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Parental rights and responsibilities

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1. What parental responsibility is

Having parental responsibility means you have legal rights and duties relating to your children’s upbringing.

If you have parental responsibility, your most important roles are to:

  • provide a home for the child

  • protect and maintain the child

You’re also responsible for:

  • disciplining the child

  • choosing and providing for the child’s education

  • agreeing to the child’s medical treatment

  • naming the child and agreeing to any change of name

  • looking after the child’s property

You have to ensure that your child is supported financially, whether you have parental responsibility or not.

There are different rules for parental responsibility in Scotland. 

Parental responsibility for separated parents

If you have parental responsibility for a child but you do not live with them, it does not mean you have a right to spend time with your children. However, the other parent must include you when making important decisions about their lives.

You do not always need to get the consent of the other parent for routine decisions, even if they also have parental responsibility.

If it’s a major decision (for example, one of you wants to move abroad with your children) everyone who has parental responsibility must agree in writing.

You can apply for a Specific Issue Order or Prohibited Steps Order if you cannot agree. A judge will then make a decision which is in your children’s best interests.

You can get help to arrange contact with your children.

2. Who has parental responsibility

You automatically have parental responsibility if you give birth to the child (known as the birth mother).

If you’re a father or second female parent, you might have automatic parental responsibility depending on your circumstances.

If you have married or formed a civil partnership with the birth mother

You’ll usually have automatic parental responsibility if you’re married to or in a civil partnership with the birth mother when the child is born.

The child’s biological father will automatically get parental responsibility if they marry or enter a civil partnership with the child’s birth mother after the child is born.

If your child is conceived through fertility treatment

You’ll have automatic parental responsibility if both:

  • you’ve married or formed a civil partnership with the birth mother
  • you consented to the treatment taking place

If you have not married or formed a civil partnership with the birth mother

If you have not married or formed a civil partnership with the birth mother, you can get parental responsibility for your child by jointly registering the birth with the mother.

There are different rules for registering a birth for same-sex couples. 

If you do not register the birth together, you can apply for parental responsibility.

If your child is conceived through fertility treatment

You and the birth mother might also need to sign a consent form at a UK licensed fertility clinic if you’ve used donated sperm.

If a child is born through surrogacy

If a child is born through surrogacy, the surrogate mother who gives birth to the child will have parental responsibility. You can apply for legal parenthood to be transferred.

Step parents

Step parents do not automatically get parental responsibility for children, even if they’re married to a child’s parent. You can apply for parental responsibility.

3. Apply for parental responsibility

If you’re not the birth mother, you can apply to court to get parental responsibility.

You need to be connected to the child, for example as their father, step-parent or second female parent.

More than 2 people can have parental responsibility for the same child.

Scotland has its own set of rules, covered under ‘ordinary cause procedures’.

Sign a parental responsibility agreement

If you’re a father or second female parent who wants parental responsibility and the birth mother agrees, fill in a parental responsibility agreement.

There’s a different agreement form for step parents.

Take the agreement to your local family court where it can be signed and witnessed.

Also take the child’s birth certificate and proof of your identity, like a passport or driving licence.

Send 2 copies of the form to the address below:

Principal Registry of the Family Division
First Avenue House
42-49 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6NP

Apply for a court order

If you want parental responsibility but cannot agree on arrangements with the birth mother, you can apply for a court order.

A court order costs £263.

You may be able to get help with court fees if you’re on benefits or a low income.

To apply, fill in the application for an order (C1).

Send this to your local family court.

If you and your partner use a surrogate to have a child, you’ll need to apply for a parental order.

Making a child arrangements order if you’re separated

If you’ve separated from your partner you can make a child arrangements order which can give you parental responsibility.