Parental Responsibility

• Parental Responsibility Law
• DIY Application for Parental Responsibility
• DIY Application for Parental Responsibility Agreement
• Parental Responsibility Agreement preparation services
• Pre-Civil Partnership Agreement

The concept of Parental Responsibility was introduced by the Children Act 1989 and replaces the old idea of one or both parents having custody of a child. Parental Responsibility change the emphasis on rights over children to a parent's responsibility for their children

Parental Responsibility is defined in the Children Act as:

‘All the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities which a parent has for a child’.

Applications for Parental Responsibility are considered by the Court on the basis of what is in the child’s best interest. It has been held that it is in a child’s best interest to have two parents with Parental Responsibility in all but exceptional cases.


Having Parental Responsibility therefore involves making decisions over providing a home, feeding and clothing, providing protection and security, ensuring that the child receives a satisfactory education, consenting to medical treatment and marriage before 18, any change of name or religion, and generally all the important things in a child’s life.

Where two or more persons have Parental Responsibility, each may (in most but not all cases) exercise their Parental Responsibility independently without the consent of any other person with Parental Responsibility. If agreement cannot be reached about an aspect of the child's upbringing, then the court can be asked to intervene and decide the matter and make a Specific Issues Order. Both parents (or permission from the Court) must agree before a child’s surname can be changed or the child removed from the UK.

Mothers always have parental responsibility. Fathers have automatic parental responsibility if they are married to the mother at the time of the child's birth, but not otherwise.

An unmarried father may however acquire parental responsibility by:

•Being registered as the child's father at birth, so long as registration took place after 1 December 2003.
•Entering into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother
•Applying for and obtaining a Residence Order or a Parental Responsibility Order from the Court.
•Being appointed the child's guardian; but only once that appointment takes effect
subsequently marrying the child's mother.

A step-parent who is either the spouse or civil partner of a parent who has parental responsibility may acquire that by:

•Making a Parental Responsibility Agreement with all parents with parental responsibility;
•Obtaining a Residence Order or Parental Responsibility Order from the court;
•Adopting the child.

A step-parent cannot appoint a Guardian for the child or change the child’s surname although he may have parental responsibility.

Both parents with parental reponsibility must agree before a child is removed from the UK for a period exceeding one month and for such things such as a change of name. If this agreement is not forthcoming the question will have to be referred to the Court for leave by way of an application for a specific issues order.

Not having parental responsibility will not relieve a father of his obligation to maintain his child and pay maintenance.

A person with parental responsibility may not surrender or transfer any part of that responsibility; unless the child is adopted.

Application for Parental Responsibility Order
If you are being denied Parental Responsibility by the mother of your child, it is now possible to obtain an Order giving you Parental Responsibility from the Court without incurring large legal fees.

We have available a DIY Parental Responsibility Order Application Pack which contains all the information and documents needed for you to make the application yourself.

The Pack is available for immediate download and costs £14.99.

It contains:
• The prescribed Application Form for a Parental Responsibility Order.
• Guidance on completing the Application Form.
• A guide to how the Application will be dealt with by the Court.

DIY Application for Parental Responsibility Agreement


This is an agreement whereby a parent (usually a mother) with parental responsibility agrees to share parental responsibility with another.

We have a DIY pack available to help and guide you in preparing the agreement yourself.

The DIY Parental Responsibility Agreement Pack provides all the information and documents which are needed by parents to prepare the agreement themselves and save what would almost certainly be very substantial legal costs. The pack can be purchased either through our Secure Trading secure server when you will receive a link to download your purchase immediately payment has been cleared or through Pay Pal when you will receive an email link to download your purchase in a maximum of 24 hours

This package contains:

• A Parental Responsibility Agreement in the prescribed form to allow a mother to share Parental Responsibility with her child’s father.
• A Parental Responsibility Agreement to share Parental Responsibility with a Step Parent.
• Notes and guidance on completing and registering the Parental Responsibility Agreement.

The price is £9.99. It is available for immediate download.

When all parents with Parental Responsibility agree, parental responsibility for a child can be shared with another by way of entering into and registering a Parental Responsibility Agreement. If there is not agreement by all, then an application for a Parental Responsibility Order must be made to the Court.


Both parents must sign the agreement and then attend any County Court together in order to have the agreement witnessed by a Court Officer. Evidence of identification must be provided. The agreement must be signed by both parents in front of the court officer who will then witness the signatures and place the Court stamp on the agreement.


Once the Parental Responsibility Agreement has been signed and witnessed it must be registered at the Children's Section of the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the
High Court.

Parental Responsibility Order/Agreement preparation services
We can prepare the agreement for you. Complete our online questionnaire and our lawyers will then prepare the agreement from the information provided. .The application will then be sent to you for approval and for signature before issue at court. We remain on hand to assist further if required.The cost is £75

Pre-Civil Partnership Agreement

An Agreement whereby a parent with parental responsibility agrees to share parental responsibility with another.

Where all parents with Parental Responsibility agree, parental responsibility for a child can be shared with another by way of entering into and registering a Parental Responsibility Agreement. If there is not agreement by all, then an application for a parental responsibility ORDER must be made to the Court.

This package contains both a parental responsibility agreement in the prescribed form for a mother to agree to share parental responsibility with a child's father, and also a Parental Responsibility where both natural parents with PR agree to share that PR with another such as a step father.

Both parents must sign the agreement and then attend any County Court together in order to have the agreement witnessed by a Court Officer. Evidence of identification must be provided. The agreement must be signed by both parents in front of the court officer who will then witness the signatures and place the Court stamp on the agreement.

Once the Parental Responsibility Agreement has been signed and witnessed it must be registered at the Children's Section of the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the High Court. Details of how this is done are provided.

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