Register an Adoption for a Child Born Outside United States

We currently have a six (6) month processing turnaround time.
  • If you submitted an application with a processing fee, the date your check or money order is cashed is the date we received your request, which helps you estimate the time left for processing.
  • The turnaround times are estimations and are subject to fluctuate due to staffing availability.
  • We are working diligently to reduce the turnaround times. If your request has not been processed after six (6) months, please call us at (360) 236-4300. We appreciate your patience, thank you.

The Center for Health Statistics can provide birth certificates for children born outside the United States if the child was adopted in a Washington State Superior Court (RCW 26.33.290 and 70.58.210). To get a birth certificate:

1. Send a certified copy of the adoption decree.

2. Complete the Application for Adoption Registration (DOH 422-040).

  • Non-refundable $15 processing fee to register the birth.

3.Complete a Birth Certificate Order Form (DOH 422-182) (en español). This application must be completed with the adoptee's name and the adoptive parents' names.

  • Non-refundable fee of $25* for each certified copy of the amended birth certificate.
  • Provide proof of identity and eligibility.

If the adoption decree was granted after January 1, 1985, it must provide the information specified in RCW 26.33.250:

  1. Adoptee’s full original name.
  2. Adoptee’s full new name, if changed.
  3. Adoptee’s date and place of birth.
  4. Full name of each petitioner.
  5. Whether the petitioner(s) is/are: married, stepparent, domestic partners, or a single parent

If the adoption decree was granted prior to January 1, 1985, the Center requires evidence of the child’s date and place of birth. (NOTE: Original documents are returned when the registration is complete.) Send only one of the following:

  1. A certified copy of the original birth certificate.
  2. A certified extraction/translation of the original birth certificate by a certified translator.
  3. An original or certified copy of record of United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (such as a birth data card).
  4. An original or certified copy of a United States Department of State document that gives both date and place of birth of the child.
  5. Other documents equivalent to the above, include:
  • Holt Adoption Agency papers (or from any other adoption agency) that include the original birth document.
  • A Certificate of Acknowledgement signed by the minister of the interior of the country.
  • Any documents signed by the minister for foreign affairs of the country if they contain the child’s date and place of birth.
  • A passport.

*You can combine the adoption registration and certificate fees in one payment.

Make check or money order payable to Department of Health.

Mailing address:

Attn: Adoptions
Center for Health Statistics
PO Box 9709
Olympia, WA 98507-9709

For questions contact our office at 360-236-4300.

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