by Gregory D. Luce, Esq.
A certified copy of an adoption decree is a critical legal document that every adopted person should be able to obtain easily. Fundamentally, the decree provides proof of an adopted person’s legal parents. More significantly, and especially today, an adoption decree is essential to secure U.S. citizenship for many intercountry adoptees, particularly for the more than 114,000 Korean-born adoptees whose adoptions needed to be finalized in a U.S. state court, many of those in Minnesota. (Lee et al., Adoption Quarterly, 2010). A certified copy of the adoption decree must be provided to the U.S. government to secure documentary proof of a person’s U.S. citizenship, either through a Certificate of Citizenship or a U.S. passport. It may also be necessary for adoptees born in the U.S. to document a prior name change to show they are one and the same person today, particularly adoptees who were older when they were adopted.
Most state laws, however, prevent adult adoptees from obtaining certified copies of their own adoption decrees. Instead, individuals, including the adopted person, must file a formal legal petition with the court. In that petition, the adopted person must justify the reason for the request and why the judge should release a certified copy of the decree. Ultimately, the process for securing an adoption decree in the United States is inconsistent and unpredictable, often requiring the assistance of an attorney.
In a recent case in Iowa, my client—an intercountry adoptee from South Korea—needed a certified copy of her adoption decree to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship. This document is essential to prove both lawful presence and U.S. citizenship. After filing a petition and waiting four months for a decision, a judge denied her petition with a terse two sentence order, stating simply that current Iowa law provided “no authority” to open the sealed file. Despite the decree being critical for securing her U.S. citizenship, the state's restrictive adoption laws prevented her from obtaining it.
This is not an anomaly. It is typical in many U.S. states, and Minnesota is no different. Minnesota law today provides that all adoption court records are sealed and confidential and “shall not be open to inspection by any person except . . . upon an order of the court . . .” (Minn. Stat. § 259.60, 2025). The law provides little guidance to district court judges who must decide whether to release documents from the court file, including a person’s own adoption decree. And while the law specifically provides a copy of the decree to the adoptive parents at the time of the adoption, the law does not extend the benefit later to the adopted person, who may need it for valid legal reasons.
In Minnesota, adoptive parents at the time of the adoption are provided a certified copy of the decree, and at least anecdotally, may also later obtain a certified copy of the decree upon request. Yet this right has not been legally extended to the adopted person, even when they are an adult. In addition, Minnesota courts across the state’s 87 counties are inconsistent with their requirements to obtain a certified copy of the decree, as well as what filing fee, if any, must be paid to the court in order to file the request. Hennepin County currently charges $16 to request a copy of the decree. Until recently, however, Ramsey County charged a $305 filing fee to request a copy of the decree.
Fortunately, legislation can make it easier for an adopted person to obtain a certified copy of their Minnesota state court adoption decree. Senator Erin Maye Quade introduced SF4382 in March 2026. The bill:
- Defines an “adult adopted person” as an individual who was adopted as a child in Minnesota and is at least 18 years old.
- Enables an adult adopted person, with proper identification, to obtain a certified copy of their own adoption decree without petitioning the court.
- Confirms that adoptive parents may also obtain a certified copy of the adoption decree without a court order.
These changes will benefit all adopted people and their families, whether they were born in the U.S. or abroad. By enacting this legislation, Minnesota will join a small group of states with similar laws, such as Oregon, Colorado, Hawaii, and California. Most importantly, it ensures that adoptees have easy access to a critical document needed to secure and prove U.S. citizenship and identity.
Greg Luce, Esq., is a Minneapolis based attorney with Adoptee Rights Law Center. He oversees a pro bono legal clinic for intercountry adult adopted people. Contact: [email protected]