Some people are allowed to apply directly to the family court because of their relationship with a child.
Typically, this will be the parents or someone who has parental responsibility – see Parental responsibility.
For others, like step-parents and grandparents, a judge needs to give them permission to make some requests.
It is not always straightforward so it is best to check first.
If someone makes multiple applications believed to be made in bad faith, perhaps to annoy the other party, or makes many applications with no valid legal basis, a judge may make an Article 179(14) Order against them.
This Order prevents them from making new applications without first obtaining the permission of a judge.
See Family court Orders.
Who can apply
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Mother
If you are the child’s mother, you can directly ask the court to make a decision about arrangements for your child. This means you do not need to first obtain the court’s permission to ask for its help.
The main types of Orders that the court can help with are:
- Contact Order
- Residence Order
- Specific Issue Order
- Prohibited Steps Order
- Discharge of Parental Responsibility Order
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Father
If you are the child’s father and you have parental responsibility (see Parental responsibility) or an existing Residence Order for the child, you can directly ask the court to make a decision about arrangements for your child without needing to obtain permission from the court first.
The main types of Orders that the court can help with are:
- Contact Order
- Residence Order
- Specific Issue Order
- Prohibited Steps Order
- Discharge of Parental Responsibility Order
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Other people with parental responsibility
If you have parental responsibility for the child, you can ask the court to make a decision about arrangements for them without needing to first obtain the court’s permission.
For an explanation of parental responsibility - see Parental responsibility.
The main types of Orders that the court can help with are:
- Contact Order
- Residence Order
- Specific Issue Order
- Prohibited Steps Order
- Discharge of Parental Responsibility Order
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Step-parent
If you are the child’s step-parent and you have parental responsibility (see Parental responsibility) for the child, you can ask the court to make a decision about arrangements for them. This means you do not need to first obtain the court’s permission.
These are the Orders you can ask for if you have parental responsibility:
- Contact Order
- Residence Order
- Specific Issue Order
- Prohibited Steps Order
- Discharge of Parental Responsibility Order
If you are the child’s step-parent and you do not have parental responsibility, you can ask directly for Contact and Residence Orders.
However, you will need the court’s permission to apply for the other Orders listed at Family court Orders.
See Asking for permission to apply for what you have to do to get the court’s permission to apply for the other Orders.
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Other people
You may be significantly involved in caring for the child in some way and want to apply for contact or other arrangements with them.
If you have been living with the child for at least 3 years during the last 5 years, including during the last 3 months, you can apply for Contact or Residence Orders.
Article 10 of The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 sets out different categories of relationship to the child and anyone in these categories does not need to ask the court for permission to apply for a Contact Order.
This can include the local Health and Social Care Trust if the child is in its care - see Asking for permission to apply.
Parental responsibility
It is important for anyone involved in a family case to know what parental responsibility is, whether you have parental responsibility for the child and what it means for you.
Becoming a parent means you take on the rights and responsibilities of bringing up your child. You are involved in making decisions in their best interests.
In Northern Ireland, parental responsibility is a legal term that refers to all of the responsibilities, rights, duties and powers that by law any parent has towards their child.
It was introduced by the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
The legal wording of parental responsibility in Article 6 is: “All the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property” see Article 6 of The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
In practical terms, parental responsibility covers all decisions that are made concerning a child as well as the duty to care for a child.
Not only the parents but other people may have parental responsibility if they have a significant role in bringing up the child. For example, the child’s step-father or guardian or grandparents may have parental responsibility. Also, when a child is in care, the local authority can obtain parental responsibility.
What is Parental Responsibility?
This animation explains what parental responsibility is.
Why parental responsibility is important
Parental responsibility is important because it affects what you can ask the court to do in relation to a child. The court will need to know if those involved in an application about a child have parental responsibility or not.
Most people are sensible with how they make use of their parental responsibility and can take day-to-day decisions by themselves without needing to consult the other people with parental responsibility for the child.
There are some important decisions which should have the agreement of all persons with parental responsibility for the child. This can include important decisions which have an impact on the child’s life – such as choice of school, medical treatment, change of name, moving out of the country.
Where more than one person has parental responsibility for the same child at the same time, parental responsibility is automatically equal, so no one person’s parental responsibility is more important than the others. They all have a say in the decision and should try to agree.
If they cannot agree, they can ask the family court to make the decision by making an application for a Specific Issue Order or Prohibited Steps Order - see Family court Orders. To apply, fill in an application for an Order Form C1 – see Applying for an Order.
Having parental responsibility means that the person has the right to be informed about issues by institutions with responsibilities for the child - such as their school, their doctor or the local authority.
If you have parental responsibility you can register this with these institutions and can use this to request documents relating to the child. If you do not have parental responsibility, you can apply to the family court.
Who has parental responsibility
The mother who gives birth to the child will automatically have parental responsibility for the child.
Both parents have parental responsibility if they were married to each other or in a civil partnership at the time of the child’s birth or when the child was adopted. Parent here includes the non-birth mother in a female same-sex civil partnership when the child is conceived through a mutual agreement.
The father
The situation for the child’s father will depend on the circumstances when the child was born:
- If the father was married to the mother at the time of the birth, he has parental responsibility.
- If the father marries the mother later on, he can acquire it – see Obtaining parental responsibility below.
- If the father and mother are not married when the child is born, but the father’s name was added to the child’s birth certificate, he acquires parental responsibility when registering the child’s birth.
- If the father has an existing Residence Order, he has parental responsibility.
- If the father and mother are not married when the child is born and the father is not registered on the child’s birth certificate, he does not have parental responsibility.
The father can obtain it in several different ways – see Obtaining parental responsibility below.
Other people who have a significant role in the child’s upbringing may apply for it – see Obtaining parental responsibility below.
If a child is in care, the local authority may have parental responsibility for the child.
The law that deals with parental responsibility is Article 5 of The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
Obtaining parental responsibility
There are several ways different people can obtain parental responsibility.
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Father not on birth certificate
A father who is not named on the child’s birth certificate does not have parental responsibility. He may obtain parental responsibility for the child in the following ways:
a. Jointly registering the birth of the child with the mother
b. Being registered on the child’s birth certificate, with the consent of the mother
The father can be registered on the child’s birth certificate if he is unable to sign the birth certificate at the Registry Office, for example, if he is abroad.
He can do this by completing a ‘Declaration of Parentage’ Form GRO13.
The Declaration of Parentage has to be completed in front of someone with the authority to witness an oath, like a solicitor.
The mother usually takes the completed Declaration and the child’s birth certificate to the Registry Office for the father’s name to be registered on the birth certificate.
c. By marrying the mother of the child after the child’s birth
When the marriage is registered the father can obtain parental responsibility. To do so the parents are required to re-register the birth using Form GRO15.
d. If the father has a Residence Order for the child
A Residence Order automatically gives the father parental responsibility so long as the Residence Order is in place.
e. Signing a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother
If you are a father who wants parental responsibility and the mother agrees, you can fill in a Parental Responsibility Agreement.
Take the completed but not yet signed agreement to the court office where it will be signed and witnessed by a judge or official. You should take the child’s birth certificate and proof of your identity, like a passport or driving licence.
The original agreement should be filed and recorded with the Office of Care and Protection at the Royal Courts of Justice. The agreement only becomes valid when this has been done. A separate agreement is needed for each child.
For further information on this process, you should refer to the guidance on completing and registering Parental Responsibility Agreement - see Notes about the Parental Responsibility Agreement
f. Applying for and obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order from the family court
If the mother does not agree to register the father on the birth certificate or does not agree to a Parental Responsibility Agreement, the father can apply to the family court for a Parental Responsibility Order – see Types of family court Orders
In considering a father’s application for a Parental Responsibility Order, a judge considers several factors including:
- the father’s degree of commitment towards the child;
- the degree of attachment between the father and the child;
- the reasons why the father is applying.
These three factors are not the only ones considered but they are the starting point for the judge to make a decision alongside the overall Welfare Principle applied to all decisions about arrangements for the child – see How judges decide arrangements for a child.
If the judge grants a father a Parental Responsibility Order, he can obtain parental responsibility by applying to re-register the child’s birth with the Parental Responsibility Order attached, using Form GRO12.
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Step-parent
A step-parent who is married to one of the biological parents does not have parental responsibility and may be able to obtain it in the following ways:
a. Enter into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the child’s birth parents
The step-parent can obtain parental responsibility for the child by entering into an agreement with the parent of the child who is their spouse or civil partner or if the other parent of the child also has parental responsibility for the child, both parents.
Check with the NI Courts and Tribunals Service which form to use for this.
Contact the court office using email in the first instance - see NICTS contact details or Court office emails
b. Apply for and obtain a Parental Responsibility Order
If the other parent does not agree to sharing parental responsibility with the step-parent, the step-parent can apply for permission from the family court to apply for a Parental Responsibility Order. If that permission is granted by the court, then the step-parent can apply for a Parental Responsibility Order.
To apply for permission to apply for a Parental Responsibility Order – see Asking for permission to apply.
To apply for a Parental Responsibility Order - see Applying for an Order.
c. If the step-parent has adopted their step-child, they will have parental responsibility.
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Other people
It is possible for other relatives, such as grandparents, family members or other carers, to have parental responsibility for the child in certain situations.
They can obtain parental responsibility in the following ways:
a. Obtain a Residence Order
The relative would have to obtain a Residence Order which would give them parental responsibility for as long as the Residence Order remains in force. To apply for this Order, they would first need the permission by the court to apply – see Asking for permission to apply. If that permission is granted, they can make the application – see Applying for an Order.
b. Being a Guardian
A parent with parental responsibility can appoint a person to be a guardian for their child after their death. The appointment can be made in writing (signed, dated and witnessed) or in a will.
The law on appointing a guardian is set out in Articles 159-160 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995
Where both parents had parental responsibility, a guardian can only be appointed after both parents with parental responsibility have died.
Where only one parent had parental responsibility, their appointed guardian would have priority over any surviving parent. In this instance, the surviving parent could apply to the court for an Order to decide child arrangements.
If a parent with a Residence Order appoints a guardian in the event of their death, the child would live with the guardian. If the child’s surviving parent wanted their child to live with them, they could apply to the court for a Residence Order.
c. Adopting the child
Where the child is adopted, the adoptive parents will automatically obtain parental responsibility.
Restrictions on parental responsibility
There may be situations when those with parental responsibility for a child disagree over important issues related to the child’s care and welfare, such as where the child will go to school, what religion the child will be brought up in, serious medical decisions.
Effectively, they disagree on how to exercise their parental responsibility toward the child.
Those with parental responsibility should always try to reach agreement on such issues.
If they cannot agree, they can apply to the family court to make a decision based upon the child’s best interests. This decision effectively restricts at least one parent’s exercise of their parental responsibility as they are obliged to comply with the court Order.
There are two Orders under Article 8 of The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 that the court can make on the issues that the parents disagree on.
- Specific Issue Order – relating to a specific matter of importance to the child’s welfare
- Prohibited Steps Order - stopping a parent from carrying out an action in connection with their parental responsibility for a child
Loss of parental responsibility
Parental responsibility ends when the child reaches 18 years of age.
The birth parents lose parental responsibility when the child is adopted, and the adoptive parents are then given parental responsibility.
The court can end parental responsibility if someone applies for it to be removed, either a person with parental responsibility or the child.
It is unusual to remove parental responsibility from a child’s birth parent.
The law in this area is complex and each case will be decided on the circumstances of the case.