Who has Parental Responsibility?

Who has Parental Responsibility?

A mother automatically has parental responsibility for her child from birth.

A father usually has parental responsibility if he’s either:

  • married to the child’s mother
  • listed on the birth certificate (after a certain date, depending on which part of the UK the child was born in)

You can apply for parental responsibility if you don’t automatically have it.

Births registered in England and Wales

If the parents of a child are married when the child is born, or if they’ve jointly adopted a child, both have parental responsibility.

They both keep parental responsibility if they later divorce.

Unmarried parents

An unmarried father can get parental responsibility for his child in 1 of 3 ways:

  • jointly registering the birth of the child with the mother (from 1 December 2003)
  • getting a parental responsibility agreement with the mother
  • getting a parental responsibility order from a court

Births registered in Scotland

A father has parental responsibility if he’s married to the mother when the child is conceived, or marries her at any point afterwards.

An unmarried father has parental responsibility if he’s named on the child’s birth certificate (from 4 May 2006).

Births registered in Northern Ireland

A father has parental responsibility if he’s married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth.

If a father marries the mother after the child’s birth, he has parental responsibility if he lives in Northern Ireland at the time of the marriage.

An unmarried father has parental responsibility if he’s named, or becomes named, on the child’s birth certificate (from 15 April 2002).

Births registered outside the UK

If a child is born overseas and comes to live in the UK, parental responsibility depends on the UK country they’re now living in.

Same-sex parents

Civil partners

Same-sex partners will both have parental responsibility if they were civil partners at the time of the treatment, eg donor insemination or fertility treatment.

Non-civil partners

For same-sex partners who aren’t civil partners, the 2nd parent can get parental responsibility by either:

  • applying for parental responsibility if a parental agreement was made
  • becoming a civil partner of the other parent and making a parental responsibility agreement or jointly registering the birth
Content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0,

    • Related Articles

    • What is Parental Responsibility?

      All mothers and most fathers have legal rights and responsibilities as a parent - known as ‘parental responsibility’. If you have parental responsibility, your most important roles are to: provide a home for the child protect and maintain the child ...

    • Applying for Parental Responsibility as a Stepparent

      There are occasions when a stepparent may wish to apply to have parental responsibility. This may be because one of the biological parents has died or is not part of the child/children's lives. Use form C(PRA2): Ask the court to witness your ...

    • Parental Responsibility: Health

      Parental responsibility refers to the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities that most parents have in respect of their children. Parental responsibility includes the right of parents to consent to treatment on behalf of their children, provided ...

    • Guide for Schools dealing with Parental Responsibility

      The Government has published guidance to schools for dealing with Parental Responsibility and separated parents to help schools understand their obligations and duties in relation to the rights and responsibilities of parents, as recognised by ...

    • Parental Responsibility: Case Law

      AvA [2004] EWHC 142 You can read the full judgment in context here: link. Decisions that could be taken independently and without any consultation or notification to the other parent. How the children are to spend their time during contact Personal ...

    About Dads Unlimited

    Dads Unlimited supports the emotional safety of men and those they care about through three key areas; supporting male victims of domestic abuse, supporting men with family separation; and supporting men’s mental health. All of our services use an evidence-based, trauma-informed, person-centred approach. You can find out more on our website www.dadsunltd.org.uk

    If you register with Dads Unlimited, you agree to be bound by our privacy policy.