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

If you have parental responsibility for a child you don't live with, you don't necessarily have a right to contact with them - but the other parent still needs to keep you updated about their well-being and progress.

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

Parents have to ensure that their child is supported financially, whether they have parental responsibility or not.

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

A father usually has parental responsibility if he’s:

• 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 only get legal 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 who were civil partners at the time of the treatment will both have parental responsibility.

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

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

You need to be connected to the child, eg as their father, step-parent or 2nd 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 who wants parental responsibility and the mother agrees, fill in a parental responsibility agreement.

There’s a different agreement form for step parents.

Take the agreement to your local county court or family proceedings 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 can’t agree on arrangements with the mother, you can apply for a court order.

A court order costs £215.

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 county court or family proceedings court.

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