Inquiries from the original family in international adoption cases

If you were adopted from abroad to Denmark before 8 August 2003, it may be relevant for you to contact the Danish Appeals Board if you want to know whether your original family tried to contact you in the period 1987 to 8 August 2003.

In the period 15 January 1987 to 8 August 2003, the intermediary organizations forwarded inquiries from the original family to the supervisory authority. This is shown by a study completed by the Danish Appeals Board in July 2024.

If anonymity was waived, any inquiries were forwarded to adopters or adult adoptees. If anonymity had not been waived, any inquiries were kept in the supervisory authority's archive. This happened in accordance with the guidelines that were then applicable for the handling of inquiries from the original family. The archives were later handed over to the National Archives.

After 8 August 2003, the guidelines were changed so that the adoption mediating organizations AC Børnehjælp and DanAdopt sent all inquiries from the original family to adopters or adult adoptees.

Contact the Danish Appeals Board if you want to know whether there are inquiries from your original family from the period 1987 to 2003.

The Danish Appeals Agency can help with searching and obtaining cases from the National Archives about inquiries from original relatives abroad.

You can contact the Danish Appeals Authority via our contact form here on the website .