Adoption-Ed 101: What is Non-Identifying Information?

Now that we understand OBCs, we need to talk about the other piece of information. Now, having an OBC isn’t needed to complete a search and reunion. I was able to do it. An OBC makes it easier and for some people it’s the only thing that will help them. For others, having non-identifying information is enough. This is also another area where it all depends on your state so I’m going to talk about my state for the sake of simplicity but please check your state’s laws for a full understanding.

Non-identifying information contains information that does not give the identity of the person. It includes things like physical descriptions of the natural parents, their occupations, ethnicity, birth place, birth date, and medical history, and descriptions of their families. I was able to track down my natural parents because my adoptive mother was told my natural parent’s first names which she wrote on her copy of my non-identifying information and I had their birth dates and birth places, which thanks to public record is enough to limit people down. In my state, my adoptive parents had a copy of my non-identifying information from the time of my adoption. When I turned eighteen, I could have requested my own copy.

Now some people argue because medical history is included on non-identifying information, there is no reason to track down natural parents later. I disagree. When I was born, my natural parents did not have two other children, they came after me. Both of my sisters have medical issues that I should know about. My natural father has high cholesterol, but did not when he was twenty and signed the papers. This information that is provided to me is stalled in the past. A lot can happen over time and therefore this information is not enough to bring to a doctor who is trying to construct a family history.

This paperwork can also contain the reason for surrender. My natural parents chose to keep it short and sweet but the instructions told them that if they wanted, they could write me a letter. This is valuable information for an adoptee, but not enough. Mine wrote one sentence, not enough to answer all of my questions. However, it is a huge part of my adoption story and I would encourage every adoptee to at least have a copy of paperwork.

Non-identifying information is another piece to the complex puzzle.  It's important and can help with search and reunion.  However, it may not help.  It's hard to track down people when they don't have a last name.  My non-identifying information didn't include first names either, I just got lucky.  OBCs, ABCs, non-identifying information, and adoption records are part of our paper trail.  They are a part of who we are and a part of our identity.