If you are looking for your biological parents online, it is important to keep in mind that most agencies and professionals won’t work with people under 18 years of age. Moreover, the required age is 21 in some states. Therefore, if you’re younger, your adoptive parents must authorize this specific type of people search.
Before you start, it is important to remember that the outcome of your search might not be what you expect. It’s possible that you’ll find no information, or that your parents are no longer alive. You might also get some details that, while promising, ultimately won’t lead to locating them. However, during your search, you may also find important information about your birth parents. Here are some steps to help you succeed in finding the information you need.
Get Your DNA Test
If you want to use a DNA test to find your birth parents, it will also be helpful to first get some information about them from your other relatives. Of course, you will need to get in touch with a specialized service to have your DNA test. If your birth parents have also taken a DNA test with the same service, you’ll get a match. DNA tests have reunited relatives on countless occasions – not just parents and children, but also siblings and other distant relatives.
Reunion Registries
You can give these services a shot in the process of tracking down your biological parents. For example, ISSR (International Soundex Reunion Registry) is a mutual consent service that steps to the rescue of all of those who’ve been unable to access their adoption records. However, both you and your parents need to have registered with ISSR – otherwise, a reunion would not be possible.
Moreover, you should get as many details as you can from your adoptive parents, agencies, public records, and other sources. This will make finding your birth parents more likely. Public records are accessible via background check services. However, you would need to at least have one of your parents’ full names to look them up on public records. The service will pull up all the details connected to that name available in the database. In addition, there might be a small fee. If you can’t pay, you can search public records yourself, but this is a time-consuming process.
Information for Adoptees
If you had a closed adoption, you may struggle with getting data about it, but it will still be possible to access your records. The legislature around gaining access to such records continues to change. Most states will give you access to these records as an adult, although you might find that non-essential details have been deleted. However, your adoptive parents might have copies of them. If not, they’ll at least offer additional information. Furthermore, they might even remember some key information that didn’t seem important when you were adopted.
If you know which service placed you with your new family, you can get in touch with them. In addition, you should check your local archives and newspapers. If they adopted you when you were a baby, you might find a local birth announcement on or around your adoption date.
Check Social Media
You’ve probably tried this already, but if you didn’t include any information except your parents’ names, your search likely did not yield any relevant information. Incorporating any dates or places associated with your parents into your search increases your chances of finding information about them. What’s more, you can post these on specialized forums and other users will help you when they can. Furthermore, you should use as much information and as many social media platforms as you can, including Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.
Final Thoughts
As you search for your biological parents, you need to determine your goals. Are you looking for a reunion, closure, or additional information? This is important because your reunion with your biological parents might not go as planned. Resources such as DNA Secrets, NPE Gateway, and NPE Fellowship can provide support services if your reunion did not go as you had hoped. Moreover, community groups can offer sympathy, support, and guidance. They can also help you approach your adoptive parents about finding your biological parents, as this can be a sensitive subject with them.
