Access to Records
The Adoption Authority is the keeper of over 110,000 files created by itself, its predecessor bodies, associated adoption agencies and County Homes.
These records form a unique collection documenting the experiences of adopted people and those in historic care arrangements, and their families, stretching back to 1857.
The Authority has a statutory role to acquire, protect, preserve, and make available these records, within the bounds of three pieces of legislation, namely:
Applying for records
Which route should I choose?
Birth Information and Tracing Act 2022
If you are:
- An adopted person;
- A person who was fostered (sometimes called nursed-out or boarded-out);
- A person who, as a child, was resident in a County Home;
- A person who, as a child, was resident in Mother and Baby Home;
- A person whose birth was illegally registered, or suspect you are;
- Are the child of one of the above, who is now deceased;
To apply for copies of relevant records, where they exist, held by the Adoption Authority please make a birth information request.
Where are records held
Birth information request
Data Protection Act 2018
If you are:
- A birth mother or birth father; or
- the adoptive mother or adoptive father
To apply for copies of any personal data that relates to you, where they exist, held by the Adoption Authority, please make a data subject access request.
Freedom of Information Act 2014
If you:
- do not fall into one of the above groupings but are seeking access to copies of (personal) records about an individual held by the Adoption Authority please make a freedom of information request.
Choose a route
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Where are records held?
This page lists all the record-holding institutions in Ireland and directs you to the correct place to start your application.