Before starting a search, the ARR will ensure that the person you are looking for has not already registered. If they have not, a reunion consultant will attempt to locate him/her. Once your birth relative has been located, the reunion consultant will contact you to discuss the next step. The consultant will act as a neutral middle person extending your invitation for reunion on your behalf. If the person you are seeking is open to having contact with you, the consultant will help you both to explore options (i.e. letters, phone calls, meetings) and get in touch with each other. The reunion consultant can stay involved for as long (or as little) as you both need.
Note: We cannot search for anyone who has placed a Disclosure Veto or has filed a No-contact Declaration (Section 71.7 of the Adoption Act) with Vital Statistics (see: What About Vetoes?).
(71.7) No one is entitled to assistance under this section in locating a person who has filed a disclosure veto or a no-contact declaration.
If you are an adopted adult (19 or older), whose adoption took place in British Columbia, you can request a search for your birth mother and/or your birth father. If a birth parent is deceased, you can request a search for adult siblings born to that birth parent. You can also request a search for siblings adopted into another family. All must be 19 or older.
If you are a birth parent, you can request a search for an adopted adult (19 or over) whom you placed for adoption in British Columbia.
If you are an adult sibling of an adopted adult, you can request a search for the adopted adult if the birth parent to whom you are both related is deceased. (Again, you must both be 19 or older).
If you are a child or grandchild (19 or older) of a deceased adopted adult, you may request a search for:
We need a copy of the adoptee's original Birth Registration (OBR) and/or Adoption Order obtained from Vital Statistics, under Section 63 or 64 of the Adoption Act.
There are a few exceptions to this:
If you are a non adopted sibling searching for an adopted adult when your birth parent in common is deceased, you need to provide us with your parent's birth and death certificates. Please note that you can not obtain records under Section 63 or 64.
If you are a birth father who was not named on the OBR, you will not be able to obtain a record under Section 64. However, if you signed a Consent to Adoption we can conduct a search on your behalf. If you are unsure whether you signed a consent the ARR will be able to confirm this for you. If you are not named on the OBR or did not sign a Consent to Adoption, you are limited to registering on the Passive Registry.
When a search is conducted, the adoption file goes to a reunion consultant who attempts to find a current address for the person you are searching for. In the event a birth parent is deceased, the adoption consultant will try to determine if there are siblings (over 19 years of age) and their whereabouts. The Adoption Act gives the ARR's reunion consultants access to information not necessarily available to the public. The located person must give their consent before the ARR can release their identifying information to you.
Occasionally the ARR reunion consultants are not able to find the subject of a search. To date, we have been able to locate over 90% of the people we have been asked to find. Approximately two thirds of contacts result in reunion, with the other third resulting in an inactive contact, a refusal, or the subject being deceased. The ARR has located people all over the world; our parameters are only that the adoption occurred in BC and the adopted adult is 19 or older. Once the subject of the search has been located, a reunion consultant will contact you to discuss the next step.
Adoption Reunion Registry
PO Box 9705 Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9S1
Phone: 250 387-3660 (Victoria, BC)
For toll-free access within North America, call:
1 877 387-3660
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