§73. Certified copy of the new record; sealing and confidentiality of the original birth record

A. Upon completion of the new record provided for in R.S. 40:72, the state registrar shall issue to the adopted person or to the adoptive parents a certified copy of the new record and shall place the original birth certificate and the copy of the judgment or the copy of the act of adoption in a sealed package and shall file the package in the archives of the vital records registry.

B. This sealed package shall be opened only upon the demand of the adopted person, or if deceased, by his or her descendants, or upon the demand of the adoptive parent, or the state registrar, or the recognized public or private social agency which was a party to the adoption, and then only by order of a Louisiana court of competent jurisdiction at the domicile of the vital records registry, which order shall issue only after a showing of compelling reasons. Information shall be revealed only to the extent necessary to satisfy such compelling necessity.

C. In satisfying the requirement that information shall be revealed only to the extent necessary to satisfy the compelling necessity shown, the court is further authorized to use the services of the curator ad hoc appointment pursuant to Article 5091.2 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure.

D. All motions for records under this Section shall be in accordance with and subject to the provisions of Children's Code Articles 1188 through 1192 and, if an adoption agency is involved, the agency shall be served with a copy of the motion as provided in Article 1313 of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure.

Acts 1992, No. 705, §2, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 634, §4, eff. June 15, 1993.