Adoption records
Intermediary agencies
You can use an intermediary agency to help you trace a birth relative if you were adopted or you鈥檙e related to someone who has been adopted. The fee for the service depends on the agency.
You can use an intermediary agency if:
- you were adopted before 30 December 2005
- a relative of yours (including a relative by adoption) was adopted before 30 December 2005
When an intermediary agency finds a person, you can only contact them if they agree to it. If they don鈥檛 agree, the agency won鈥檛 tell you their name or whereabouts but might be able to share some information, like:
- their domestic or family circumstances
- their general health and well-being
If you don鈥檛 want to be contacted
Adopted people and birth relatives can use the Adoption Contact Register to say that they don鈥檛 want to be contacted.
Tell your agency and register a veto if you don鈥檛 want to be approached by an intermediary agency. There are 2 types of veto called an 鈥榓bsolute veto鈥� and a 鈥榪ualified veto鈥�.
An 鈥榓bsolute veto鈥�
This means an intermediary agency can鈥檛 approach you under any circumstances (your adoption agency can still pass on information to you, for example about a hereditary medical condition or details of an inheritance).
A 鈥榪ualified veto鈥�
This means you can say when you would be prepared to be contacted, for example you could say that an approach on behalf of your birth parent wouldn鈥檛 be acceptable, but an approach by a sibling would.
More help and information
For further information on intermediary services you can contact:
- the adoption team at
- a voluntary adoption agency
- an adoption support agency