If you were adopted in England, Wales or Northern Ireland you have the right to get a copy of your original birth certificate when you are 18. People adopted in Scotland have the same right when they reach 16.

You can get this through your General Register Office (see section 3).   People adopted before 12 November 1975 in England and Wales and before 8 December 1987 in Northern Ireland who want information about their birth records and who do not already know their birth name (only their adopted name) have to have a meeting with a social worker before they can get their birth certificate due to laws about access to birth certificates. This meeting can take place at a social services office, at the agency which arranged the adoption or in the General Register Office. This isn't necessary in Scotland.

Adopted people and birth relatives can register with adoption contact registers. Birth relatives can leave their details here, or a letter for the adopted person.

For England and Wales contact General Register Office in England and Wales

For Northern Ireland contact Registrar General

For Scotland contact Birthlink.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES

The National Archives of England, Wales and the United Kingdom has one of the largest archival collections in the world, spanning 1000 years of British history, from Doomsday Book of 1086 to government papers recently released to the public.

The National Archives has a number of searchable databases on searching for family to help you find the records you need. They also have several searchable databases to help you find out about records held by other archives.

RECORDS CENTRES

The Family Records Centre (FRC) is jointly run by the General Register Office (GRO)

and The National Archives.

The FRC provides access to some of the most important sources for family history research in England and Wales, including births, marriages and deaths and census returns.

GENERAL REGISTRY OFFICE

The General Registry Office has an extensive archive of statutory records which date back to the beginning of civil registration in 1837, they can provide you with copies of the relevant birth, marriage and death certificates for your research. Also provide vital clues and pointers for future research directions, each certificate carries names of, and information about, family members that can lead you onto the next stage of your investigations.

If you have enough details, you can order certificates of entries originally registered anywhere in England or Wales from the GRO. This can be done either by ordering online, by post, phone or fax, or via the register office where the entry was recorded.

Have a look through the phone books for the area you are looking for.  Libraries have a good collection of countrywide directories, and larger libraries have collections of overseas directories.  You could try www.118500.com (BT Internet Directory Enquiries).  You can also view older directories at BT Archives in London.  You can also try the Internet White pages http://www.infospace.com/_1_2LF7ULH02OWRLFC__info/wp/index.htm

If you have an address you can search the electoral register.  From this you can find out how long that person lived at that address because when their name disappears from the register it means they have moved, married or died.  You can view a full set of Electoral Registers for the UK since 1947 at the British Library. http://www.bl.uk/

Trackers International is an excellent independent tracing agency and specialist research unit and is recommended by Fassit UK.  It is founded on the principles of justice.  Justice for the hundreds of thousands of unmarried mothers who were denied the right to keep their babies. Justice for all the adoptees who were denied the right to be raised by their natural mothers.  They trace and reunite families separated by adoption.

Advocacy, mediation and photographic services are available.

Their survey of unmarried mothers is the most comprehensive ever conducted.

They support the campaign for a Government Inquiry into unlawful adoption procedures of the past on the grounds that of the 1000 unmarried mothers in the Trackers International survey 979 were subjected to coercion and duress.

Their Researchers, Advocates, Mediators, Specialists and Consultants give their expertise and time freely. Members are only charged for expenses incurred.

Trackers International
37 Ashway Clough
Blackstone Road
Offerton
Stockport
Cheshire
SK2 5NB

Telephone - 0161 483 7324

E-mail - trackersinternational@hotmail.com

There are hundreds of groups on the Internet that will help you trace your child, or your family.  These groups, like Trackers International also have message boards where you can post a message for free, or see if someone has left a message for you.

Here are just a few:-