Wyoming Statutes

Wyo. Stat. § 1-22-203 (2026)

Confidential intermediaries; confidential

✓ current as of May 2026
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intermediary services.

     (a) Any person who has completed a confidential
intermediary training program which meets the standards set
forth by the commission shall be responsible for notifying the
commission that his name should be included on the list of
confidential intermediaries to be maintained by the commission
and made available to the judicial branch. The commission's
rules shall specify when and under what conditions the name of a
confidential intermediary shall be removed from the list
available to the judicial branch. Once a person is included on
such list, he shall be:

          (i) Authorized to inspect confidential relinquishment
and adoption records, as ordered by the court, upon motion to
the court by an adult adoptee, adoptive parent, biological
parent, biological sibling or biological grandparent;
          (ii) Available, subject to time constraints, for
appointment by the court to act as a confidential intermediary
for an adult adoptee, adoptive parent, biological parent,
biological sibling or biological grandparent.

     (b) Any adult adoptee, adoptive parent, biological parent,
biological sibling or biological grandparent who is eighteen
(18) years of age or older may file a motion, with supporting
affidavit, in the court where the adoption took place or in the
court in which parental rights were terminated pursuant to W.S.
14-2-308 through 14-2-319, to appoint one (1) or more
confidential intermediaries for the purpose of determining the
whereabouts of the unknown biological relative or relatives,
except that no one shall seek to determine the whereabouts of a
relative who is a minor. The court may rule on the motion and
affidavit without hearing and may appoint a confidential
intermediary. Costs related to the proceeding and investigation
shall be the responsibility of the party filing the motion for
appointment and investigation.

     (c) Any information obtained by the confidential
intermediary during the course of his investigation shall be
kept strictly confidential and shall be utilized only for the
purpose of arranging a contact between the individual who
initiated the search and the sought-after biological relative.

     (d) When a sought-after biological relative is located    by
a confidential intermediary on behalf of the individual who
initiated the search:

           (i) Contact shall be made between the parties
involved in the investigation only when written consent for
such contact has been obtained from both parties and filed with
the court;

          (ii) If consent for personal communication is not
obtained from both parties, all relinquishment and adoption
records and any information obtained by any confidential
intermediary during the course of his investigation shall be
returned to the court and shall remain confidential.

     (e) Any person acting as a confidential intermediary who
knowingly fails to comply with the provisions of subsections (c)
and (d) of this section shall be subject to citation and
punishment for contempt as provided by Rule 42, Wyoming Rules of
Criminal Procedure.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 2003–2014 · leading case: In Re Est. of Kirkpatrick, 2003 WY 125 (Wyo. 2003).
In Re Est. of Kirkpatrick, 2003 WY 125 (Wyo. 2003). · cites it 2× “Under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-22-203 (b) (LexisNexis 2003), only an "adult adoptee, adoptive parent, biological sibling or biological grandparent who is eighteen (18) years of age or older may file a motion" to *412 have the adoption records investigated "for the purpose of…”
Freudenthal v. Cheyenne Newspapers, Inc., 2010 WY 80 (Wyo. 2010). “1-22-201(a)(viii), concerning communications made to him or information obtained by him during the course of an investigation pursuant to W.S. 1-22-203, when the public interests, in the judgment of the court, would suffer by the disclosure.”
Aland v. Mead, 327 P.3d 752 (Wyo. 2014). “1-22-201(a)(viii), concerning communications made to him or information obtained by him during the course of an investigation pursuant to W.S. 1-22-203, when the public interests, in the judgment of the court, would suffer by the disclosure.”
Shippey v. Marafioti, 77 P.3d 404 (Wyo. 2003). · cites it 2× “Under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 1-22-203 (b) (LexisNexis 2008), only an "adult adoptee, adoptive parent, biological sibling or biological grandparent who is eighteen (18) years of age or older may file a motion" to *412 have the adoption records investigated "for the purpose of…”
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