Please note: This page may include references to adoption, separation, coercion, and abuse. Please take care while reading it. You can stop and return at any time.
Historical adoption practices caused profound and lasting harm to many people. There is no right way to feel about what happened. You may be looking for practical information, emotional support, family records or answers about the Church’s response. This page brings together some places that may be able to help.
- Get emotional support now
- Access adoption and birth records
- Find or contact relatives
- Find out about the Redress Scheme
- Contacting the Diocese of York
About the Church of England’s apology
The Church of England has apologised for its part in historical adoption practices and for the harm experienced by people affected.
The Diocese of York receives and supports this apology. We recognise that words cannot undo what happened or restore what was taken away. We are committed to helping people find appropriate information and support.
You do not have to accept the apology, respond to it, or engage with the Church. What you choose to do next is entirely up to you.
Accessing your birth and adoption records
Looking for records can be an important step. It can also bring unexpected, incomplete or distressing information. You may find it helpful to speak to a specialist adoption support service before beginning or while waiting for records.
Your original birth certificate
Your original birth certificate records the information registered when you were born. It differs from an adoption certificate and may not contain all the information in your wider adoption file.
I know my original birth details
You can apply to the General Register Office for a copy of your original birth certificate.
You can also watch the General Register Office’s video guide:
I do not know my original birth details
Complete an application for the General Register Office’s Birth Certificate Information Before Adoption service, usually called the BIBA service.
There are separate forms for people living in the UK and people living outside the UK.
You can return the completed form by email or post:
Email: adoptions@gro.gov.uk
Post:
Adoptions Section
Room C202
General Register Office
Trafalgar Road
Southport
PR8 2HH
You will probably need to attend a meeting with an approved adoption adviser before the General Register Office can release the information needed to obtain your original birth certificate.
This meeting is sometimes described as a counselling session. Its purpose is to explain the process, consider what the information may contain and help you think about any support you might need.
Accessing more detailed adoption records
Your original birth certificate is not the same as your full adoption record.
Between 1949-1976, no legislation required the maintenance or retention of records relating to adoptions or mother and baby homes. However, some records connected with historical adoption practices in the Diocese of York may be held by the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York.
The Borthwick holds the York Diocesan Archive, including surviving records from Heworth Moor House (York) and Sutton House (Hull). These records date from 1947 to 1995.
The available records will vary and may not contain all the information you are seeking. The Borthwick team can advise what records survive, and you are welcome to contact the diocesan safeguarding team for support with your enquiry.
The Borthwick Institute, University of York
Telephone: 01904 321166
Email: borthwick-institute@york.ac.uk
Address: Borthwick Institute for Archives, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD
Local Authority Records Offices
Further records may also be available from:
Looking at historical records can be emotionally difficult, particularly where information is incomplete or written in language that is upsetting. You may wish to seek support from one of the specialist organisations listed on this page before or after accessing records.
Finding or contacting relatives
Searching for relatives can bring hope, uncertainty and strong emotions. It is worth considering what you would like to happen, how you may feel if the person cannot be found or does not want contact, and what support you might need.
You do not have to make contact simply because you have found information.
The Adoption Contact Register
The Adoption Contact Register can help adopted people and relatives express an interest in contact.
It is not a tracing service. A connection can normally be made only when both people have joined the register.
The register can also be used by an adopted person to record that they do not want to be contacted.
General Register Office Adoptions Section: 0300 123 1837
Intermediary services
An approved intermediary service may be able to search for a relative, make the first approach and find out whether they are willing to have contact.
The intermediary will not share someone’s identifying information or whereabouts without their agreement.
Specialist adoption support
PAC-UK and FamilyConnect
Telephone: 0300 1800 205
Email: familyconnect@pac-uk.org
Adoption UK
Telephone: 0300 666 0006
Email: informationsupport@adoptionuk.org.uk
Independent support for people affected by Church-related abuse
Safe Spaces England and Wales
Safe Spaces provides free, independent and confidential support to adults affected by Church-related abuse.
It is independent of the Church. You do not need to have reported what happened, and you do not need to know what you want to do next.
Support can include:
- a confidential space to talk
- practical information and advocacy
- help understanding reporting or safeguarding processes
- support during meetings
- help finding counselling or therapy
- information about possible routes to compensation.
Telephone: 0300 303 1056
Email: safespaces@firstlight.org.uk
Webchat: available through the Safe Spaces website
Samaritans
Samaritans offers confidential emotional support at any time of the day or night.
Freephone: 116 123
The Church of England Redress Scheme
The Church of England Redress Scheme is intended to provide redress to eligible people who have experienced Church-related abuse.
At the time this page was reviewed in June 2026, the Scheme was not yet open. It is expected to open later in 2026. Please check the national Redress Scheme page for the latest information.
Redress may include:
- a financial payment
- therapeutic, emotional or spiritual support
- acknowledgement of what happened
- an apology
- other forms of individual redress.
The Scheme covers different forms of abuse, including physical, sexual, psychological, emotional, spiritual and financial abuse, as well as neglect.
There are two main possible routes to eligibility:
- Close connection – This may apply where there was a close connection between the abuse and a role that someone was authorised to undertake within the Church.
- Failure to act – This may apply where an appropriate person in the Church knew about a risk of abuse but failed to take a reasonable step that could have prevented it.
It is possible that some experiences connected with coercive adoption could be considered under the Scheme. This will depend on the particular circumstances, the harm experienced and the connection with the Church.
This does not mean that every person affected by historical adoption practices will automatically be eligible. Eligibility will be decided independently by trained assessors, with each application considered on its own facts.
It will be free to apply, and applicants will not be required to use a solicitor, although they may seek independent advice if they choose.
Contacting the Diocese of York
You can contact us if you have a question about the apology, want to tell us how historical adoption practices affected you, or need help finding the right source of information.
You do not need to share more than you feel comfortable sharing.
Email: safeguarding@yorkdiocese.org
Telephone: 01904 699 509 or 01904 699 524
Please tell us how you would prefer us to contact you. We will not assume that you want pastoral or spiritual support simply because you have contacted the Church.
Information and contact details can change. Please check the linked organisations’ websites for their latest services and opening hours.
Page last reviewed: 18 June 2026