Support for all foreign-born NYS adoptees to obtain a NYS birth certificate

SUMMARY

The Council on Children issued a report in support of legislation A.1944 / S.3765, which seeks to amend New York’s Public Health Law § 4138-b to allow all foreign-born adoptees, regardless of their age, to obtain a New York State birth certificate. Currently, only those adopted before age 18 can receive such a certificate, leaving many adult adoptees reliant on foreign documents that may be inaccurate, in a different language, or unavailable because they were adopted from countries experiencing internal discord or adopted from countries that have an uncooperative relationship with the United States. The proposed amendment would replace the word “child” with “person of any age,” removing the age restriction, and would also permit attorney-certified copies of adoption documents to prevent loss of originals. The City Bar emphasizes that this legislative change would significantly improve access to identity documents for adult adoptees, helping them participate fully in everyday life.

BILL INFORMATION

A.1944 (AM Paulin) / S.3765 (Sen. Hoylman-Sigal) – Relates to birth certificates for foreign adoptions; makes certain provisions retroactive (NYS 2025).

OUTCOME

Signed by the Governor, Chp. 509, Approval Memo 5 – November 21, 2025

REPORT

REPORT ON LEGISLATION BY THE COUNCIL ON CHILDREN

A.1944 (AM Paulin)
S.3765 (Sen. Hoylman-Sigal) 

AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to foreign adoptions

THIS BILL IS APPROVED

This report is respectfully submitted by the Council on Children of the New York City Bar Association (the “City Bar”) in support of A.1944 / S.3765 which relates to birth certificates for adult adoptees born outside the United States of America.

Currently, Public Health Law (“PHL”) § 4138-b affords children born outside of the United States, but adopted in New York State or adopted by New York State residents, the opportunity to obtain a New York State birth certificate provided they were adopted and made the application for the New York State birth certificate before the adoptees’ 18^th birthday. Adoptees’ born abroad, but adopted after their 18^th birthday, and those adopted abroad by New York residents who do not obtain a Certificate of Birth Data from the New York State Department of Health prior to their 18^th birthday, are precluded from obtaining a New York State birth certificate.

The City Bar recognizes the hardship this restriction poses for the many adoptees who are now unable to obtain birth certificates because their parents were unaware of the importance of obtaining this critical document prior to their child’s eighteenth birthday. Adoptees in this unfortunate situation must rely on foreign birth certificates, which may be written in a foreign language and may include the adoptees’ pre-adoptive name, as the only birth certificate available to them. Even more disadvantaged are those adoptees whose original foreign birth certificates may have been lost or damaged and for whom a replacement cannot be obtained because they were adopted from countries experiencing internal discord, (e.g. Ukraine, Haiti) or adopted from countries that have an uncooperative relationship with the United States (e.g. Russia and China).  In short, adult adoptees who lack a New York birth certificate confront daunting challenges as they mature and seek to register for school, obtain special educational services, obtain a license to drive, marry, obtain disability benefits (i.e. Supplemental Security Income) and as they engage in the myriad of life functions where presentation of a birth certificate is required.

The proposed amendment to PHL § 4138-b would afford all “persons” either adopted abroad by New York State residents or adopted in New York State, the opportunity to obtain a New York State birth certificate regardless of their age at the time of the initial request.  Another important provision in the proposed legislation would allow the submission of an attorney certified photocopy of the required foreign adoption document, addressing the very real concern that these irreplaceable documents could be lost in transit to the Department of Health or lost by the agency itself.

The hardship currently experienced by some foreign-born adoptees could not have been intended by the drafters of PHL 4138-b. This problem can be easily remedied by changing the word “Child” (in reference to those able to obtain birth certificates) to “person of any age”. That small change will allow foreign born New York adoptees the same right to obtain proof of their identity as all other New Yorkers.

We thank you for your support of this important piece of legislation.

Council on Children
Cathy A. Cramer, Chair

May 2025