My family and I are looking for a relative whose mother gave him up 
for adoption at birth in the early 1950's in Modesto, California.  We
believe we know the adopted name.  We have the original birth 
certificate (biological mother and father's name) with a number in the
upper-right hand corner.  Our understanding is that there would be a 
second birth certificate for the adoption (adopted parents name) and 
that this second "birth adoption certificate" would have the exact 
same number as the first certificate. 
 
Using the birth certificate number from the original, How can we
obtain a copy of the second adoption birth certificate?
 
The reason is that we want to locate and contact this relative and
welcome him into our family.

CynthiaDiane

Hello Cyntlhiadiane -

It must be kind of scary to be this close to finding your relative and
just needing this last bit of information.

The quick answer to your question is "no, you cannot ask for a copy of
the newly issued birth certificate by using the number on the birth
parents' birth certificate".

Information on ordering a California birth certificate can be found on
the California Department of Health Services' site, "How to Order a
Certified Copy From the California Office of Vital Records" here:
 - http://www.dhs.ca.gov/hisp/chs/OVR/ordercert.htm

and the Form VS111 is available here:
 - http://www.dhs.ca.gov/publications/forms/pdf/vs111.pdf

You will notice on the site referring you to the "[c]ontact the County
Recorder's Office in the county where the event took place." The
exception is in case of adoption, whereupon it may not be available in
the county records.

There is a customer service number published which may be able to help
you - it is (916) 445-2684.

Modesto is in Stanislaus County, and the phone number for the county
recorder of births (John Walker, MD) is (209) 558-8804.
 - See: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/hisp/chs/OVR/cntyreg5.htm#Stanislaus


On the positive side, there is another avenue you may be able to take.
Here is some information which may help:

Although adoption records were sealed in the 1950's, California has
adopted the "Openness in Adoption" and "Cooperative Adoption Statutes"
and finding the information you are seeking may not be too difficult.

The California Family Code, Section 9205(a) provides:

" the department ... shall release the names and addresses of
biological siblings to one another if both of the siblings have
attained the age of 21 years and have filed the following with the
department or agency:
   (1) A current address.
   (2) A written request for contact with any biological sibling whose
existence is known to the person making the request."

Basically, a sibling of the adoptee may request contact by filing an
affidavit with the California clerk to establish contact. Please note
that contact under the statutes are restricted to either the birth
parent(s) or siblings of the adult adoptee.

The above information can be found on the Internet here:
 - http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=fam&group=09001-10000&file=9200-9206

So if one of your family is a sibling, you can seek to initiate
contact that way.

Recommendation: If one of  you seeking to find the adoptee is not the
sibling or birth parent of the adoptee, I would at least give the
Registrar of Modesto County a call and see what they say. It can't
hurt, and you may find some means or method to find the person you are
seeking.

Search terms used:

California adoption statutes
California birth certificates

Good luck with your search, I hope a reunion takes place!

Yours,
Serenata

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Request for Answer Clarification by cyntlhiadiane-ga on 11 Mar 2003 10:42 PST

Serenta,
Thank you for answering the question.  My aunt is the sibling of the
adoptee.  Give us a day or so before we rate and close.

A search service wants $150 to confirm the name on the adoption birth
certificate -- they say they have specialized software.  We can't
figure out what the service has access to that we do not.  Any ideas?

Thank you again.

---

Clarification of Answer by serenata-ga on 11 Mar 2003 11:31 PST

Hi Cynthia ...

The search service is *probably* charging for their services for doing
what you can do yourself.

Since your aunt is a sibling and with the California laws, I think you
can get the information yourself from the Clerk's office or the
registrar's office. As you can see from the statutes, as the adult
adoptee's sibling, she is in good standing to request the copy and
request contact.

Good luck to you and your family, I hope your hunt is successful!
Serenata