A new North Carolina law now makes it easier for adopted individuals born after 1971 to obtain copies of their birth certificates.

Under the law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2026, adopted individuals and certain eligible family members may request certified copies of their birth certificates directly from the Register of Deeds in the county where they were born. Previously, these records were available only through the North Carolina Vital Records Office in Raleigh.

The updated certificates will be standardized to match those issued to non-adopted individuals. They will list the adoptive parents as the legal parents and will not include any reference to the adoption.

The law also integrates the issuance of these certificates into the state’s electronic birth registration system, known as NCDAVE, allowing for more efficient processing at the county level.

Importantly, this law does not alter access to sealed records. Original birth certificates issued before an adoption and related adoption files will remain sealed and unavailable to the public.

For individuals born in Union County and who were adopted, the change means they can now obtain their birth certificates from the Union County Register of Deeds office rather than exclusively through the state office.

"As problems arose in retrieving these types of vital records requests and the challenges that continued, I worked with the North Carolina Register of Deeds Association on constructive solutions. This law is now the result of that work. This will help alleviate people who were adopted in their County from waiting months and paying unnecessary fees to obtain a copy of their birth certificate," states Sen. Todd Johnson, who sponsored the legislation in the N.C General Assembly.

"I join many other Registers of Deeds throughout North Carolina in thanking Senator Johnson for his efforts to make this possible," said Register of Deeds Crystal Gilliard.