Rule Text
A. An adopted person or, if still a minor, his legal representative on his behalf may file a motion for disclosure of information pertaining to his adoption pursuant to Article 1189. The action shall be styled: "In re the Adoption of _____________".
B. A biological sibling or descendant of an adopted person, or if still a minor, his legal representative on his behalf, may file a motion for disclosure pursuant to Article 1189.
C. This action, the limited medical exception provision of Article 1127, and the provisions of R.S. 40:73, 77, and 79 shall be the exclusive means for gaining access to records of adoptions whether maintained by this court, some other court, an adoption agency, any state agency, or private individual, notwithstanding provisions of law to the contrary.
Amendment history: Acts 1991, No. 235, §12, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1995, No. 1108, §1; Acts 2008, No. 583, §1; Acts 2022, No. 470, §1.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
If you were adopted, this rule explains how you can ask the court to open up your adoption records. You (or your legal representative, if you're still a minor) can file a request called a "motion for disclosure" to get information about your own adoption. The case gets a special name in court, written as "In re the Adoption of [your name]."
This rule also lets close family members ask for the same kind of information. A biological brother or sister, or a child or grandchild of the adopted person, can file this same type of request if the adopted person can't do it themselves.
The rule makes clear that this is basically the only legal path for getting adoption records. Whether the records are held by a court, an adoption agency, a state agency, or even a private person, you have to go through this process (or a couple of specific medical exceptions mentioned in the law) to get access. You can't use some other method or legal loophole to obtain these records.
