Contact Preference Register

The Contact Preference Register is where people who have been affected by adoption can register their contact preferences and share information. The CPR also facilitates contact between people who have been matched. There are more details on the matching process below.

The register is also a way to lodge an item. Applicants can lodge an item, like a letter or photograph, for a specified person. See section below on Lodging Items.

Joining the CPR does not result in the release of birth and early life information, and if an adoptee wishes to obtain information relating to their adoption, they need to complete a birth information request.

Make a birth information request

Joining the CPR does not result in a trace.  Tusla - The Child and Family Agency manage all trace requests, and you can apply to Tusla for a trace. However, joining the CPR can help expedite a trace if a match is created on the CPR.  

Apply to Tusla for a trace

Eligible individuals, including adopted people, people who were fostered, birth family members, and those subject to illegal birth registrations, can apply to the Contact Preference Register.  You can choose an application form below.

You can state:

• Who you want to have contact with or share information with
• What type of contact you would like (e.g., direct contact, or no direct contact but willing to share information)
• A preference for no contact at all

For more details see the CPR information leaflet. 

You can share information and/or lodge items, like a letter or photograph, for a specific person. These items will be given to that person if they are also on the register and agree to accept the items or if the intended recipient is an adoptee and they apply to the Adoption Authority under the Birth Information & Tracing Act 2022 requesting provided items.

If you have a digital copy of the item you would like to lodge, it can be attached to the CPR application form.

Alternatively, you can package it securely and label it clearly, state why you are mailing the item and identify who it is intended for and post it to the following address:

Records Team, 
AAI, 
PO Box 9957, 
Dublin 4.

The register is checked for matches, and if a match is found, both parties are contacted by the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) to inform them of the match.

If a possible match is found on the CPR, you will be contacted by a member of the Authority’s Social Work Team who will advise you of the next steps. This will depend on the contact preferences you and the person you are matched with have chosen and may include the following:

• The sharing, or requesting of information
• The opportunity of contacting the applicant with whom you are matched
• The opportunity to use the Adoption Authority’s mediation service
• Access to any specific items that may have been lodged.

If no match is found on the CPR, you will not be contacted because the person you are seeking is not currently on the register. If they join in the future, a match will be made and, depending on contact preferences, you will be contacted. In the meantime, you can submit a tracing application to Tusla.

The AAI facilitates the contact, including offering mediation services.

For more details see the CRP information leaflet. 

If you want to change your contact details or your contact preferences you can complete a new application form or you can send the details of your changes to records@aai.gov.ie. If you know your unique number quote it and send a copy of your in-date, valid ID. Alternatively, supply us with your ID and we will locate your original application and update it accordingly.