Understanding Child Arrangements Orders: a parent's guide to the UK family court

The law stopped using the word “custody” more than thirty years ago, and it stopped using “residence” and “contact” in 2014. What exists now is a Child Arrangements Order — a single order that sets out who a child lives with, spends time with, and otherwise has contact with.

The change is not just vocabulary. It reflects how the court thinks: not about who wins the child, but about what arrangements serve that particular child. Parents who go into the process expecting a contest often find the court asking a different question from the one they prepared for.

What the court can order

Under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 the family court can make four orders. Three matter to most separating parents.

Child Arrangements Order

Regulates who a child lives with and who they spend time with. It can name one parent, or provide for a shared living arrangement between both. It can be detailed — term-time schedule, holidays, handovers, Christmas, birthdays, phone and video contact — or deliberately loose, where the parents can be trusted to work it out.

Specific Issue Order

Determines a single disputed question about a child’s upbringing. Typically: which school they attend, whether they can be taken to live abroad, whether they receive a particular medical treatment, their religious upbringing, or a change of surname.

Prohibited Steps Order

Stops a parent from doing something. Most commonly used to prevent a child being removed from the jurisdiction, removed from school, or introduced to a specific person. Where there is a genuine risk of abduction, this can be applied for urgently — sometimes the same day and without notice to the other parent.

The principles the court applies

Three rules drive every decision.

1. The child’s welfare is paramount. Not the parents’ rights, not fairness between the parents. Where a parent’s interests and a child’s welfare pull in different directions, the child wins.

2. The welfare checklist. Section 1(3) requires the court to consider: the child’s wishes and feelings, considered in light of their age and understanding; their physical, emotional and educational needs; the likely effect of any change; their age, sex, background and relevant characteristics; any harm suffered or at risk of being suffered; how capable each parent is of meeting their needs; and the range of powers available.

3. The “no order” principle. The court will not make an order unless doing so is better for the child than making no order at all. If you can agree, the court would rather you did.

There is also a presumption that the involvement of both parents furthers a child’s welfare, unless the contrary is shown. It is a presumption about involvement, not a presumption of equal time — a distinction that disappoints parents on both sides of it.

Before court: the MIAM you cannot skip

Before making most children applications you must attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM). It is a legal requirement, not a suggestion, and the court will reject an application that does not have the MIAM section of the form completed by an authorised mediator.

A MIAM is not mediation. It is a meeting with a mediator to explain the options and assess whether mediation is suitable. You can attend alone.

Exemptions

You do not need a MIAM where, among other grounds:

• There is evidence of domestic abuse between the parties.
• The application is urgent, including a risk to the child’s safety or of unlawful removal from the jurisdiction.
• There are child protection concerns and the child is subject to a section 47 enquiry or a child protection plan.
• The other party will not attend, or no mediator is available within 15 miles within 15 working days.

Claiming an exemption that does not apply wastes time — the court can direct you to attend a MIAM and adjourn your application.

Mediation is worth taking seriously

Beyond the requirement, mediation resolves a great many disputes faster, more cheaply and less destructively than litigation, and it leaves the parents making the decisions rather than a judge who will meet the family for a few hours. Where there has been abuse, or where one party will not disclose or engage honestly, it is not appropriate — and the court understands that. See our Mediations page.

Applying to court: form C100

Applications are made on form C100. If you are alleging harm — domestic abuse, or risk to the child — you also file a form C1A.

The court fee is £270 for an application under the Children Act 1989. Help with Fees is available on the usual income and capital grounds.

What happens next

1. Gatekeeping and safeguarding. The application is allocated, and Cafcass (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) carries out initial safeguarding checks — police and local authority enquiries, and a telephone conversation with each parent. A safeguarding letter goes to the court before the first hearing.

2. First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment (FHDRA). Usually six to twelve weeks after issue. Its purpose is to identify the issues and see whether agreement is possible, often with a Cafcass officer present to talk to both parents. A great many cases settle here — sometimes with an interim order to test an arrangement.

3. Directions. If it does not settle, the court sets a timetable: statements from each parent, and often a section 7 report from Cafcass or the local authority, which involves speaking to the child, the parents, and sometimes the school. A section 7 report typically takes 12–16 weeks.

4. Fact-finding hearing, if needed. Where allegations of domestic abuse are disputed and would affect the outcome, the court holds a separate hearing to decide what happened. Practice Direction 12J governs how the court must approach abuse allegations, and it applies throughout.

5. Dispute Resolution Appointment. A further attempt to settle in light of the evidence.

6. Final hearing. Both parents give evidence and are cross-examined. The judge makes a decision.

Realistic timescale: a straightforward case that settles at the FHDRA can conclude in three to four months. A case that needs a section 7 report generally runs to six to twelve months. A case with a fact-finding hearing can take longer.

Parental responsibility

Parental responsibility is the bundle of rights and duties a parent has towards a child — decisions about schooling, medical treatment, religion and name.

• Mothers have it automatically.
• Fathers have it if married to the mother at birth, or named on the birth certificate for births registered after 1 December 2003, or by a parental responsibility agreement or court order.
• Step-parents and others can acquire it by agreement or order.

A Child Arrangements Order naming a person as someone the child lives with confers parental responsibility for the duration of the order. Having parental responsibility does not by itself give you time with the child — that is what the arrangements part of the order is for.

When an order is broken

An order is a court order, and breaching it without reasonable excuse has consequences. Your options:

• Apply to enforce under section 11J. The court can make an enforcement order requiring unpaid work of between 40 and 200 hours, order compensation for financial loss (a wasted holiday, for example), impose a fine, or in the most serious cases treat the breach as contempt.
• Apply to vary the order. Sometimes the honest answer is that the arrangement is not working and needs changing rather than enforcing.

Before enforcing, be clear about what happened. Courts distinguish sharply between a parent who is obstructing contact and a child who — particularly as a teenager — is declining to go. The first is a breach; the second usually calls for a different response, and an aggressive enforcement application can make matters worse.

You will normally need to attend a MIAM before an enforcement application too, unless an exemption applies.

How long an order lasts

A Child Arrangements Order regulating who a child lives with generally lasts until the child is 18, unless the court orders otherwise. An order about who a child spends time with usually ends at 16, unless the circumstances are exceptional.

In practice orders are often overtaken by events long before then — children’s needs change, parents move, teenagers form their own views. An order can be varied by agreement or by application.

Frequently asked questions

Does the court favour mothers? No. The law is neutral as to gender and the welfare checklist contains nothing about the sex of a parent. Outcomes often reflect the pattern of care that existed before separation, which is not the same thing.

At what age can a child decide? There is no age at which a child decides. The court considers a child’s wishes and feelings in the light of their age and understanding, and gives them progressively more weight as the child matures. By mid-teens a child’s clearly expressed views carry considerable weight; the court will still look at whether those views are genuinely the child’s own.

Can I move abroad with my child? Not without the consent of everyone with parental responsibility, or a court order. Removing a child from the UK without permission can be child abduction — a criminal offence. If you are considering relocation, or you fear the other parent is, get advice immediately.

Can I stop the other parent seeing our child? Only where there is a genuine welfare reason, and the court expects that to be evidenced. Withholding contact unilaterally, without a safeguarding basis, is often held against the parent who does it.

Do I need a solicitor? You can act in person, and many parents do. Advice is most valuable at the points where decisions are hard to undo: the initial application, allegations of harm, a section 7 report that goes against you, and the final hearing.

Is there such a thing as a 50/50 order? Shared living arrangements are common and the court will order them where they work for the child. But there is no starting presumption of equal time, and geography, school runs and work patterns often make it impractical.

How do I stop things escalating? Keep communication factual and child-focused, in writing where possible. Never involve the child in the dispute or use them as a messenger. Judges read message exchanges, and they notice which parent kept things civil.

Getting help

Children proceedings are the most emotionally demanding work the family court does, and the process is not designed to be intuitive. What helps most is a clear, evidenced, child-centred case put calmly — and knowing which battles are worth fighting.

We advise parents at every stage, including urgent applications where a child is at risk of removal from the country. See our Child Arrangements page, our guide to no-fault divorce and financial settlements, or book a free 30-minute consultation.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about the law of England and Wales as at August 2026. Court fees and procedure change, and the right approach depends on your individual circumstances. It is not legal advice and must not be relied on as though it were. If you or a child are at immediate risk, contact the police on 999. Urgent protective orders are available — see our page on Non-molestation Orders.