International adoption country guide
Argentina: adoption records and family tracing
Practical guidance for adoptees based in the UK who were adopted in Argentina, were born there and adopted in the UK, or have a birth parent from there.
Research last refreshed: September 2026
Ask the Adoptee Rights Assistant
Start by identifying the records and rules that apply
Province, municipality, hospital or institution, court, administrative authority, adoption date and original civil registration details are essential. Do not assume one province's process applies nationwide.
A person abroad can begin through the competent provincial court, civil registry and child-protection authority, but Spanish-language applications, certified identity, local counsel or representation may be required. If adopted in the UK, obtain the UK file first to establish province, names and case references.
Check the current procedure before applyingThis guide explains the likely process, but forms, contact details, eligibility and access rules can change. Check the linked source before sending identity documents or paying a fee.
Choose the situation that describes you
Adopted in Argentina
What applies: Identify the date, place and legal form of the arrangement in Argentina before choosing a records process.
How to look for records: Identify the province, court and child-protection body that handled the adoption. Civil and Commercial Code article 596 gives an adopted person with sufficient age and maturity a right to know origins and to access the judicial and administrative adoption file and other relevant records. Request the civil registration record separately.
How to look for family: Argentina recognises a statutory right to origins, but the practical application is provincial and court-based rather than one national tracing application. Ask the competent court and administrative child-protection authority for the file and support. CONADI is relevant to suspected identity suppression or appropriation, particularly cases connected with state terrorism; it is not a general adoption tracing service.
Important: One record holder does not hold the whole history; apply the specific to the country access, confidentiality and legal status rules.
Born in Argentina and brought to the UK to be adopted
What applies: Establish whether an order or care arrangement was made in Argentina, in the UK, or both.
How to look for records: Identify the province, court and child-protection body that handled the adoption. Civil and Commercial Code article 596 gives an adopted person with sufficient age and maturity a right to know origins and to access the judicial and administrative adoption file and other relevant records. Request the civil registration record separately. Separately obtain the UK immigration, receiving-agency, court and adoption records.
How to look for family: Argentina recognises a statutory right to origins, but the practical application is provincial and court-based rather than one national tracing application. Ask the competent court and administrative child-protection authority for the file and support. CONADI is relevant to suspected identity suppression or appropriation, particularly cases connected with state terrorism; it is not a general adoption tracing service.
Important: Origin-country and UK records are separate; do not infer recognition or finalisation from nationality alone.
One parent was from Argentina
What applies: Do not use an adoption record process merely because a parent was from Argentina; start with the parent's verified identity and locality.
How to look for records: Use UK birth and adoption records first, then civil registration, archives and genealogy after obtaining the strongest available name, date and place.
How to look for family: Use consent-sensitive documentary and family finding procedures in the relevant country. Apply the specific to the country DNA caution.
Important: A parent's nationality does not itself create access to another person's adoption or civil records.
Records and family finding
Start with records
Identify the province, court and child-protection body that handled the adoption. Civil and Commercial Code article 596 gives an adopted person with sufficient age and maturity a right to know origins and to access the judicial and administrative adoption file and other relevant records. Request the civil registration record separately.
Looking for family
Argentina recognises a statutory right to origins, but the practical application is provincial and court-based rather than one national tracing application. Ask the competent court and administrative child-protection authority for the file and support. CONADI is relevant to suspected identity suppression or appropriation, particularly cases connected with state terrorism; it is not a general adoption tracing service.
DNA
DNA is often useful as a additional option in Argentina, especially in identity-suppression cases, but database coverage and programme eligibility differ. Treat a match as a lead, corroborate it with shared matches and records, and consider consent and privacy.
Peer support
ICAV currently lists no Argentina-specific birth-country adoptee group. Its broader South American peer directory and search guidance are independent resources, not official Argentine records services.
Practical next steps
If you have no namesUse the adoption judgment or UK file to identify the province, court, civil registry and child-protection authority, then request the judicial and administrative files under article 596.
If you have a name or placeUse the verified name and locality with the provincial civil registry and court file, and use supported, consent-sensitive contact with a living relative.
If the search has stalledAsk for a written decision naming the holder or restriction. If identity suppression is suspected, ask CONADI whether the case falls within its remit; otherwise consider provincial legal help, archives and corroborated DNA.
Verified sources and resources
Official services and independent or adoptee-led resources are shown separately. Check current eligibility, security, costs and capacity before supplying personal information.
Official records and authorities
Statutory right to know origins and access judicial and administrative adoption records.
Things to check: Practical applications are handled by the relevant province, court and authority.
Adoptee-led peer and search resources
Preparation, ethics and safeguarding for a cross-border search.
Things to check: Independent guidance and not an Argentine public service.
Broader South American adoptee peer resources where no Argentina-specific group is listed.
Things to check: Independent directory; check activity, eligibility and privacy. Not an official records process.
Other verified resources
National legal orientation and links into the adoption system.
Things to check: General guidance; it is not a single national adult origins application.
Other verified resources
Cases involving suspected identity suppression or appropriation and the right to identity.
Things to check: Not a general adoption tracing service; eligibility and current process must be checked.
This country guide provides general information, not legal advice or a tracing service. Records and family finding across borders can involve privacy, consent and personal safety considerations. Verify the current official procedure before acting.
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