International adoption country guide
Brazil: adoption records and family tracing
Practical guidance for adoptees based in the UK who were adopted in Brazil, were born there and adopted in the UK, or have a birth parent from there.
Research last refreshed: September 2026
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Start by identifying the records and rules that apply
The state, municipality, court district (comarca), institution and adoption date determine where related records may be held. The Hague Convention entered into force for Brazil on 1 July 1999, so date remains a factor that determines which process applies.
ACAF publishes a form and accepts a current identity document plus helpful records by email from abroad. The procedure is electronic and free. Locating a person is not guaranteed, and contact depends on the other person's consent.
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 Brazil
What applies: First establish the date and place of the legal adoption or guardianship in Brazil, and identify the original birth/civil, court, agency, welfare and institution records separately.
How to look for records: Use the Ministry of Justice ACAF Direito à Origem process first. Keep the adoption court file, state central-authority material, original civil registration and any agency or institution file separate.
How to look for family: Brazil has a verified national process for people adopted in Brazil and living abroad. Since 2018, the Federal Central Authority (ACAF) has accepted origin-search requests electronically and without charge, then forwards them to the relevant state central authority and adoption court. A request may seek the court/adoption history, parent identity and medical information, or an active search for biological family. Article 48 of the Child and Adolescent Statute gives an adoptee unrestricted access to the adoption case file after age 18; a younger adoptee may request access with legal and psychological support. If documentary searches are exhausted, ACAF's Projeto Origens describes a separate genetic-search process.
Important: Do not assume that access to one Brazil record repository gives access to the whole file. Historic law, territorial rules and record survival may differ from the current process.
Born in Brazil and brought to the UK to be adopted
What applies: First establish whether the legal adoption was completed in Brazil or in the UK, or whether the country of origin order was guardianship/custody. If unknown, keep the procedures open.
How to look for records: Use the Brazil birth/civil and before adoption or guardianship procedures described for this country, while separately tracing the UK adoption/receiving-agency, local authority, court and immigration trail.
How to look for family: Brazil has a verified national process for people adopted in Brazil and living abroad. Since 2018, the Federal Central Authority (ACAF) has accepted origin-search requests electronically and without charge, then forwards them to the relevant state central authority and adoption court. A request may seek the court/adoption history, parent identity and medical information, or an active search for biological family. Article 48 of the Child and Adolescent Statute gives an adoptee unrestricted access to the adoption case file after age 18; a younger adoptee may request access with legal and psychological support. If documentary searches are exhausted, ACAF's Projeto Origens describes a separate genetic-search process.
Important: The original birth-country record and the later UK adoption/recognition record are different sources. Nationality of the carers or adopters does not determine where the original birth record is held.
One parent was from Brazil
What applies: Do not process this as an intercountry-adoption record case unless the user's own adoption occurred there. Start with the verified identity of the parent and the strongest known place/date in Brazil.
How to look for records: Use civil registration, archives and genealogy resources for Brazil once the parent's identity and locality are established. Adoption-specific authorities are relevant only if the parent's own adoption/history makes them so.
How to look for family: Brazil has a verified national process for people adopted in Brazil and living abroad. Since 2018, the Federal Central Authority (ACAF) has accepted origin-search requests electronically and without charge, then forwards them to the relevant state central authority and adoption court. A request may seek the court/adoption history, parent identity and medical information, or an active search for biological family. Article 48 of the Child and Adolescent Statute gives an adoptee unrestricted access to the adoption case file after age 18; a younger adoptee may request access with legal and psychological support. If documentary searches are exhausted, ACAF's Projeto Origens describes a separate genetic-search process.
Important: A parent being from this country does not by itself create an entitlement to adoption records. Living-person privacy and civil registration access rules may restrict what can be obtained.
Records and family finding
Start with records
Use the Ministry of Justice ACAF Direito à Origem process first. Keep the adoption court file, state central-authority material, original civil registration and any agency or institution file separate.
Looking for family
Brazil has a verified national process for people adopted in Brazil and living abroad. Since 2018, the Federal Central Authority (ACAF) has accepted origin-search requests electronically and without charge, then forwards them to the relevant state central authority and adoption court. A request may seek the court/adoption history, parent identity and medical information, or an active search for biological family. Article 48 of the Child and Adolescent Statute gives an adoptee unrestricted access to the adoption case file after age 18; a younger adoptee may request access with legal and psychological support. If documentary searches are exhausted, ACAF's Projeto Origens describes a separate genetic-search process.
DNA
Use DNA as a separate source of evidence, not as proof by itself. Prefer multiple matches/shared match analysis plus documentary evidence. Country-specific DNA programmes are listed where verified.
Peer support
Use the official ACAF process for records and mediated search. ICAV lists Adopted from Brazil, the French Association Française des Adoptés du Brésil and Brazil Baby Affair as birth-country resources. Keep these adoptee-led or NGO procedures, genealogy and commercial DNA services separate from the official ACAF process.
Practical next steps
If you have no namesSubmit the ACAF Direito à Origem form with identification and every available pre- and after adoption document. Ask expressly for the adoption court file and, if wanted, biological-family location/contact support.
If you have a name or placeUse the verified name plus municipality/state and date to search civil registration, local court and archival sources, while keeping ACAF informed so official and independent enquiries do not become confused.
If the search has stalledAsk ACAF which state authority and court received the request and whether searches have been certified as exhausted. Only then consider the published Projeto Origens genetic process or wider documentary/DNA research.
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
Official legal basis for preservation of the adoption proceeding and adoptee access to origins/case file
Things to check: Legislation is not an application service; obtain advice for contested or historic cases
Adoptee-led peer and search resources
Peer connection and shared experience for people adopted from Brazil
Things to check: Facebook membership and current activity must be checked; not an official records or tracing service
French-language peer connection and support for people adopted from Brazil
Things to check: France-focused; Facebook access, current activity and eligibility must be checked
Identity-rights information and support for Brazilians and original families affected by illegal intercountry adoption
Things to check: Non-governmental; current casework scope, safeguarding and any fees must be checked before referral
Other verified resources
Adoption history, court-file process, biological identity/medical information, active family search and consent-sensitive contact
Things to check: Forms and procedures can change; locating a person and contact are not guaranteed
Federal archival records and certificates that may support later identity or locality research
Things to check: Not an adoption file or living person tracing service; relevant holdings depend on period and agency
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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