For example, you might have adoptive parents who live in Kansas but adopted you from New York. Though Kansas will not have your adoption record, New York will.

As adoption records are private, you cannot view them online. You must provide specific information before the department will send you a copy. The papers you need to file will depend on when the adoption occurred and whether you were the adopted child or you need the record of another child.

The adoption record will list the parents’ names and their contact information if they agreed to let the child contact them. It should include a medical form that lists any medical information the biological parents listed such as diseases they had and conditions that run in their families. Many states allow both adopted children to request adoption records as well as the adoptive parents and the child’s siblings.