Iredell commissioners consent to resolution backing Senate Bill 248 to let registrars issue adoptee birth abstracts locally

The Iredell County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday gave consent to adopt a resolution supporting North Carolina Senate Bill 248, which would allow local register of deeds offices to provide certified abstracts of new birth certificates to adoptees born in the county.

Renee Holland, who presented the item on behalf of the register of deeds, said the change is intended to reduce delays adoptees now face when requesting updated birth records from the State Office of Vital Records in Raleigh. “It does not disclose adoption details or biological parent information, and it does not change adoption law or who may access those sealed records,” Holland said.

County officials clarified that the proposal would apply only to adoptees who were born in Iredell County. Holland explained that records for people born in other counties would remain accessible only through the county where the birth was originally filed or through the statewide database. “So right now, if you’re born 1971 to current and you were born in a county outside of Iredell County…we can search the NC DAVE, which is the statewide database, and we can get your birth record from that system,” she said. She added that for adoptees born in another county, obtaining the record would still require going to that county’s register of deeds office unless the new law changes statewide procedures.

Commissioners moved by consent and the resolution was recorded in the meeting minutes. No formal roll-call vote tally was provided in the transcript; the board’s action was entered by unanimous consent.

The resolution, as described in the presentation, would not release originals or sealed original birth certificates back to local offices; those originals remain with the State Registrar in Raleigh.

The registrar’s office asked the board to record its support for the bill; with no further questions, commissioners gave consent.