International adoption country guide
Tanzania: adoption records and family tracing
Practical guidance for adoptees based in the UK who were adopted in Tanzania, 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
Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar have separate legal and administrative systems. The Law of the Child Act, Cap. 13 R.E. 2023 applies to Mainland Tanzania. Do not assume that its court, Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) or social welfare process applies in Zanzibar. For a Zanzibar case, identify the exact island, district, court, civil status authority, social welfare authority, institution and year, then obtain a current procedural check because the present adult access process was not verified.
If you were brought to the UK, keep the Tanzanian and UK records processes open in parallel until you know where the legal adoption was made. Ask the adoption support service where you now live about the UK record, and also identify the former receiving agency or local authority, the UK court or registration entry and the immigration or nationality file. Those UK bodies do not control Tanzanian court, civil registration or social welfare records.
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 Tanzania
What applies: First establish whether the adoption or guardianship was made in Mainland Tanzania or Zanzibar, the year, the issuing court and whether a later UK order or recognition step also exists.
How to look for records: For Mainland Tanzania, keep four sources separate: the issuing court file, the Social Welfare Office or institution file, the Registrar General's Adopted Children Register, and the original civil birth registration held through Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA). Regulation 20 refers to access after age 14, but the current application process for an adult overseas applicant is not published, so ask the court, Social Welfare Office and RITA what they require. For Zanzibar, use the relevant Zanzibar court, civil status and social welfare authorities after a current law and procedure check.
How to look for family: Obtain reliable names, dates, districts, institutions and court details before tracing. The Mainland regulations contemplate social welfare help with birth family contact, but no nationwide specialist adult adoptee tracing service or published overseas adult process was verified. Search maternal and paternal lines separately and consider DNA only as an additional, corroborated lead.
Important: Do not apply Mainland Tanzania's law or Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) process automatically to Zanzibar. Do not promise that regulation 20 guarantees an adult overseas applicant immediate access to every record.
Born in Tanzania and brought to the UK to be adopted
What applies: First establish whether the Tanzanian document was an adoption order, guardianship or custody arrangement and whether the legal adoption was completed in Tanzania or in the UK. Keep both countries' records processes open until this is clear.
How to look for records: In Tanzania, identify Mainland or Zanzibar and pursue the birth registration, court, social welfare and institution records separately. In the UK, ask the adoption support service where you now live about the UK record and identify the receiving agency or local authority, court or registration entry and immigration or nationality file. Neither side automatically holds the other's records.
How to look for family: Use both Tanzanian and UK records to establish reliable names, places and dates. No verified nationwide Tanzania adult adoptee tracing service was found. After the documentary search, research each family line separately and consider DNA as an additional lead if lawful and useful, without treating a match as proof by itself.
Important: Do not assume that being brought to the UK proves a Tanzanian adoption order existed or that a guardianship document was an adoption. Mainland and Zanzibar require different enquiries.
One parent was from Tanzania
What applies: Your parent's Tanzanian connection does not mean that your own adoption records are held in Tanzania. Start with your UK birth and adoption records, then identify the parent's full name, spelling variants, date and exact place of birth, and whether that place was in Mainland Tanzania or Zanzibar.
How to look for records: Use the verified identity and locality with the relevant civil registration, archive, religious, migration and family history sources. Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) is relevant to Mainland civil registration; Zanzibar is administered separately. Adoption authorities are relevant only if your parent was adopted or your own legal adoption occurred there.
How to look for family: Build the maternal and paternal lines separately from verified records and localities. No verified nationwide Tanzania specialist tracing service was found. Wider kin research and DNA may provide additional leads, but coverage may be limited and matches should be confirmed with records and shared match analysis.
Important: A parent being Tanzanian does not create an automatic right to that parent's civil or adoption records. Privacy rules and the separate Mainland and Zanzibar systems may affect access.
Records and family finding
Start with records
First identify whether the adoption, guardianship or birth registration was in Mainland Tanzania or Zanzibar. For a Mainland case, obtain the adoption order and ask the issuing court about access to its file; ask the relevant Social Welfare Office for the child or institution file; and approach the Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) separately about the birth registration and Adopted Children Register. Regulation 20 says an adopted person may access adoption records after age 14, but no published procedure for an adult applying from overseas was verified, so confirm the current process before sending documents or fees.
Looking for family
No verified nationwide specialist tracing service for adult adoptees was found. Use the records process to establish reliable names, dates, districts, institutions and court details, then search each maternal and paternal line separately. The Mainland regulations say the Social Welfare Office should take reasonable steps to assist contact with birth family, taking account of the birth parents' wishes and the person's best interests, but the current procedure for an adult overseas applicant must be checked. DNA can be used as an additional lead where lawful and available, but database coverage may be limited and a match is not proof by itself.
DNA
DNA testing may provide an additional family finding lead, particularly if you can test from the UK, but Tanzanian database coverage may be limited and uneven. Confirm relationships through shared matches, family trees and documentary evidence. Consider consent, privacy and any rules affecting the collection or movement of samples across borders.
Peer support
InterCountry Adoptee Voices (ICAV) does not currently list a Tanzania specific adoptee group. Its wider country of origin directory and search and reunion information may still help with peer knowledge, but they are not official record holders or a Tanzania tracing service.
Practical next steps
If you have no namesFind the adoption or guardianship order, birth document, passport or travel papers and any UK immigration or adoption papers. Record the year, court, district, institution and whether the case was in Mainland Tanzania or Zanzibar. For a Mainland case, ask the issuing court and relevant Social Welfare Office what an adult overseas adoptee must provide to request the surviving records.
If you have a name or placeUse the verified name, spelling variants, date and district with the relevant civil registration authority, court, Social Welfare Office, hospital, institution, religious records and local archives. In Mainland Tanzania, approach Registration, Insolvency and Trusteeship Agency (RITA) about civil registration, but do not treat a civil certificate as the whole adoption file or proof of biological relationship.
If the search has stalledAsk each record holder to state whether the record is held, transferred, not found, destroyed or restricted, and what review or court application is available. If documentary research stalls, widen the search to maternal and paternal relatives and consider consensual DNA as a separate lead, while checking privacy and cross border testing issues.
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
Current official Mainland Tanzania legislation, including disclosure, the Adopted Children Register and court order access to linked records
Things to check: Applies to Mainland Tanzania, not Zanzibar; legislation does not supply an adult overseas application procedure
Contact details for Mainland Tanzania civil registration and the Registrar General's adoption register functions
Things to check: The page still cites the repealed Adoption Act, Cap. 335; use it for contact, not as the current governing law, and confirm current identity and application requirements
Adoptee-led peer and search resources
Checking for adoptee led peer groups and wider African adoptee connections
Things to check: No Tanzania specific group was listed in this refresh; it is not a government records or tracing service
General intercountry adoptee search and reunion information
Things to check: General guidance only; no Tanzania specific tracing service was verified
Other verified resources
Regulations 18 and 20 on transmission of records, access after age 14 and social welfare assistance with birth family contact
Things to check: The verified copy is hosted by an independent organisation; no published procedure for an adult applying from overseas was found, so operation must be checked
Operational background on Tanzanian civil documents and the separate administration of Zanzibar
Things to check: Written for UK document examiners; it is not a Tanzanian records application or tracing service
Identifying the separate Zanzibar Children's Act 2011 and other child law materials
Things to check: Secondary legal database; the current Zanzibar adult records procedure and any later replacement law require authoritative confirmation
Checking whether Tanzania is listed as a party to the 1993 Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention
Things to check: Treaty status does not identify an individual's records or prove which legal process was used
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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