I highly recommend that one of the first ways to begin a search is to sign up with ISRR, Adoption.com’s registry (Reunite.com) and any state specific registries. If the person that you are seeking has also registered, a quick match can occur.

However, I will also caution anyone not to have very high expectations that a match will occur from a registry. There are several reasons that I believe that it is unwise to expect much from signing up with a registry:

First, many people are not aware of registries. Most registries are "mutual consent" registries and can only work if both parties sign up. ISRR and Adoption.com probably have more matches than the average registries. I have seen and heard of quite a few matches from Adoption.com. Although ISRR is one of the most publicized registries, of the hundreds of reunited birth family members that I personally know, only one was reunited through ISRR. I know however, that ISRR has matched many triad members.

Second, state registries have particularly low success rates for facilitating reunions.. However, most state registries are not well publicized or adequately staffed. I have not met or even heard of a single person who has made contact with a birth relative through a state registry. I have seen some statistics on how many people are united through state registries and the numbers are quite low. Therefore, I personally do not see registries as an adequate alternative to open records.

Many people who are against open records tout registries as a good alternative.
However, the data does not back up their claims that registries really produce many reunions.

If you do sign up with registries, please remember to update your records when you move and/or remove yourself from the registry if you have a reunion.

Signing up with free registries is a good first step in a search. Who knows you might be one of the lucky few matched by a registry!