An adoption reunion registry is a formal mechanism where adoptees and their birth family members can be reunited.
Registries may be free or charge fees, be facilitated by non-profit organizations, government agencies or private businesses.
In Canada, adult adoptees from British Columbia, Newfoundland, and Ontario generally have access to their own birth and adoption information provided no disclosure veto has been filed.
These tend to be owned and/or managed by members of the adoption community and are generally more successful than government-run registries.
In contrast, in April 2005, the state-run National Adoption Contact Preference RegisterTrace Your Birth Family - Index was launched in Ireland with a national radio and newspaper advertising campaign, and included an application form for the registry being delivered to every household.