Since I live in California and know how to search best in my own state, I am dedicating an entire post to California searching. California's state website provides information on access within California. The site gives details of the state's "mutual consent program" which is similar to a mutual consent registry. I know many people who have searched in the state, none have been matched by this registry.


It is a large enough state as well to make it worthwhile. Southern California, which is my neck of the woods, has a active adoption reform community. In addition to Concerned United Birthparent ("CUB") groups in San Diego and Los Angeles, there are several other support groups as well within the state. Chapter 1 is a group for adoptees which meets in California, and sometimes in New York as well. These groups generally have a wealth of information about searching within our state.

Because California has a birth index, that is a bonus for adoption searchers within the state. California also has several open counties which allow some access to adoption records. In so-called open counties, adoptees may be able to gain access to their records by having their adoptive parents request records.

California does not have a confidential intermediary like many states. Since records are sealed, you must petition the court to obtain adoption records. Unlike some states, people who have petitioned to obtain access to records have had some success. Some of the documents that are received after petitioning the court may still have the birth parents names blacked out, but sometimes they are visible at least in some spots.

A few years ago, I helped a male adoptee with his search and discovered that the procedures to petition the court in California vary greatly from county to county. There is some ambiguity as well as to how to proceed in certain counties.

With the birth index, and some excellent search angels in California, it is probably easier to search for a child or birth parent than it might be in certain other states. However, the birth index is no longer on line as it once was. You can generally find a search angel who can do a "look-up" for you in the index.

The Department of Motor Vehicles has a forwarding service that could be of help to searchers. Department of Motor Vehicle records are not available as they are in some states due to anti-stalking legislation that passed a few years ago.