Your pre-adoptive birth certificate will usually tell you:
To get a copy of your pre-adoptive birth certificate from Births, Deaths, and Marriages, fill out their request for pre-adoptive New Zealand birth certificate formopen_in_new
There is a fee to receive a copy of the certificate, as well as postage costs.
It can help to have someone you can talk with and support you during this process. Learn where you can find support to help you before, during, and after you have received your records.
If you were adopted before 1986 and are living in New Zealand, under the Adult Adoption Information Act 1985, you will be asked to choose an adoption social worker or counsellor to receive the certificate on your behalf (the list of social workers and counsellors is on the application form).
Unfortunately, under the Adult Adoption Act 1985, they cannot send the certificate directly to you.
Births, Deaths and Marriages will send your pre-adoption birth certificate to the social worker or counsellor you chose. The social worker or counsellor will arrange to give you your certificate and can give you advice and support about finding your birth parents if you want to.
If you were adopted before 1 March 1986 but do not live in New Zealand, the certificate will be sent directly to you.
If you were adopted after 1986, you will still be offered counselling, but your birth certificate can be sent directly to you if you do not want counselling.
If one or both of your birth parents placed a veto on their information, this means their names will not appear on your pre-adoptive birth certificate. (Vetoes expire after ten years, but the birth parents are allowed to renew their veto for another ten years.)
In this situation, your birth certificate will be sent to you directly.
You can talk to an adoption social worker or counsellor about the veto and ask if they have any information about it (for example, a letter explaining why there is a veto).
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