Report an adoption
We record only court-ordered adoptions for children born in Colorado or outside the United States. We forward all other adoption documents to the child's state of birth.
- Attorney or Court Report of Adoption:
- When an adoption is finalized in a Colorado court, the Report of Adoption is sent to the Vital Records office. The new birth certificate will be processed about four weeks after we receive the report.
- Notification of New Birth Certificate Letter:
- Once the new birth certificate is complete, we’ll send a notification of completion and a Birth Certificate Application to the attorney listed on the Report of Adoption. If an attorney isn’t listed, we’ll send this information to the adoptive parent(s).
- Application for Birth Certificate:
- Complete the Birth Certificate Application and submit the form with all the required documents, as well as fees for the adoption registration and a certified copy of the certificate.
More options
- Foreign-born adoption
- The certified Report of Adoption and Final Decree of Adoption should be received from either the court where the adoption took place or the attorney.
- “Issued Pursuant to Adoption”
- If you select this option on the Birth Certificate Application, the statement "Issued Pursuant to Adoption" will print on the face of the birth certificate if there’s a record of an adoption on file in our office.
- No Report of Adoption submitted
- If the attorney or court didn’t submit a Report of Adoption, a completed Data Worksheet for New Birth Certificates must be submitted with the adoption decree.
Order certificate now
We maintain original birth certificates only for individuals born in Colorado. If you were born outside the state, contact the state vital records office where you were born to find out how to get your original birth certificate.
Who may access an adoptee's original birth certificate:
- Adult adoptee (18 or older).
- Adoptive parent of a minor adoptee.
- Custodial grandparent of a minor adoptee.
- A birth parent who relinquished a child for adoption and whose termination of the parent-child legal relationship was not the result of a dependency and neglect action.
- Legal representative of any such individual.
Who may access an adoptee’s original birth certificate with notarized written consent of the adult adoptee:
- Spouse of an adult adoptee.
- Adoptive parent of an adult adoptee.
- Sibling/half sibling.
- Adult descendant of an adult adoptee.
- Grandparent of an adult adoptee.
- The legal representative of any such individual.
If the adoptee or birth parent(s) are deceased, records are open to eligible parties.
Application to access an original birth certificate as a result of an adoption
Access to adoption information
Effective January 1, 2016, adult adoptees and other eligible parties (see application for eligible parties), regardless of when the adoption took place, may apply for a copy of the adoptee’s original birth certificate.
Colorado Revised Statute §19-5-305 details how adoption records may be accessed by adoptees and other eligible parties.
Apply for the Colorado Voluntary Adoption Registry to facilitate contact between adult adoptees (who were born in Colorado), siblings/half-siblings, and their birth parent(s).
Medical history information
For adoptee or adoptive parents
The Contact Preference Form allows you to indicate how you wish to be contacted in the future and to provide medical history information.
Non-identifying information about birth parents
- If your birth parent provided medical history to the Office of the State Registrar, you can get a copy of the record by submitting a Contact Application to access an Original Birth Certificate.
- We don’t have other non-identifying information about birth parents.
- If your adoption was conducted by a private attorney, state and local agencies won’t have non-identifying birth parent information.
Additional resources
Adoption contacts
For adoptees:
- Who were wards of the State Home for Dependent and Neglected Children,
- Who were in the custody of a county human service agency before adoption, or
- If a child placement agency (adoption agency) assisted in the adoption and that agency has now closed.
Adoption information and records may be available by contacting:
- Colorado Department of Human Services
- Division of Child Welfare
- 1575 Sherman St., Second Floor
- Denver, CO 80203
The following nonprofit organizations also facilitate adoptions statewide:
- Catholic Charities
- 2525 W. Alameda Ave.
- Denver, CO 80219
- 303-742-0823, ext. 1056
- Colorado Christian Services
- 1100 W. Littleton Blvd., Suite 105
- Littleton, CO 80120
- 303-761-7236
Colorado Confidential Intermediary Services
The Colorado Confidential Intermediary program is a court-appointed search service that allows a certified Confidential Intermediary (CI) access to closed/sealed adoption files. Upon court appointment, the CI will review the sealed records, search for eligible biological family members, and reunite adult biological family members. Pursuant to Colorado Revised Statute (CRS) §19-5-305, eligible person(s) can petition the court for a Certified Confidential Intermediary. Eligible person(s) defined below can initiate a search and/or be sought-after:
- An adult adoptee (18 years of age).
- An adoptive parent, custodial grandparent, or legal guardian of a minor adoptee.
- A biological parent or an adult biological sibling or half-sibling of an adult adoptee.
- An adult descendant of the adoptee or the adoptive parent, spouse of an adoptee, adult stepchild, or adopted adult sibling of an adoptee (with the notarized consent of the adult adoptee).
- A biological grandparent of an adoptee, with the notarized written consent of the biological parent. Written consent is not required if the biological parent is deceased.
- The legal representative of any individuals listed above.
Learn more about the Confidential Intermediary Search Program
Other resources
- County vital records offices for birth and death records.
- County clerk and recorder's offices for marriage records.
- District court clerks for divorce, separation or annulment records.
- Colorado State Archive for a wide range of historical data.