Parental responsibility

What is parental responsibility?

Parental responsibility (often abbreviated to “PR”) covers all the legal rights, duties, and powers a parent has regarding their child and their child’s property. It includes the authority to:

• Decide where the child lives
• Choose and change the child’s school
• Consent to medical treatment
• Apply for a passport for the child
• Decide on religious upbringing
• Name the child and agree to any name changes
• Appoint a guardian if you die
• Manage the child’s property and finances
• Agree to adoption

Day-to-day decisions – like what the child eats or when they go to bed – are made by whoever is caring for the child at the time. But major decisions require the agreement of everyone who has parental responsibility.

Who has parental responsibility automatically?

Mothers

A child’s birth mother automatically has parental responsibility from the moment of birth. This applies regardless of whether she’s married or in any relationship.

Married fathers

A father who is married to the child’s mother at the time of birth automatically has parental responsibility. The same applies if the parents marry after the child is born – the father gains parental responsibility automatically upon marriage.

Civil partners

If the birth mother is in a civil partnership or marriage with another woman at the time of conception (through assisted reproduction), that partner automatically has parental responsibility.

Adoptive parents

Both adoptive parents automatically gain parental responsibility when an adoption order is made.

Unmarried fathers

An unmarried father does not automatically have parental responsibility. How he can acquire it depends on when the child was born:

Children born on or after 1 December 2003

If the father is named on the birth certificate, he has parental responsibility. This applies regardless of whether the parents were living together or in any kind of relationship.

Children born before 1 December 2003

Simply being on the birth certificate is not enough. The father must acquire parental responsibility through one of the methods below.

How to get parental responsibility

If you don’t have automatic parental responsibility, there are several ways to acquire it:

Being added to the birth certificate

If you’re an unmarried father and your name isn’t on the birth certificate, you can re-register the birth to add your name. You’ll need:

• The mother’s agreement
• To apply to the General Register Office
• Evidence of paternity if requested

Once your name is on the certificate, you have parental responsibility.

Parental responsibility agreement

You and the mother can sign a formal agreement giving you parental responsibility. This must be:

• In the prescribed format (Form C(PRA1))
• Signed by both parents
• Witnessed at a family court or by a solicitor
• Registered with the Principal Registry of the Family Division

This costs nothing except for any legal fees if you use a solicitor.

Parental responsibility order

If the mother won’t agree to a parental responsibility agreement, you can apply to the court for a parental responsibility order. The court will consider:

• Your commitment to the child
• The degree of attachment between you and the child
• Your reasons for applying
• Whether granting parental responsibility is in the child’s best interests

Courts generally favour granting parental responsibility unless there are serious reasons not to (such as a history of violence or abuse).

Marriage to the mother

If you marry the child’s mother, you automatically acquire parental responsibility – even if you’re not biologically related to the child.

Child arrangements order

If a court grants you a “lives with” order (meaning the child lives with you), you automatically acquire parental responsibility if you didn’t already have it.

How parental responsibility works in practice

Day-to-day decisions

When a child is with you, you can make routine decisions about their care without consulting the other parent. This includes meals, activities, bedtimes, and day-to-day discipline.

Important decisions

Major decisions affecting the child’s life should be made jointly by everyone with parental responsibility. These include:

• Choice of school
• Medical treatment (except emergencies)
• Religious upbringing
• Taking the child abroad
• Changing the child’s name
• Agreeing to marriage or civil partnership of a 16-17 year old

If you can’t agree on an important decision, you can apply to court for a specific issue order asking a judge to decide.

Preventing actions

If you’re worried the other parent will do something harmful without your consent – like take the child abroad or change their school – you can apply for a prohibited steps order to stop them.

Parental responsibility doesn’t mean equal time

Having parental responsibility doesn’t give you an automatic right to have your child live with you or even to spend time with them. These are separate matters that need to be agreed or ordered by a court.

However, it does mean:

• You must be consulted on important decisions
• You can apply to court about arrangements without needing permission
• Schools and doctors should share information with you
• You can sign consent forms for school trips, medical procedures, etc.

Can parental responsibility be removed?

Mothers and married fathers

Parental responsibility cannot be removed from a birth mother or a father who was married to the mother at birth. Even in cases of serious misconduct, the court can only restrict how they exercise it (for example, by prohibiting contact) rather than removing it entirely.

Unmarried fathers and others

For those who acquired parental responsibility through registration, agreement, or court order, it can theoretically be removed – but courts very rarely do this. It’s only considered in extreme circumstances where removing parental responsibility would benefit the child.

Adoption

When a child is adopted, the birth parents lose parental responsibility entirely. It transfers to the adoptive parents.

Parental responsibility and separation

Separation and divorce don’t affect parental responsibility. Both parents retain whatever parental responsibility they had, regardless of:

• Who the children live with
• Whether contact arrangements are in place
• Whether child maintenance is being paid

Even if you have no contact with your child, you still have parental responsibility (if you had it before) and can still be consulted on major decisions.

Why parental responsibility matters

If you’re an unmarried father without parental responsibility, you may find that:

• Schools won’t share information with you
• Hospitals won’t let you consent to treatment
• You can’t apply for a passport for your child
• You have less standing if you need to go to court

Getting parental responsibility puts you on equal footing with the mother when it comes to legal decision-making about your child.