ADOPTION CERTIFICATES - NCRC Will Accept Applications From July 19th, 2025 — *Via Email!

Posted to Paperslip on July 21st, 2021.
Thanks to a Paperslip Contributor for the link.
Translation via ChatGPT.

Red tape, anyone?

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Paperslip Note:
We interpret NCRC’s NOTICE to mean that:

NCRC will accept applications for ADOPTION CERTIFICATES through email from July 19th, 2025 - sometime in December 2025.

Starting sometime in December 2025, NCRC will accept applications for ADOPTION CERTIFICATES through the KAS website only (not through email). Please note that we assume that what NCRC calls the “Adoption Services Management System” is basically the KAS website.

For a link to the KAS website, please see:

How To Use NCRC (National Center For The Rights Of The Child) For Birth Family Search

It’s important to understand some key concepts BEFORE you make any requests to NCRC via the KAS website.

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*Please note that Adoptees will be allowed to submit a “Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure” (birth family search request) to NCRC via the KAS website starting September 16th, 2025. A “Petition for Adoption Information Disclosure” is SEPARATE from a request for an Adoption Certificate.

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Hurray! Finally some news from NCRC about Adoption Certificates!

(Previously, when we had asked NCRC about Adoption Certificates during our June 2025 visit, NCRC had said they were unsure about how Adoption Certificates were going to be handled after July 19th, 2025. We are glad to see they have finally made an announcement!)

Adoption Certificates (which are not historical documents — they are only instruments of bureaucracy) are required for various things such as obtaining an F-4 Visa, Nationality Reinstatement, etc.

However there are OTHER VERY IMPORTANT uses for Adoption Certificates which you need to read about below!

Please note that in its NOTICE about Adoption Certificates, NCRC has NOT specified whether there is now just ONE type of Adoption Certificate to cover all possible needs, or if there are still DIFFERENT types of Adoption Certificates which must be requested for different types of needs. You will need to read below and ask NCRC for clarification. We will share more information as we can.

*Please note that Adoption Certificates are required if you wish to take the Korean Police Missing Persons (KNPA) DNA Test in Korea at a police station. An Adoption Certificate is also required if you want to take the same KNPA DNA test at a Korean Consulate in your home country. Prior to July 19th, 2025, such Adoption Certificates were only good for 3 months — however we are not sure if the same is true now. You will have to ask NCRC. You also may experience difficulty obtaining an Adoption Certificate if there is known birth parent information in your adoption file.

However, NCRC has not specified these specific DNA Test taking uses in its NOTICE. We would assume that you can request Adoption Certificates from NCRC for these DNA test taking purposes — especially given that there’s nowhere else to request them from, now that the Post-Adoption Services of all 4 major Korean Adoption Agencies are closed as of July 19th, 2025. Please ask NCRC about your specific needs.

For more info. about DNA Testing in general please see:

DNA Testing

Adoption Certificates are additionally required for on-the-ground birth family search at places in Korea such as:

 Jumin Centers, City Halls, and Police Stations (Missing Persons Departments).

You will not be able to do things at such places — like request that they search for a specific birth family member in their systems — without having an Adoption Certificate.

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NOTE: Please READ the Notice below CAREFULLY BEFORE you email NCRC! NCRC has very few birth family search workers to serve the needs of ALL Korean Adoptees worldwide! Please organize your information BEFORE you email NCRC and do not send them excessive, frivolous emails — thank you!

NOTE: Please see the original Korean Notice here.

UPDATE: Please see the original ENGLISH Notice here.

You will need to download the PDF forms from the link above.

Please note: We have downloaded the PDF forms from the link above and provided them below as a BACKUP ONLY. Please note that we have downloaded these forms on July 21st, 2025, and that if NCRC updates the forms on their original page above, we may not be aware, and may not have updated our links!

It is up to YOU to double check to make sure you have downloaded the MOST CURRENT forms!

1. Application for issuance of adoption confirmation certificate.pdf
2. Consent to collection and use of personal information for issuing adoption confirmation certificate.pdf

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*Update — Please Note: You can also refer to the original ENGLISH Notice here.

Below: Our ChatGPT Translation of the original Korean Notice:


Some bolding and all red highlighting ours.

Notice

[Information] Issuance of ‘Confirmation of Adoption’ Certificate for Visa (F-4), Nationality Reinstatement, etc.

  • Posted by: Administrator-in-Chief

  • Date: July 21, 2025

Due to the restructuring of the official adoption system, as of July 19, 2025, the issuance of the Confirmation of Adoption certificate (Adoption Certificate) is now centralized under the National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC).

Please refer to the information below for application procedures and required documents.

1. How to Apply

Submit application documents via individual email.
(Note: Online application and issuance through the Adoption Services Management System will be available from December 2025)

2. Application Start Date

Saturday, July 19, 2025

3. Submission Email

📧 familysearch@ncrc.or.kr

4. Required Documents (Refer to attached forms)

  1. One completed Application for Issuance of Confirmation of Adoption

  2. One Consent Form for the Collection and Use of Personal Information

  3. One copy of applicant’s valid ID

    • (e.g., Passport or Korean Resident Registration Card that can verify identity)

5. Issuance Process

Email submission → Review of documents & identity verification → Verification of adoption records → Certificate issuance

6. Important Notes

  • Only the adoptee themselves can apply for the certificate, and a handwritten signature is required on the application form.
    (Exception: If the adoptee is a minor, adoptive parents may apply.)

  • The certificate will be issued within 7 days from the date of application.
    (If any documents are missing, a request for correction will be made, and the application date will reset to the date of completion.)

7. Contact Information

Adoption Information Disclosure Support Division, NCRC

  • 📧 Email: familysearch@ncrc.or.kr

  • ☎ Phone: +82-2-6454-8649

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Below: Original Korean Notice.