Clarkesville, GA asked in Family Law and Adoption for Arkansas

Q: Can a judge make it to where you can't get your birth certificate?

I am moving out of a bad situation at home an moving to Arkansas tomorrow, and I was just gonna order me a new copy of my Birth Certificate but I decided to look for my birth certificate anyways, and my mother told me when I was looking for it that they lost all the previous copies and said that a judge made it to where I cant receive copies of my birth certificate when my adoption papers for my father went through. Is that true?

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: Typically, there is a new BC issued once you are adopted. If you are looking for your original BC, try the Arkansas Department of Human Services in Little Rock. You may also have to reopen your adoption case. It is sometimes difficult to reopen a case.

To answer your question, it was not necessarily the Judge who restricted your access to the file and your BC; it is the law. These records are sealed for a variety of reasons - and one of those reasons are so you can't get the birth certificate and locate your biological parents. Sometimes biological parents do not want to be located. Still, you can at least try to reopen your adoption case and see what happens.

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