Adoption; authorize original birth certificate to be provided to certain adoptees and birth parent contact forms.

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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Calvert

HOUSE BILL NO. 838

AN ACT TO CREATE NEW SECTION 93-17-206, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1
1972, TO REQUIRE THE BUREAU OF VITAL RECORDS OF THE STATE BOARD OF 2
HEALTH TO ISSUE, UPON REQUEST, A COPY OF THE ORIGINAL BIRTH 3
CERTIFICATE OF AN ADOPTEE WHO IS 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER; TO 4
AMEND SECTION 93-17-205, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE 5
BUREAU TO PREPARE A CONTACT PREFERENCE FORM THAT A BIRTH PARENT 6
MAY FILE WITH THE BUREAU INDICATING THE BIRTH PARENT'S PREFERENCE 7
REGARDING BEING CONTACTED BY A CHILD THE PARENT PLACED FOR 8
ADOPTION; TO REQUIRE THE BUREAU TO RELEASE A CONTACT PREFERENCE 9
FORM, IF ANY, TO AN ADOPTEE WHENEVER THE ADOPTEE IS ISSUED AN 10
ORIGINAL BIRTH CERTIFICATE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 11
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 12
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 13
93-17-206, Mississippi Code of 1972: 14
93-17-206. (1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the 15
contrary or the existence of an affidavit filed by an adoptee's 16
parent expressly prohibiting the bureau from providing the adoptee 17
with any information about the birth parent, an adoptee who is 18
twenty-one (21) years of age or older may request an uncertified 19
copy of the adoptee's original birth certificate from the bureau. 20
Upon request, the bureau shall issue an uncertified copy of the 21
original birth certificate to the adoptee. 22
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(2) If a birth parent has submitted a contact preference 23
form to the bureau, as provided for in Section 93-17-205, the 24
bureau must provide the contact preference form to the adoptee 25
whenever a copy of the original birth certificate is issued to the 26
adoptee. 27
(3) The rules and regulations promulgated by the bureau 28
pursuant to Section 93-17-213 must include provisions relating to 29
the provision of an uncertified copy of the original birth 30
certificate and contact preference form, if any, to an adoptee, as 31
authorized under this section. 32
SECTION 2. Section 93-17-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 33
amended as follows: 34
93-17-205. (1) The bureau shall maintain a centralized 35
adoption records file for all adoptions performed in this state 36
after July 1, 2005, which shall contain the following information: 37
(a) The medical and social history of the birth 38
parents, including information regarding genetically inheritable 39
diseases or illnesses and any similar information furnished by the 40
birth parents about the adoptee's grandparents, aunts, uncles, 41
brothers and sisters if known; 42
(b) A report of any medical examination which either 43
birth parent had within one (1) year before the date of the 44
petition for adoption, if available and known; 45
(c) A report describing the adoptee's prenatal care and 46
medical condition at birth, if available and known; 47
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(d) The medical and social history of the adoptee, 48
including information regarding genetically inheritable diseases 49
or illnesses, and any other relevant medical, social and genetic 50
information if available; and 51
(e) Forms 100A, 100B (if applicable) and evidence of 52
Interstate Compact for Placement of Children approval (if 53
applicable). 54
The Administrative Office of Courts shall assist the bureau 55
in the maintenance of its centralized adoption record by compiling 56
the number of finalized adoptions in each chancery court district 57
on a monthly basis, and submitting this information to the bureau. 58
The bureau shall include these statistics in its centralized 59
adoption record. The information in this report shall include the 60
number of adoptions in this state where the adopting parent is a 61
blood relative of the adoptee and the number of adoptions in this 62
state where the adopting parent is not a blood relative of the 63
adoptee. The report shall not include any individual identifying 64
information. This information shall be updated annually and made 65
available to the public upon request for a reasonable fee. 66
(2) Any birth parent may file with the bureau at any time 67
any relevant supplemental nonidentifying information about the 68
adoptee or the adoptee's birth parents, and the bureau shall 69
maintain this information in the centralized adoption records 70
file. 71
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(3) The bureau shall also maintain as part of the 72
centralized adoption records file the following: 73
(a) The name, date of birth, social security number 74
(both original and revised, where applicable) and birth 75
certificate (both original and revised) of the adoptee; 76
(b) The names, current addresses and social security 77
numbers of the adoptee's birth parents, guardian and legal 78
custodian; 79
(c) Any contact preference form that has been submitted 80
to the bureau by the adoptee's birth parent or parents pursuant to 81
subsection (4) of this section; and 82
( * * *d) Any other available information about the 83
birth parent's identity and location. 84
(4) (a) The bureau shall prepare a contact preference form 85
that a birth parent may request at any time from the bureau. A 86
contact preference form submitted to the bureau by a birth parent 87
must accompany the adoptee's original birth certificate. 88
(b) The contact preference form must provide for the 89
following information to be completed at the option of the birth 90
parent, who must indicate his or her intentions as follows: 91
(i) I would like to be contacted. 92
(ii) I prefer to be contacted only through an 93
intermediary, including, but not limited to, an agency. 94
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(iii) I prefer not to be contacted at this time. 95
If I decide later that I would like to be contacted, I will submit 96
an updated contact preference form to the bureau. 97
(c) The contact preference form is a confidential 98
communication from the birth parent to the person named on the 99
original birth certificate and must be placed with the original 100
birth certificate in the locked drawer or vault where the bureau 101
placed the original birth certificate pursuant to Section 93-17-21 102
or in the centralized adoption records file. Notwithstanding the 103
existence of an affidavit expressly prohibiting the bureau from 104
providing the adoptee with information about the birth parent's 105
identity and location, as authorized under subsection (5), the 106
contact preference form must be released to an adoptee when the 107
adoptee requests a copy of the original birth certificate under 108
Section 93-17-206. 109
(5) In addition to the contact preference form authorized 110
under subsection (4), any birth parent may file with the bureau at 111
any time an affidavit authorizing the bureau to provide the 112
adoptee with his or her original birth certificate and with any 113
other available information about the birth parent's identity and 114
location, or an affidavit expressly prohibiting the bureau from 115
providing the adoptee with any information about such birth 116
parent's identity and location, and prohibiting any licensed 117
adoption agency from conducting a search for such birth parent 118
under the terms of Sections 93-17-201 through 93-17-223. An 119
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affidavit filed under this section may be revoked at any time by 120
written notification to the bureau from the birth parent. 121
( * * *6) Counsel for the adoptive parents in the adoption 122
finalization proceeding shall provide the bureau with the 123
information required in subsections (1) and (3) of this 124
section * * * and * * * shall * * * make such information a part 125
of the adoption records of the court in which the final decree of 126
adoption is rendered. This information shall be provided on forms 127
prepared by the bureau. 128
( * * *7) (a) If an agency receives a report from a 129
physician stating that a birth parent or another child of the 130
birth parent has acquired or may have a genetically transferable 131
disease or illness, the agency shall notify the bureau and the 132
appropriate licensed adoption agency, and the latter agency shall 133
notify the adoptee of the existence of the disease or illness, if 134
he or she is twenty-one (21) years of age or over, or notify the 135
adoptee's guardian, custodian or adoptive parent if the adoptee is 136
under age twenty-one (21). 137
(b) If an agency receives a report from a physician 138
that an adoptee has acquired or may have a genetically 139
transferable disease or illness, the agency shall notify the 140
bureau and the appropriate licensed agency, and the latter agency 141
shall notify the adoptee's birth parent of the existence of the 142
disease or illness. 143
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ST: Adoption; authorize original birth
certificate to be provided to certain adoptees
and birth parent contact forms.
( * * *8) Compliance with the provisions of this section may 144
be waived by the court, in its discretion, in any chancery court 145
proceeding in which one or more of the petitioners for adoption is 146
the natural mother or father of the adoptee. 147
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 148
and after July 1, 2026. 149