Friends of clean adoption reform,

EXCELLENT NEWS! Today (4.13.26), Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed HB301, making Virginia the 17th state to announce a policy of unrestricted access to original birth certificates for all adult adoptees (New York was 9th in 2020)! We were happy, via the Adoptees’ Liberty Movement Association (ALMA), to offer our support for the proposal!  We congratulate all who advocated on behalf of the proposal, especially our partners at the Virginia Adoptee Rights Alliance (VARA).  The law will go into effect on July 1st, 2026.   

The Virginia provisions to take effect on July 1, 2026:

• Restore unrestricted access to original birth certificates (OBC) for all adult adopted persons (age 18 and above)
• Allow for nonbinding contact preferences

For more information about HB 301 and its impact, please contact the Virginia Alliance for Adoptee Rights at info@virginiaadopteerights.org

We continue to thank you, and all who support adoptee rights.

Adoptee rights are human rights!

Adoptee rights are civil rights!

Adoptee equality will be restored in all 50 states! And D.C.!

Tim.

States with a policy of unrestricted OBC access for adult adoptees (alphabetical):

Alabama, Alaska*, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Kansas*, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia (7.1.26)

**Note: Kansas and Alaska never blocked access to previously sealed original birth certificates for adult adopted persons.  

PHOTO CREDIT - Virginia Capitol building:

By Martin Kraft - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62928141