Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021

Searches and disclosure of information - Public access to information - Restricted information

106: Access to restricted adoption information

You could also call this:

"Getting secret adoption information if you have a good reason"

Illustration for Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021

You can get access to restricted adoption information if the Registrar-General is satisfied with your reason. You might be able to access this information if you are dealing with someone's estate or trust and you need the information for that purpose. You can also access it if you are a celebrant investigating forbidden degrees of relationship under the Marriage Act 1955 or Civil Union Act 2004. You can get access to the information if the Registrar-General is satisfied that a certain law, section 11(4)(a) of the Adult Adoption Information Act 1985, allows it. The Registrar-General can only let you access the information that the law says you can have. You might be able to access the information if the adopted person, their adoptive parents, and biological parents are all dead. You can also get access to the information if 120 years have passed since the adopted person was born. The Registrar-General can give you access to the information in accordance with certain other laws, section 109 or 113. The Registrar-General has to be satisfied with your reason before you can get access to the restricted adoption information.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM7316522.

This page was last updated on 6 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Family and relationships > Adoption and guardianship

105: Registrar-General may provide limited verification of certain information subject to non-disclosure direction, or

"Checking public info against private info is allowed by the Registrar-General"

107: Access to restricted name-change information and restricted sex information, or

"Who can see private information about name or sex changes"

Part 4Searches and disclosure of information
Public access to information: Restricted information

106Access to restricted adoption information

The Registrar-General may provide a person with access to restricted adoption information only—
if satisfied that the person is—
1. an executor, an administrator, or a trustee of an estate or a trust who wishes to access the information for a purpose in connection with the administration of the estate or trust (and the information is material to that purpose); or
2. a celebrant who wishes to access the information for the purpose of investigating forbidden degrees of relationship under the Marriage Act 1955 or Civil Union Act 2004; or
if satisfied that section 11(4)(a) of the Adult Adoption Information Act 1985 authorises access to the information (but in that case the Registrar-General may permit access only to the extent authorised by that section); or
if satisfied that all of the following persons are dead:
1. the adopted person who is the subject of the information; and
2. the adoptive parent or parents of the adopted person; and
3. the biological parent or parents of the adopted person (if information in respect of the biological parents is registered in the adopted person’s birth record); or
if satisfied that 120 years has passed since the birth of the adopted person; or
in accordance with section 109 or 113.

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