The Adopted Persons (Birth Records) Regulations 1991

Made: 3rd September 1991

Laid before Parliament: 10th September 1991

Coming into force: 14th October 1991

The Registrar General, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 51(1) and (2) and 67(5) and (6) of the Adoption Act 1976[^f00001] and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, with the approval of the Secretary of State, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Adopted Persons (Birth Records) Regulations 1991 and shall comew into force on 14th October 1991.

• (2) In these Regulations “the Act” means the Adoption Act 1976.

Application for access to birth records

2

For the purposes of section 51(1) of the Act (which provides for information to be supplied to an adopted person to enable him to obtain a certified copy of the record of his birth), the adopted person shall apply to the Registrar General as follows:—

• (a) in the case of a person who was adopted before 12th November 1975, in the form set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations; or

• (b) in the case of a person who was adopted after 11th November 1975, in the form set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

Application for verification in connection with intended marriage

3

For the purposes of section 51(2) of the Act (which provides for an adopted person to be informed whether or not it appears that he and the person whom he intends to marry may be within the prohibited degrees of relattionship for the purpose of the Marriage Act 1949[^f00002]), the adopted person shall apply to the Registrar General in the form set out in Schedule 3 to these Regulations.

Revocation

4

The Adopted Persons (Birth Records) Regulations 1976[^f00003] are revoked.

SCHEDULE 1 — FORM OF APPLICATION FOR ACCESS TO BIRTH RECORDS BY A PERSON ADOPTED BEFORE 12 NOVEMBER 1975

SCHEDULE 2 — FORM OF APPLICATION FOR ACCESS TO BIRTH RECORDS BY A PERSON ADOPTED AFTER 11 NOVEMBER 1975

SCHEDULE 3 — FORM OF APPLICATION FOR VERIFICATION OF ANY RELATIONSHIP IN CONNECTION WITH MARRIAGE

Signed

P.J. Wormald — Registrar General — 19th August 1991

Approved and signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health.

Stephen Dorrell — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, — Department of Health — 3rd September 1991

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribe the manner in which an application is to be made by an adopted person for information enabling him to obtain a certified copy of the record of his birth (by regulation 2) or for information whether he and the person whom he intends to marry may be within the prohibited degrees of relationship under the Marriage Act 1949 (c. 76) (by Regulation 3).

These Regulations revoke (by regulation 4) the Adopted Persons (Birth Records) Regulations 1976 (S.I. 1976/1743) which are superseded by these Regulations.

The principal changes made by these Regulations occur in the application forms set out in Schedules 1 and 2, by which the adopted person may now apply to receive counselling outside England and Wales, whether in Scotland, Northern Ireland or outside the United Kingdom. These changes accord with amendments made to section 51 of the Adoption Act 1976 (c. 36) by paragraph 20 of Schedule 10 to the Children Act 1989 (c. 41).

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1976 c. 36.; section 51 was amended by section 88(1) and paragraph 20 of Schedule 10 to the Children Act 1989 (c. 41) which amended subsection (1) and substituted new subsections (3) to (9);seesection 51(9) for the definition of “prescribed”.

[^f00002]: 1949 c. 76.

[^f00003]: S.I. 1976/1743.