeds $100 for either birth parent.

If that does not produce the record, Section 93-17-221 provides a court route: the adoptee 'may petition the chancery court to order the agency to disclose any identifying information that may not be disclosed' under the Act, and 'the court shall grant the petition for good cause shown.'

Underneath all of this sits Mississippi's general rule. Section 93-17-25 makes adoption pleadings, reports, files and records confidential and withholds them from inspection 'except upon order of the court in which the proceeding was had on good cause shown.' That same section expressly preserves the Act's routes, providing that portions of the record 'may be released pursuant to Sections 93-17-201 through 93-17-223.'

Age Thresholds Under the Act

The Act uses two different ages for two different things, which is the likely source of the 18-versus-21 confusion that surrounds Mississippi.

For non-identifying information the threshold is 18. Section 93-17-207(1)(a) directs release to 'an adoptee eighteen (18) years of age or older,' and the same subsection extends it to an adoptee's offspring or blood sibling who is 18 or older.

For identifying information about a birth parent the threshold is 21. Section 93-17-215 provides that 'any person twenty-one (21) years of age or over who has been adopted in this state may request' the bureau, through a licensed adoption agency providing post-adoption services, to obtain the identifying information regarding either or both birth parents, unless that birth parent has filed an affidavit prohibiting release.

A third use of age 21 in the Act has nothing to do with record requests. Section 93-17-205(6)(a) uses it only to decide whether notice of a genetically transferable disease or illness goes to the adoptee directly or to the adoptee's guardian, custodian or adoptive parent.

Non-Identifying Information

Mississippi does have a distinct non-identifying-information route, separate from the consent-affidavit system above. Under Section 93-17-207 the bureau or the agency 'shall release the nonidentifying information maintained as provided in Section 93-17-205 for a reasonable fee,' including the actual cost of reproduction, on request with sufficient proof of identity. The people entitled to it are an adoptee 18 or older, an adoptive parent, an adoptee's guardian or legal custodian, and an adoptee's offspring or blood sibling who is 18 or older.

What comes back is screened. It cannot include a birth parent's name or address, the identity of anyone who provided health care to the adoptee or to a birth parent, or any other information that might reasonably lead to discovering a birth parent's identity.

If the background information is not already on file, and no birth parent has filed an affidavit prohibiting a search, Section 93-17-209 lets any of those same requesters ask a licensed adoption agency to locate the birth parents and obtain medical, social or genetic background. The agency may charge a reasonable fee for the search but must notify the requester before it exceeds $100 for either birth parent. Anything a birth parent provides is released without disclosing that parent's identity or location. If a located birth parent refuses to provide it, the requester may petition the chancery court, which 'shall grant the motion for good cause shown.'

Before acting on a request under Section 93-17-209 or Section 93-17-215, Section 93-17-217 requires the agency to take adequate identification from the adoptee and to provide counseling in connection with the release and use of the information.

How to Apply

A birth parent files a consent or prohibition affidavit with the Bureau of Vital Records of the Mississippi State Board of Health, which the Act calls the bureau, under Section 93-17-205(4), and may revoke it later by written notice.

An adoptee's request runs through a licensed adoption agency rather than through a direct filing with the state. Sections 93-17-215 and 93-17-219 both route the request through a licensed adoption agency providing post-adoption services, and Section 93-17-213 authorizes the bureau to promulgate rules and charge reasonable fees to implement the Act. Start with the agency that handled the adoption, or contact the Mississippi State Department of Health's vital records division, for current forms and fees. Specific form names, fee amounts and mailing addresses for the adoptee-facing side of this process were not confirmed from an independently reachable Mississippi government page for this article.

One research note for anyone going further into these statutes: Mississippi's official code is Lexis-published, and the Secretary of State's public code portal routes to that Lexis-hosted search rather than to a directly linkable statute page. The statutory language quoted above was checked against the Mississippi Legislature's own bill documents on billstatus.ls.state.ms.us, which carry the enrolled and current text of these sections.

Related Mississippi Records

See Mississippi court records for how the state's broader sealed and public court-file rules work, and Mississippi death records and Mississippi marriage and divorce records for related vital records. For the general question of who can get an ordinary Mississippi birth certificate versus the original, sealed version described here, see are birth certificates public records? For the nationwide picture, start at Adoption Records by State, or go directly to how to get your original birth certificate, how to find birth parents, and adoption reunion registries.

Disclaimer

This article is general legal information about Mississippi's adoption-records statutes and is not legal advice. Statutes, forms, agency procedures and fees can change. Confirm current requirements with the Mississippi State Department of Health, a licensed Mississippi adoption agency, or a licensed Mississippi attorney for advice on a specific situation.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a Mississippi adoptee request the original birth certificate directly?

Not as of right. Release of the original birth certificate depends on the birth parent having filed an authorizing affidavit under Section 93-17-205(4). If no affidavit is on file, Section 93-17-219 lets the adoptee ask a licensed agency to search for and contact the birth parent, who is then given an affidavit form to decide. Section 93-17-221 lets the adoptee petition the chancery court, which must grant the petition for good cause shown.

What adoptions does the Mississippi Adoption Confidentiality Act cover?

The Act took effect July 1, 1992, and its definitions describe an adoptee as a person who is or has been adopted in this state at any time. The July 1, 2005 date in Section 93-17-205(1) limits only the bureau's duty to maintain the centralized adoption records file. It does not limit who may request information.

What if my Mississippi adoption was finalized before July 1, 2005?

The Act's request provisions still apply, because they set no date cutoff. The practical difference is what the centralized file holds: for an older adoption it may contain less. That is one reason Section 93-17-209 allows a licensed agency to search for a birth parent and gather medical, social and genetic background that is not already on file.

How old do you have to be to use Mississippi's adoption records process?

It depends on the information. Non-identifying information goes to an adoptee 18 or older under Section 93-17-207(1)(a). Identifying information about a birth parent requires the adoptee to be 21 or older under Section 93-17-215.

Can a Mississippi birth parent block release of the adoptee's original birth certificate?

Yes, by design. Under Section 93-17-205(4) a birth parent may file an affidavit expressly prohibiting release of information about their identity and location, and prohibiting a licensed agency from searching for them. That affidavit can be revoked in writing at any time. Even with one on file, Section 93-17-221 lets the adoptee petition the chancery court for disclosure on good cause shown.

Does Mississippi have a separate adoption reunion registry?

No separate registry by that name was found. The affidavit system under Sections 93-17-201 through 93-17-223, combined with the licensed-agency search under Section 93-17-219, is Mississippi's mechanism for both record release and contact between an adoptee and a birth parent.