International adoption country guide
Bolivia: adoption records and family tracing
Practical guidance for adoptees based in the UK who were adopted in Bolivia, 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
Department, municipality, court, institution, adoption year and Spanish name spellings determine the record map. A later SERECI certificate is not necessarily the full record from before the adoption.
An enquiry can begin from the UK, but Spanish correspondence, certified identity, a power of attorney, court application or local representation may be required. Obtain any UK receiving, adoption, immigration and nationality file in parallel.
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 Bolivia
What applies: Confirm that the legal adoption, guardianship or kafala was made in Bolivia, and identify the date, place, court or authority and institution.
How to look for records: Identify the Juzgado de la Niñez y Adolescencia, the current Hague Central Authority, the departmental child protection or former SEDEGES office, the institution, and SERECI civil registration. Request the adoption judgment, administrative or social file, original civil registration material and institution file separately.
How to look for family: No public nationwide adult origins application with a verified overseas procedure was found. Ask the current Central Authority to identify the competent court and departmental record holder and the present access process. Establish names, places and institutions from records before searching relatives.
Important: Use the current Central Authority to identify the competent departmental and court holders; do not promise a public adult tracing service.
Born in Bolivia and brought to the UK
What applies: Establish whether the legal adoption was made overseas, in the UK, or in both places; keep the two countries' records processs open until that is known.
How to look for records: An enquiry can begin from the UK, but Spanish correspondence, certified identity, a power of attorney, court application or local representation may be required. Obtain any UK receiving, adoption, immigration and nationality file in parallel. Identify the Juzgado de la Niñez y Adolescencia, the current Hague Central Authority, the departmental child protection or former SEDEGES office, the institution, and SERECI civil registration. Request the adoption judgment, administrative or social file, original civil registration material and institution file separately.
How to look for family: No public nationwide adult origins application with a verified overseas procedure was found. Ask the current Central Authority to identify the competent court and departmental record holder and the present access process. Establish names, places and institutions from records before searching relatives.
Important: A UK adoption or registration record does not automatically disclose or replace the overseas birth, court, welfare or institution file. Use the current Central Authority to identify the competent departmental and court holders; do not promise a public adult tracing service.
A birth parent was from Bolivia
What applies: Start with the records of the country where the person was born and adopted. A parent being from Bolivia does not by itself mean that Bolivia holds the adoption file.
How to look for records: Obtain the adoptee's own birth and adoption records first. If they confirm the parent's identity or a locality in Bolivia, use the relevant civil registration, archive and family history sources there.
How to look for family: Use verified names, dates, municipality and institution with SERECI, the court, departmental protection records and archives, keeping contact supported and consent sensitive. DNA may be useful as a additional option, but database coverage may be uneven. A match is a lead, not proof; use shared matches and documentary corroboration, consider consent and unexpected results, and check current rules before sending samples across borders.
Important: Do not assume nationality proves birth, citizenship or registration in Bolivia. Confirm full names, spelling variants, dates and an actual locality before making overseas enquiries.
Records and family finding
Start with records
Identify the Juzgado de la Niñez y Adolescencia, the current Hague Central Authority, the departmental child protection or former SEDEGES office, the institution, and SERECI civil registration. Request the adoption judgment, administrative or social file, original civil registration material and institution file separately.
Looking for family
No public nationwide adult origins application with a verified overseas procedure was found. Ask the current Central Authority to identify the competent court and departmental record holder and the present access process. Establish names, places and institutions from records before searching relatives.
DNA
DNA may be useful as a additional option, but database coverage may be uneven. A match is a lead, not proof; use shared matches and documentary corroboration, consider consent and unexpected results, and check current rules before sending samples across borders.
Peer support
ICAV lists Network of Bolivian Adoptees, SKBoliviaLink for people connected with the Salomon Klein orphanage, and Bolivian & International Adoptees USA. These are independent peer resources; check current activity, eligibility and privacy.
Practical next steps
If you have no namesUse the adoption judgment, civil documents and receiving country file to identify the court, department, protection office and institution. Ask the Central Authority to confirm the current adult access process.
If you have a name or placeUse verified names, dates, municipality and institution with SERECI, the court, departmental protection records and archives, keeping contact supported and consent sensitive.
If the search has stalledRequest written confirmation of the holder, transfer or restriction. Then consider local archival help, verified Bolivian adoptee groups and corroborated DNA as separate procedures.
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.
Other verified resources
Current Central Authority identity and contact
Things to check: Contact listing does not itself create an adult access entitlement
Convention status and dates
Things to check: Does not determine access to a historic individual file
Civil registration services and current contact points
Things to check: Civil registration is separate from court and protection files
Adoption judgment and civil document issuing authorities
Things to check: Confirm current Bolivian application mechanics
Peer support for Bolivian adoptees
Things to check: Facebook only; check current activity, eligibility and privacy
Peer support for adoptees connected with the Salomon Klein orphanage
Things to check: Facebook only; check eligibility and current activity
Peer support for Bolivian and international adoptees
Things to check: Facebook only; check current activity, eligibility and privacy
General search, contact and DNA safeguards
Things to check: Not a Bolivian government service
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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