Romanian Office for Adoption advice

The Romanian Office for Adoption provides the following legal advice on obtaining information from government officials for search and contact with birth parents.

Remember that the legal position that says whether government officials can help you by providing information on birth relatives is very different for “minors” (those under 18 years) and those who have “full capacity” (are regarded as legal adults, over 18).

How can the adopted child find information about his biological parents (name, address, etc)?

According to current legislation, the identification data of biological parents can be directly given to our institution at the request of the adopted minor, if the following conditions are cumulatively met:

- when adoption was consented, biological parents were part of the trial
- after being contacted by the Romanian authorities, the biological parents must agree to giving their personal data to the child in case.
If these conditions are not met, the provisions of art.52 paragraph (3) and paragraph (4) of Law no.273/2004 apply, in accordance to which: „The identity of the natural parents of the adopted child can be revealed before the child has full capacity only on medical grounds, with authorization from the court, at the request of any of the adopting persons, the adopted child, his/her spouse or descendents or the representative of a medical institution or of a hospital.
After the adopted person has full capacity, he/she can request the court in his/her area or the Bucharest Court, if he/she does not live in Romania, to authorize access to information held by any public authorities with regard to the identity of his/her natural parents.
In this circumstance (described in the paragraph above), in order to obtain identification data of natural parents, the adopted person must notify the Court with an action to obtain authorized access to this information.

Can the biological family get information on the adopted child, the new family, the conditions of living, the child’s development, eventually his/her whereabouts? Where can they go and what kind of information can they be offered? Is all this information confidential?

The law excludes any relations/contacts between the biologic and adoptive parents of a child.
     See art. 37, paragraph 2, art. 50, paragraph 2 and 3, art. 52 of Law no. 273/2004 regarding the legal regime of adoption (see the Romanian Office for Adoption website for this).

Should the child be told that he/she was adopted? Is there a recommended time for telling him/her? How, when and under what conditions can the child find out the identity of his/her biological parents? Is the General Direction of Social Assistance and Child Protection involved?

The law makes clear all aspects related to this set of questions.
     See art. 52 of Law no. 273/2004 regarding the legal regime of adoption (see the Romanian Office for Adoption website for this).