TITLE 39

HEALTH AND SAFETY

CHAPTER 2

VITAL STATISTICS

39-259.  Adoption of persons born in foreign countries. (1) When it appears from a final decree of adoption issued by an Idaho court that a person born in a foreign country has been adopted in Idaho by someone other than the person’s natural parents, the court shall require the preparation of a report (denominated as a certificate in accordance with Idaho court rules) of adoption on a form prescribed and furnished by the state registrar. The report shall contain evidence from sources determined to be reliable by the court as to the true or probable date and place of birth and parentage of such person; shall provide information necessary to establish a new certificate of birth for the person adopted; and shall identify the order of adoption and be certified by the clerk of the court. Upon receipt by the state registrar of vital statistics of the report of adoption, the state registrar of vital statistics shall make and file a new birth certificate for the child when requested to do so by the court decreeing the adoption, the adoptive parents, or the adopted person. The new birth certificate shall show the true or probable foreign country (and city, town, village, or other local designation, if known) of birth and the true or probable date of birth as established by the court and shown on the court report of adoption, the child’s new name and parentage as stated in the report of adoption, and any other necessary facts as required by the state registrar. This birth certificate shall not be evidence of United States citizenship. The form and content of the certificate of foreign birth shall be established by the director.

(2)  All records and information specified in this section, other than a new birth certificate issued hereunder, and all records, files, and information of any court in this state relating to adoption proceedings shall not be open to inspection except as provided in section 39-259A, Idaho Code, or upon the order of a court of record of this state; provided however, that the provisions of section 16-1616, Idaho Code, to the contrary notwithstanding, any probate court, or the judge thereof, may furnish a certified copy of a decree of adoption to any duly authorized agency of the United States or the state of Idaho without procuring any prior court order therefor.

(3)  The report of adoption shall, within fifteen (15) days after becoming final, be recorded by the clerk of the court with the bureau of vital records and health statistics in the state department of health and welfare.

(4)  Whenever an adoption decree is amended, annulled, or rescinded, the clerk of the court shall forward a certified copy of the amendment, annulment, or rescindment to the bureau of vital records and health statistics in accordance with the time provisions in subsection (3) of this section. Unless otherwise directed by the court, the bureau of vital records and health statistics shall amend the certificate of birth upon receipt of a certified copy of an amended decree of adoption. Upon receipt of a certified copy of a decree of annulment or rescindment of adoption, the Idaho birth certificate shall be removed from the file and along with the decree of annulment or rescindment shall be placed in the sealed file for that person. Such sealed file shall not be subject to inspection except upon order of a court of record of this state.

(5)  For adoptions that occur on or after July 1, 2022, the provisions of this section shall apply, except that:

(a)  The natural or adoptive parentage of each parent shall be demonstrated as determined by the registrar on the face of a new birth certificate described in subsection (1) of this section; and

(b)  A copy of the foreign birth certificate, if available, all medical and demographic information contained in the sealed file, and the report of adoption must be provided upon the signed request, on a form prescribed by the registrar, of the adoptee who is named on the birth certificate or such adoptee’s legal representative, provided that:

(i)   The adoptee must be eighteen (18) years or older;

(ii)  The documents referenced in this paragraph will be released to the adult adoptee upon completion of the voluntary adoption registration process. In the event of a match on the voluntary adoption registry, a minimum thirty (30) day waiting period will apply, during which time a registered birth parent may:

1.  Indicate a preferred method of contact, which method will be communicated to the adoptee at the time the documents are released;

2.  Request no contact, which request will be communicated to the adoptee at the time the documents are released; or

3.  Request that the registered birth parent’s name be redacted before records are released, which request shall be effective for five (5) years. After the five (5) years have elapsed, the adoptee may again request documents according to this paragraph, and all provisions of this paragraph shall apply; and

(iii) The bureau of vital records and health statistics is not obligated to provide court records to the adoptee under the provisions of this paragraph.

History:

[(39-259) added 1982, ch. 122, sec. 1, p. 348; am. and redesig. 1983, ch. 7, sec. 19, p. 23; am. 1985, ch. 59, sec. 3, p. 116; am. 1988, ch. 25, sec. 1, p. 32; am. 2005, ch. 391, sec. 54, p. 1311; am. 2022, ch. 282, sec. 2, p. 896.]