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1. What services does the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court provide?

The Clerk of the Orphans’ Court provides a variety of services. Among these are accepting filings for Adoptions, Guardians of Minors and Incapacitated Persons and the issuance of Marriage Licenses.

2. I was adopted and want to locate my birth parents. How do I get access to the adoption records?

Adoption information is confidential and the records are sealed (impounded) by the Court. Access to the information requires the permission of the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas.

3. How do I request court permission to access adoption records?

The office provides a form, Adoption Search Questionnaire, on this website. Filing this form is the first step that must be taken to obtain any information from the adoption files. Further communications and directions will then come from Orphans’ Court Administration (a different office than Clerk of the Orphans’ Court). That office is the next link between you and the Court.

4. I adopted a child who was born in a foreign country. How do I get a Pennsylvania birth certificate for the child?

The information is available on this website in the Forms & Documents section under Adoption of Foreign Born Children. Instructions and forms for the Registration of a Foreign Adoption and the Full Adoption of a Foreign Born Child are provided. This office cannot offer any direction on whether a Registration or Full Adoption is required in your particular circumstances.

5. How do I get appointed as the Guardian of a Minor?

Due to the complexity of the requirements to file a Petition for the Appointment of a Guardian of a Minor, no forms or instructions are provided on this website or by this office. Information may be found at the Chester County Law Library, located in the Chester County Justice Center. It is strongly recommended that you engage an attorney. Contact the Chester County Bar Association at 610-692-1889 or www.chescobar.org. or Lawyer Referral Service at 610-429-1500.

6. How do I get appointed as the Guardian of an Incapacitated Person?

Instructions and forms are provided on this website in the Forms and Document Section under Guardianship of Incapacitated. This office does not provide legal advice or guidance on the preparation or completion of any of the forms. Due to the complexity of the process, it is strongly recommended that you engage an attorney. Contact the Chester County Bar Association at 610-692-1889 or www.chescobar.org. or Lawyer Referral Service at 610-429-1500