Bill > S248

This bill modifies North Carolina's laws regarding birth certificates for adopted individuals by changing how and by whom these sensitive documents can be accessed and issued. Specifically, the bill allows registers of deeds in the county where an adoptee was born to issue certified copies of new birth certificates to the adoptee, their children, adoptive parents, spouse, siblings, and other specified family members, a process previously handled exclusively by the State Registrar. The bill requires that these birth certificates contain the adoptive parents' information and no reference to the adoption, and mandates that the original birth certificate be sealed. The bill also introduces provisions that registers of deeds must complete annual training on adoptee information privacy, cannot add adoptee birth certificates to their general files or indexes, and cannot openly inspect these records. If a county's register of deeds receives a request for an adoptee's birth certificate that has not been digitized, the State Registrar must digitize the record within two business days. The changes will take effect on January 1, 2026, and will apply to adoptee birth certificates available in the electronic birth registration system before, on, or after that date, ultimately making access to birth certificates for adopted persons more similar to those for non-adopted individuals.

Government Affairs, Justice

https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2025/S248