You have the right to see the legal documents that were lodged in the Court at the time of adoption. These legal papers are known as the Court Process.
They are held in the Sheriff Court which granted your adoption order, the name of which can be found on your full adoption certificate. After a certain period (this varies from Court to Court), courts send these records to be filed centrally at the Scottish National Archives in Edinburgh . A letter or phone call to the Sheriff Clerk of the Court will enable you to find out the location of your Court Process papers and you can make arrangements to read them.
Birthlink Staff can help you identify their current whereabouts and suggest how you may access the papers. In the event of your Court Process papers being held in Edinburgh and you are unable to attend in person, you can instruct one of Birthlink’s counsellors to visit the Scottish National Archives in order to read the Court Process papers on your behalf. He/she will note the relevant information and prepare a transcript to be sent to you.
Should you wish us to act on your behalf in this respect we request a payment
of £30.00 together with a letter of authority signed by you. Please
also send copies of both your original birth certificate and your full adoption
certificate Sterling cheque please, made payable to Birthlink.
Birthlink's Court Process Service
Form
Birthlink welcomes Lorraine Kelly as patron
Scottish
television presenter, Lorraine Kelly, has kindly agreed to be the patron of
Birthlink.
Read what Lorraine has to say about Birthlink and being
our patron.
Finding out more about adoption
Read a list of literature and videos on adoption, including 'Relatively Unknown',
a compilation of accounts and experiences that has been produced to tell a wider
public about the Adoption Contact Register for Scotland.
Thrift Shops
Visit or donate goods for one of our two
Edinburgh shops.
Publications
Guides, books and videos available
with information on adoption.