Birth Certificates for Persons Adopted.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 818
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/29/25

Short Title: Birth Certificates for Persons Adopted. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 9, 2025
*H818-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO MAKE ACCESS TO NEW BIRTH CERTIFICATES FOR PERSONS ADOPTED 2
SIMILAR TO PERSONS THAT ARE NOT ADOPTED. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1.1. G.S. 48-9-107 reads as rewritten: 5
"§ 48-9-107. New birth certificates. 6
(a) Upon receipt of a report of the adoption of a minor from the Division, or the 7
documents required by G.S. 48-9-102(g) from the clerk of superior court in the adoption of an 8
adult, or a report of an adoption from another state, the State Registrar shall prepare a new birth 9
certificate for the adoptee that shall contain the adoptee's full adoptive name, sex, state of birth, 10
and date of birth; the full name of the adoptive father, if applicable; the full maiden name of the 11
adoptive mother, if applicable; and any other pertinent information consistent with this section 12
as may be determined by the State Registrar. The new certificate shall contain no reference to the 13
adoption of the adoptee and shall not refer to the adoptive parents in any way o ther than as the 14
adoptee's parents. 15
(b) In an adoption by a stepparent, the State Registrar shall prepare a new birth certificate 16
pursuant to subsection (a) of this section except: 17
(1) The adoptive parent and the parent whose relation with the adoptee rema ins 18
unchanged shall be listed as the adoptee's mother and father on the new birth 19
certificate; and 20
(2) The city and county of birth of the adoptee shall be the same on the new birth 21
certificate as on the original certificate. 22
The names of the adoptee's parents shall not be changed as provided in subdivision (1) of this 23
subsection if the petitioner, the petitioner's spouse, the adoptee if age 12 or older, and any living 24
parent whose parental rights are terminated by the adoption jointly file a request that the parents' 25
names not be changed with the court prior to the entry of the adoption decree. The Division shall 26
send a copy of this request with its report to the State Registrar or other appropriate official in 27
the adoption of a minor stepchild, and the cle rk of superior court shall send a copy with the 28
documents required by G.S. 48-9-102(g) in the adoption of an adult stepchild. 29
(c) The State Registrar shall seal the original certificate of birth and all records in the 30
possession of that office pertaining t o the adoption. These records shall not be unsealed except 31
as provided in this Article. The State Registrar shall provide certified typed copies or abstracts 32
of the new certificate of birth of an adoptee prepared pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to 33
the adoptee, the adoptee's children, the adoptive parents, and the adoptee's spouse, brothers, and 34
sisters. For purposes of this subsection, "parent", "brother", and "sister" shall mean the adoptee's 35
adoptive parent, brother, or sister and shall not mean a former parent, brother, or sister. 36
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 818-Second Edition
(d) At the time of preparing the new birth certificate pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of 1
this section, the State Registrar shall notify the register of deeds or appropriate official in the 2
health department in the county of the adoptee's birth to remove the adoptee's birth certificate 3
from the records and forward it to the State Registrar for retention under seal with the original 4
certificate of birth in the State Registrar's office. The register of deeds shall also delete all index 5
entries for that birth certificate. The State Registrar shall not issue copies of birth certificates for 6
adoptees to registers of deeds. Only the State Registrar shall issue certified copies of such records, 7
and these copies shall be prep ared as prescribed in subsection (c) of this section. The State 8
Registrar shall provide registers of deeds with access to adoptee birth certificates in the electronic 9
birth registration system so that registers of deeds may issue certified copies or abstrac ts in 10
accordance with subsection (d1) of this section. 11
(d1) The State Registrar or register of deeds in the county of the adoptee 's birth shall 12
provide certified typed copies or abstracts of the new certificate of birth of an adoptee prepared 13
pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this section to the adoptee, the adoptee's children, the adoptive 14
parents, and the adoptee 's spouse, brothers, an d sisters upon their request. For purposes of this 15
subsection, "parent," "brother," and "sister" shall mean the adoptee's adoptive parent, brother, or 16
sister and shall not mean a former parent, brother, or sister. 17
(d2) If a register of deeds receives a request pursuant to subsection (d1) of this section for 18
an adoptee birth certificate for a person born in their county and that record has not been digitized 19
in the electronic birth registration system, the register of dee ds may request that the State 20
Registrar digitize the record. The State Registrar shall fulfill these requests within two business 21
days. 22
(e) The State Registrar may by rule prescribe requirements for reports of adoptions from 23
other states. 24
(f) Registers of deeds shall not add adoptee birth certificates to their files or indexes. 25
(g) Adoptee birth certificates shall not be open to inspection or examination under 26
G.S. 130A-99. 27
(h) The State Registrar shall not charge any fee under G.S. 130A-93.1(a)(1) to a register 28
of deeds who issues an adoptee birth certificate for a person born in their c ounty pursuant to 29
subsection (d1) of this section. 30
(i) Registers of deeds and their staff who issue certifie d copies of adoptee birth 31
certificates as provided in subsection (d1) of this section shall complete initial and annual training 32
provided by the State Registrar on adoptee information privacy and use of the birth registration 33
system. Each county register of deeds shall complete and maintain the required training . Each 34
county register of deeds may also designate one or more staff members to issue adoptee birth 35
certificates. No register of deeds or their staff may issue adoptee birth certificates prior to 36
completing the initial training course and maintaining the a nnual training provided by the State 37
Registrar." 38
SECTION 1.2. The State Registrar shall have initial training available for registers 39
of deeds and their staff no later than November 1, 2025, and annual training available no later 40
than July 1, 2026. 41
SECTION 1.3. The registers of deeds and any additional registers of deeds staff shall 42
complete the initial training no later than January 30, 2026. 43
SECTION 2. G.S. 130A-99 reads as rewritten: 44
"§ 130A-99. Register of deeds to preserve copies of birth and death records. 45
(a) Except as provided for in G.S. 48-9-107, all of the following apply: 46
(1) The register of deeds of each county shall file and preserve the copies of birth 47
and death certificates furnished by the local registrar under the provisions of 48
G.S. 130A-97, and shall make and keep a proper index of the certificates. 49
(2) These certificates shall be open to inspection and examination. 50
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
House Bill 818-Second Edition Page 3
(3) Copies or abstracts of these certificates shall be provided to any person upon 1
request. 2
(4) Certified copies of these certificates shall be provided only to those persons 3
described in G.S. 130A-93(c). 4
(b) The register of deeds may remove from the records and destroy copies of birth or 5
death certificates for persons born or dying in counties other than the county in which the office 6
of the register of deeds is located, only after confirming that copies of the birth or death 7
certificates removed and destroyed are maintained by the State Registrar or North Carolina State 8
Archives." 9
SECTION 3. Section 1.1 of this act becomes effective January 1, 2026, and would 10
apply to adoptee birth certificates available in the electronic birth registration system or awaiting 11
entry into the electronic birth registration system before, on, or after that date. Section 2 of this 12
act becomes effective January 1, 2026. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when 13
it becomes law. 14