Big news for adoptees born in Virginia! 

Yesterday, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed House Bill 301 into law, granting adoptees access to their original birth certificates (OBCs). This makes Virginia the latest in a string of states granting open access to OBCs. 

Why does this matter? Because it opens another path to discovering your biological family and origins. Two paths—the DNA-first route and the records-first route—help adoptees begin a search for biological relatives. Here’s how to get started…

I recently received an inquiry from the uncle of a newly-discovered adult adoptee who had searched and identified his biological mother via 23andMe. The question was why his sister (the birth mom) had at first been excited that her biological son had been found, but then changed.

Adopted and interested in starting a search? We’ve gathered more detailed information for you here and identified places to go for more. Two paths—the DNA-first route and the records-first route—are the main paths adoptees use today to begin a search for biological relatives.

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Are you hoping to locate biological family via records search, DNA testing, or possibly both?