1. (a) This section establishes requirements governing the control of public accessibility to birth records and covering adoption placements and indexes of such records in order to insure the confidentiality of adoption placements.

2. (b) Availability of birth records generally.

   1. (1) Copies of birth records are available to the public for searching or inspection on or after the 50th anniversary of the date of birth as shown on the record filed with the bureau of vital statistics or the local registration official. Original birth records shall not be made available to the public in the interest of preservation of the records.
   2. (2) The local registration official, upon receipt of a record of birth based on adoption must either forward the original record filed at the time of the event to the state registrar for enclosure in a sealed file, or delete or expunge such record.

3. (c) Availability of indexes or listings of birth records.

   1. (1) General birth indexes, summary birth indexes, or listings of birth records are not available to the public for searching or inspection if the fact of adoption or paternity determination can be revealed or broken or if the index contains specific identifying information relating to the parents of the child who is the subject of an adoption placement.
   2. (2) The bureau of vital statistics and local registration officials shall expunge or delete any state or local file numbers included in any general birth index made available to the public because such file numbers may be used to discover information concerning specific adoptions, paternity determinations, or the identity of the parents of children who are the subjects of adoption placements.
   3. (3) A summary birth index shall be in alphabetical order by surname of the registrant. The index shall consist of the last, first, and middle name, if any, of the registrant, the date of the event, the county in which the event occurred, and the sex of the registrant.
   4. (4) If the record falls into the open record category, a general index may be made available for public use. This index shall include the last, first, and middle name, if any, of the registrant; date of birth; county of birth; the parents' names; and the sex of the registrant.

Source Note:The provisions of this §181.10 adopted to be effective January 29, 1988, 12 TexReg 4785; amended to be effective October 8, 1990, 15 TexReg 5603; amended to be effective March 16, 2000, 25 TexReg 2068.