Read these points, then scroll down for the individual county responses.
Please note these items:
•Obviously things change, people make mistakes, and typos happen. Always confirm the information in these responses before proceeding. Bear in mind that many courts have petitions for non-id or for search, and waivers of confidentiality already available to you as forms to simply sign and send in. If you do end up having to write your own, you may want to study this sample waiver or this request for non-id. If your court is one of the rare ones that is demanding a "formal" or "legal-style" petition, or is demanding that you hire a lawyer (not cool, because by law you can represent yourself legally, but some judges demand this nonetheless) then you might want to read about and see a formal petition.
•Many of us, probably like you, have had no experience in dealing with the court system. Don't let your lack of experience intimidate you into inaction. Ask for what you need and clarify what you don't understand. Adoptees: "How do I request non-id and is there a fee?" Adoptees: "How do I request a searcher to be assigned to my case, and is there a fee?" Adoptees and birthparents: "I want to file a waiver of confidentiality in my adoption file so if my child/birthparent is looking for me, your court will see I am open and welcoming of contact. How do I do this?"
•If you are an adoptee: The court can't give you info it doesn't have. Usually adoption agency records have a lot more detail, probably because many helped counsel the birthmom. The court non-id is likely to be brief but may contain info you did not get from your agency, or it may be all the non-id you'll ever get if yours was a private adoption.
•If a county did not respond to the 1999 letter of inquiry but did respond to the 2001 letter, then no webpage was created for them until the 2001 response was received- thus, page-hit counters on these pages will be much lower since there was no record of hits from 1999- June 2001 when these pages were made.
THESE COUNTIES DID NOT RESPOND TO EITHER LETTER:
Non-response doesn't mean they won't help with non-id or search. It means just that they didn't answer the letter. By law, people adopted in PA are entitled to non-id, so you should be able to get some information. You may need to do research to find what you need, but here's help- a listing of all PA county courthouses. You may need to inquire further to get in touch with the Orphan's Court, which is what you want.
Armstrong County
Bradford County
Bucks County
Carbon County
Chester County
Clarion County
Columbia County
Forest County
Franklin County
Fulton County
Indiana County
Jefferson County
Lancaster County
Lehigh County
Luzerne County
Mifflin County
Montour County
Perry County
(Perry did not respond to either letter, but click "Juniata County" below for helpful contact info for the shared judge)
Schuylkill County
Sullivan County
Susquehanna County
Tioga County
Warren County
Washington County
Wayne County
Wyoming County
COUNTIES THAT RESPONDED - CLICK COUNTY TO READ LETTERS
