North Dakota
North Dakota Adoption Records: Original Birth Certificates & Birth Family Search
North Dakota is a restricted-access state for the original birth certificate itself. North Dakota Century Code 23-02.1-18 keeps the original birth record sealed after an adoption is finalized, and North Dakota Health and Human Services states directly that "the only way to open that record again is by a court order." There is no direct registrar-request pathway around that requirement.
Separately, North Dakota runs a consent-based search and disclosure process that can connect an adult adoptee with birth family, including identifying information, without unsealing the certificate itself. This article covers both paths, since they solve different problems and use different forms.
Information last verified on 2026-08-11. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
Can an Adult Adoptee Get Their Original Birth Certificate in North Dakota?
Not directly from the registrar. states that "the original birth record and the evidence of adoption, paternity, or legitimation is not subject to inspection except upon order of a court of competent jurisdiction or as provided by rules and regulations." ND HHS Vital Records confirms this in plain language on its own site: the record is sealed after adoption processing, and a court order is the only way to reopen it.
That makes North Dakota a restricted state for the certificate itself, with no age tier or date-based cohort written into the statute the way some compromise states use. The court petition goes through the district court system rather than through Vital Records directly. ND HHS Vital Records did not publish a specific dollar figure for this process on the page reviewed for this article, so do not assume a fee amount before confirming directly with the court or with Vital Records.
North Dakota's Search and Disclosure Process (Separate from the OBC)
What North Dakota does offer without a court order is a consent-based search and disclosure route under . This is a different mechanism from unsealing the certificate: it can result in identifying information and contact between an adoptee and birth family, but it does not itself produce the original birth certificate document.
The statute allows "an adopted individual who is eighteen years of age or older" to "request the department to initiate the disclosure of information identifying the adopted individual's genetic parents." A birth parent or a biological sibling can also file. Once a request comes in, the department (through the child-placing agency) works to locate and notify the other party. If that party consents, identifying information is disclosed; if they object, only the requesting party's side of the information moves forward.
This process is filed on the Search/Disclosure Request form, SFN 00940, with the ND HHS Children and Family Services / Adoption Program. The form's own text confirms it is open to adult adoptees, birth parents, and biological siblings, and that it triggers an agency-run search and notification process rather than an automatic release. A specific filing fee could not be confirmed for this article; ND HHS can be reached at (701) 328-2310 for current details, or through the mailing address below.
- Form: SFN 00940 (Search/Disclosure Request)
- Office: ND HHS, Children and Family Services, 600 E Boulevard Ave, Dept 301, Bismarck, ND 58505-0200
- Phone: (701) 328-2310
Court Record Confidentiality
Section 14-15-16 also functions as North Dakota's general confidentiality statute for adoption proceedings: "All papers; records; and identifying and nonidentifying information relating to an adopted individual...are confidential and may be disclosed only in accordance with this section." North Dakota does not run a freestanding, separately worded good-cause petition standard for unsealing the court file the way some other states do. Instead, disclosure runs through the same 14-15-16 consent and notification mechanism described above.
Non-Identifying Information
Because 14-15-16 covers both identifying and nonidentifying information disclosure through the same department-run process, there is no separate, lower-barrier nonidentifying-only track confirmed for North Dakota. An adult adoptee who wants background or medical history without pursuing full identifying disclosure should still expect to go through the ND HHS Adoption Program to ask what is available.
For the broader playbook on searching for birth family, including what to expect from DNA testing and how to think about a search that does not end in contact, see How to Find Birth Parents.
For the general framework behind the four record types every adoptee search touches, see How to Get Your Original Birth Certificate and Adoption Reunion Registries. North Dakota's broader sealed-court-record rules are covered in North Dakota Court Records; for a name change following marriage or divorce, see North Dakota Marriage & Divorce Records; to locate a deceased birth parent, see North Dakota Death Records.
Disclaimer
This article provides general legal information about adoption records access in North Dakota as verified on 2026-08-11. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Readers who want to petition a court for release of an original birth certificate, or who need advice about a specific adoption record, should consult a lawyer licensed in North Dakota.
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 North Dakota without going to court?
No. N.D.C.C. 23-02.1-18 keeps the original birth record sealed after adoption, and ND HHS Vital Records states directly that a court order is the only way to reopen it. There is no direct administrative request.
What is North Dakota's SFN 00940 form for?
It is the Search/Disclosure Request form used under N.D.C.C. 14-15-16 to ask ND HHS to locate and contact a birth parent, adult adoptee, or biological sibling. It can lead to identifying information being shared with mutual consent, but it does not itself unseal the original birth certificate.
Who can file a search and disclosure request in North Dakota?
An adult adoptee (18 or older), a birth parent, or a biological sibling may file under N.D.C.C. 14-15-16.
What happens if a birth parent does not want to be contacted in North Dakota?
North Dakota's search and disclosure process is mutual-consent based. If the party who is located objects to contact or disclosure, only the requesting party's own information moves forward, not the other party's.
How much does it cost to unseal an original birth certificate in North Dakota?
A specific fee for the court-order unsealing route was not published on the ND HHS Vital Records page reviewed for this article. Contact ND Vital Records or the district court directly for current cost information.
Updates
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on 2 statutory provisions held in our own legal record, each retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
North Dakota Century Code
§ 14-15-16Hearings and records in adoption proceedings - Confidential nature - Disclosure of identifying and nonidentifying information - Retroactive operationIn force
The provisions of this section supersede any other law regarding public hearings and records. For purposes of this section: "Genetic parent" includes a man presumed or adjudicated to be the adopted individual's father under chapter 14-20 and an alleged father when so indicated in the files of the child-placing agency or the department, but only if there exists in those files information that corroborates the allegation of paternity, including the existence of communications between the alleged father and the child-placing agency, or between the alleged father and the genetic mother or members of her family, or such other corroborative information as may be permitted by rules adopted by the department. "Notify" means to make a personal and confidential contact with the individual to whom a disclosure of identifying information has been requested. The personal and confidential contact must be made by an employee or agent of the child-placing agency that processed the adoption or by some other licensed child-placing agency designated by the individual initiating the search.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-30 · Read the full section at ndlegis.gov
§ 23-02.1-18New birth records following adoption, legitimation, and paternity determinationIn force
The state registrar shall establish a new birth record for a person born in this state when the registrar receives the following: An adoption report as provided in section 23-02.1-17 or a certified copy of the decree of adoption together with the information necessary to identify the original birth record and to establish a new birth record; except that a new birth record may not be established if so requested by the court decreeing the adoption, the adoptive parents, or the adoptive person. A request that a new record be established and such evidence as required by rules and regulations proving that such person has been legitimated or that a court of competent jurisdiction has determined the paternity of such person. For a person born in a foreign country whose adoptive parents are residents of the state of North Dakota at the time of the adoption, the state registrar shall prepare a new birth record: In the case of a foreign-born person adopted in North Dakota, upon presentation of a report of adoption as required by section 23-02.1-17.
Official text (excerpt) · as of 2026-07-30 · Read the full section at ndlegis.gov
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Sources and References
- N.D. Cent. Code § 23-02.1-18 (New Birth Records Following Adoption, Legitimation, and Paternity Determination)(ndlegis.gov).gov
- N.D. Cent. Code § 14-15-16 (Hearings and Records in Adoption Proceedings; Confidential Nature; Disclosure)(ndlegis.gov).gov
- North Dakota HHS, Vital Records: Adoption(hhs.nd.gov).gov
- North Dakota SFN 00940, Search/Disclosure Request(nd.gov).gov