Act 470 (The Jean and Elise Law) restores the right to all Louisiana adopted people to access their own original birth certificate upon demand, upon the age of 24. 

Only the adult adopted person may apply for their certificate.

REMEMBER: IT IS A MAIL IN PROCESS ONLY-  you have to print the application out and send it in due to how records are stored in Louisiana. 

Do not go to vital records in person as you will not be able to receive your birth certificate that way.

Who May Request a Copy?

-The person named on the birth certificate - no other family member.

-The person must be 24 years of age or older.

-The person must have been born in Louisiana.

-The person must have had an original birth certificate removed from the files due to an adoption.

The application form for the Pre-Adoption Birth Certificate is found at the LDH-Vital Records site.

Please pay special attention to the section regarding documentation of a name change like marriage.

(To get a copy of your marriage license, please contact the Clerk of Court in the Parish or County you applied for your license.)

If you are a parent who placed a child to be made available for adoption, you can fill out an optional contact preference form. The form is found at the LDH-Vital Records site or at the button below.

The pre-adoption birth certificate is available without any hinderances. The optional non-binding parental contact preference form does not impact the release of or any information on your pre-adoption birth certificate.

It simply is a mechanism for parents to express their preference regarding contact. If they are not in a position to have contact, they
have the optional to leave additional information.

If your parent submits a contact preference form at the time of your application, it will be included with your pre-adoption birth certificate when it is mailed to you.

1. If your parent has requested contact, they will have had the opportunity to provide updated contact info that you may use to make contact.
2. If your parent has requested to be only contacted through an intermediary, we are able give suggestions for those who can help facilitate that contact.
3. If your parent has requested NOT to be contacted, please respect their wishes.

It is a time intensive hand process to match the applications up with the pre-adoption birth certificates that have been filed away separately from the amended ones for decades so please allow for 12+ weeks for processing. 

When a check is cashed, it means that the application has been cleared (age, ID, born in Louisiana, etc) and is in further processing. It does not mean that processing has been completed and the request is being shipped out yet.

You can call Vital Records directly and ask for a confirmation that your application has been received and an update 504-593-5100

You can go to https://ldh.la.gov/subhome/21 and click on “ask a question” - Ask for an update on your “pre-adoption birth certificate application”

If you still need assistance, if you live in Louisiana you would need to contact your State Representative or State Senator

Find your legislator

If you still need assistance and live outside of Louisiana, contact us and we can provide further contact information.

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We have an information packet available, upon request, for best practices, support and any questions regarding what may come next after receiving your certificate.

If you would like a packet, just contact us.