Rule 9-113.Medical and mental health history
Last amended July 1, 2007 · Current through June 1, 2026 · Last verified September 8, 2026
Full Text of Rule 9-113
Amendment History
Maryland publishes each rule’s adoption and amendment record as a bracketed “Credits” note beneath the rule, giving the date of each Rules Order and the date it took effect. It is reproduced verbatim below.
[Adopted June 5, 1996, eff. Jan. 1, 1997. Amended June 4, 2007, eff. July 1, 2007.]
Plain-English Summary
Adoptive parents inherit a medical history they had no part in and often cannot reconstruct. This rule is the safeguard. Except in an adoption by a stepparent or a relative, the person authorised to place a minor for adoption must affirm to the court that reasonable efforts were made to compile and make available to a prospective adoptive parent either all of the prospective adoptee's medical and mental health records that the person holds, or a comprehensive medical and mental health history of the adoptee and the adoptee's parents.
Privacy is preserved on the other side. The parents' records must contain no identifying information, unless identifying information had already been exchanged by agreement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do adoptive parents get the child's medical history?
They are entitled to reasonable efforts to provide it. The person authorised to place the child must affirm to the court that they tried to compile and make available either the records they hold or a comprehensive medical and mental health history of the child and the child's parents.
Does the history identify the birth parents?
No. The parents' records must contain no identifying information unless identifying information was previously exchanged by agreement.
Does this apply to a stepparent adoption?
No. The rule excepts adoptions by a stepparent or a relative of the person being adopted.