In Estonia, general information about you and your parents is stored in the Population Register. For example, this register contains information about your birth, parents, marriage and children. Vital statistic offices register births and deaths, certify the contraction of marriages and divorces and change and correct data entered in the population register. They also issue extracts of vital statistics data in the population register.
Vital statistics offices are: rural municipality and city governments; county town local authority; foreign missions of Estonia and the Ministry of the Interior.
The Population Register is operated by the Ministry of the Interior.
Birth certificate
In order to certify a birth, an extract of the data in the population register can be issued with following information:
- the personal name, personal identification code, date of birth and place of birth of the born person
- the personal name, personal identification code and date of birth of both parents of the born person
- the number of the entry
Adopted children
If you are a minor adopted child and your adoptive parents consent you have a right to obtain info from the Social Insurance Board (Sotsiaalkindlustusamet) on your biological parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. All these people have to consent with the disclosure of their identity.
If you are an adopted child who has become an adult you have the right to obtain information from the Social Insurance Board concerning the fact of adoption.
The birth certificate of an adopted child contains data as at the time following the adoption. Data preceding the adoption can be issued only upon the application of the adopted child who has become an adult.
If you have been adopted, the Population Register will contain information about your adoptive (legally recognized) parents, but not your biological parents.
Children separated from their family
According to the Estonian law the local government must provide information to the child concerning their origin, the reasons for separation from family and subsequent care issues.
Requesting information
To obtain information about your origins from a register or public administration, you must submit a request to the institution responsible for the data you wish to obtain.
Read more about how to request information about your origins.