All records created or filed in connection with an adoption (except the decree of adoption and the entry in the special proceedings index) in the possession of the court, an agency, the State, a county, an attorney, or a provider of professional services are confidential and may not be used or disclosed except as provided under the state’s adoption law.
The term “records” includes a consent or relinquishment for adoption, the adoption petition, transcript of an adoption proceeding, correspondence, and other written, tape-recorded, or electronically-recorded information, regardless of physical form, related to an adoption proceeding. All records filed with the clerk of superior court must be transferred to the state Division of Social Services along with a copy of the adoption petition and final decree after a final decree of adoption is entered.
During a proceeding for adoption, adoption records may be disclosed only by order of the court in which the adoption proceeding is pending based on a finding that disclosure is necessary to protect the interest of the adoptee.