How to Get Adoption Records Unsealed in Tennessee

Tennessee adoption records are sealed and confidential, but if you're an adoptee or birth relative looking for identifying information about family members, you can gain access to your records by going through the proper channels. Not everyone is eligible to request to view adoption records, but for those who are, the process is not overly complicated.

Instructions

    • 1

      Determine whether you're eligible to request access to adoption records under Tennessee's privacy laws. Adoptees 21 years of age and older are eligible. So are the birth, adoptive, and step parents of adopted children, as well as an adoptee's sibling and lineal ancestors, such as grandparents, or descendants, such as children.

    • 2

      Gather information about the adoption you're trying to find records on. Write down all the relevant facts you know, such as the adopted child's birth date and birth place, birth name and new name after the adoption, and any information about the birth or adoptive parents. If you have documents proving these facts, make copies of them.

    • 3

      Draft a written request to the Tennessee Department of Children's Services to unseal the adoption records and grant you access. Include as much information as possible about the adoption in your request, to help the DCS to locate your file. Especially important are the names of the adoptive or birth parents, the child's birth date, and the date of the adoption. State why you believe you should be granted access to the adoption records. This should include a statement providing the reason you are eligible to request access under Tennessee law--e.g., "I am an adoptee over 21 years of age," or "I am the birth mother of the child who was adopted." It should also briefly state why you are interested in viewing the records, for example, "I am trying to find information about my biological family's medical history."

    • 4

      Mail your request and copies of any documents that prove the veracity of the statements in it to:

      Department of Children's Services
      7th Floor, Cordell Hull Building
      Nashville, TN 37243

      You can call the DCS with any questions at 615-741-9701.

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