Since 1976, adopted people have had a legal right to request information about their birth, adoption, and identity. But that right didn’t appear on its own. It came after years of silence — and after the government failed to legislate clearly, leaving adoptees in confusion and isolation.

This failure sparked what became the Adoption Rights UK campaign — a collective effort by adoptees, and allies who challenged the secrecy in adoption law and fought for the right for adoptees to access personal records.

Thanks to their work, legislation eventually recognised that adopted people had the right to know their story. But even now, the process is still far from easy. Accessing records is often complicated by confusing systems, inconsistent responses, and a legal framework that was never designed with adoptees’ needs at its heart.

For many, information has been withheld — not always from cruelty, but because the system was built to protect others’ feelings or reputations. But your need to know who you are matters. Your story is yours.

We believe that accessing your records shouldn’t feel like a battle. That’s why we’re creating a series of blogs and guides to help you navigate the process , we also believe for this right to request you would first need to be told you had been adopted this is not to care and so SAAM began Adoptee Rights UK.  

You are not alone. And you are not wrong for wanting answers