Our Mission and Advocacy

California Alliance for Adoptee Rights is committed to restoring the fundamental right of adult adoptees to obtain their original birth certificates, lost in 1935. Nothing more. Nothing less. We believe that access to these documents is essential for personal identity, family history, and equality under the law.

Currently there is an outdated and discriminatory law on the books which denies California born adoptees access to their original birth certificate. The right to access and own a fundamental document about one’s very existence is a human right.  Denying this access to adoptees, and adoptees alone, presents an affront to adoptee rights, women’s rights, and equal rights.  It is time to end this outdated and discriminatory practice. We are asking for restoration of equal rights to adoptees by passing legislation that will unseal original birth certificates to all California-born adult adoptees.

California has instituted a dual birth certificate system for children who are adopted. At birth, every person in California is issued a birth certificate, however once a child is adopted, an amended birth certificate is issued which makes no reference to the adoption (nor to the birth certificate’s having been amended), but which replaces the names of the birthparents with names of the adoptive parents, as if the adoptive parents gave birth to the child. Sometimes other facts are changed or omitted as well. The original birth certificate is sealed from the very person for whom it was issued and cannot be obtained absent a court order, which is rarely granted. This disparity in the law leads to inequality in the treatment of our citizens.

Records have not always been sealed. In 1935, they were sealed based on now-antiquated views of shame and secrecy associated with women having sex outside of marriage, with a child being illegitimate, and with an adoptive family facing infertility. The records were thus sealed to “protect” the adoptee from the shame of illegitimacy and to stop access by outside parties who might blackmail adoptive families by threatening to reveal their child was adopted. These outdated beliefs hold no merit today, and we, as adult adoptees, should not be shamed further by being treated differently than any other citizen of our great State.

Despite California’s reputation as a leader in civil rights, the state legislature falls behind other states when it comes to adoptee rights. In addition to the two states, AK and KS, which never sealed records, fourteen other states have enacted laws since 1998 which grant adult adopted individuals unrestricted access to their original birth certificates. In California, adoptees, and only adoptees, remain uniquely denied this fundamental right to own their true identity. This inequity impacts thousands of Californians who deserve the same autonomy and dignity as their non-adopted peers. Our organization is committed to changing this reality through education, legislative advocacy, and community support. By 2026, we aim to ensure California joins the growing list of states, GA, MN, SD, VT, MA, LA, CT, NY, CO, RI, ME, NH, AL, OR, AK, and KS that recognize and protect the rights of adult adoptees.

Our approach centers on respectful dialogue, factual information, and collaboration with policymakers, adoptees, and allies. We advocate for legislation that grants unrestricted access to original birth certificates for adults adopted as children.