Parental Responsibility for Fathers
Parental Responsibility for fathers (77 KB) Download this page as an easily printable leaflet
If you do not have Parental Responsibility you may want to do something about it.
Andy and Dawn have lived together for twenty years but they never got married, and would rather spend their money on their daughters than a wedding.
Six years ago Dawn’s brother, a social worker, alerted them to the precarious situation their solid family unit was in.
While Dawn, as the mother, automatically had Parental Responsibility over the children, Andy did not. Dawn explains: “As it was, it meant that if I died, Andy wouldn’t have had an automatic say in where the children lived, or which school they went to. He wouldn’t be able to make any of those huge life decisions a Dad should be entitled to make.”
In this tragic scenario Andy would have to apply to the court for an order for Parental Responsibility. Though a court would almost certainly make an order in his favour in this case, it isn’t obliged to do so, and other relatives of Dawn’s could also apply. Any application to a court costs money, takes time and is stressful.
As soon as possible they got the Parental Responsibility Agreement document from the court service and drove down to the Civic Centre to sign the papers in front of an officer of the court. The Parental Responsibility Agreement must be signed by the mother and father and then registered at the Principal Registry, which is the central family court in London.
There are instructions on the back of the Parental Responsibility form but they hadn’t realised they needed to bring their children’s original birth certificates, as well as their passports, for identification and rushed back home to get them. They found Molly’s and Martha’s certificates, but Ruby’s was nowhere to be seen.
As a result Parental Responsibility was granted to Andy for Molly and Martha only. A couple of weeks later Ruby overheard her father re-telling the story and asked: “So, does that mean that Daddy doesn’t own me?”
Until they find Ruby’s birth certificate, or get a replacement from the Register Office, Andy will have few rights over Ruby if the couple split, or Dawn died.
“We can joke about it now but it seemed surreal that Andy would really not have any rights. We just couldn’t believe it! We’d always assumed he’d be fine because his name is on all the girls’ birth certificates. And he is their father,” Dawn said.
What is Parental Responsibility?
‘Parental Responsibility’ is the legal term that means ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority’ that go with being a parent. It means that you have a duty to care for and protect the child. Among other things, it means that you can consent to medical treatment for a child, and choose a child’s school and decide how he or she should be brought up. You can choose the child’s name and religion. You can apply for a passport for him or her. You might be asked to consent to the child’s marriage if he/she wants to marry before 18. It means that if the child is entitled to any property, you have the right to look after it for the child.
It does not mean you have to pay maintenance - indeed Child Support and Parental Responsibility are not connected. All parents (either by birth or by adoption) have a duty to financially support their child, whether or not they have Parental Responsibility.
How do I get it?
- by marrying the child’s mother, or
- if you are not registered as the father on the birth certificate, by simply re-registering the birth, adding your details (see links below for more details), or
- by making a Parental Responsibility agreement with her (see below for how), or
- if your child's mother refuses to make an agreement or you are unable to add your name to the birth certificate, by applying to the court for an order.
Why do I need it?
You don’t need it for most everyday things, but it gives you the legal right to be consulted about the big decisions in a child’s life as you can see from the list.
For many families, it confirms, legally, what they feel is the position anyway, and helps everyone to feel more secure.
If, sadly, the children’s mother were to die, having Parental Responsibility would make you the obvious person to take care of the children. If you didn’t have it, you would have to apply to a court for an order.
How do we make a Parental Responsibility Agreement?
Here is a step-by step guide:
- You need one form for each child. You can download the forms by following the links on the right or you can get them from your local Family Proceedings or County court.
- The instructions about filling in the form are on the back. You must follow these carefully.
- You have to sign the form at a Family Proceedings Court, or a County Court. If you are in London, you could also go to the Principal Registry of the Family Division. Its address is on the form.
- Make sure that you take the documents you need with you. These are listed on the form. If you can’t find the children’s birth certificates you will need to get replacements. You can get these from the Register office where their births were registered or use the General Register Office website (www.gro.gov.uk) to get one.
- Once you have signed the forms you must send them with two copies to the Principal Registry to have them registered. There is no fee for this. The Registry will record the agreement, stamp the forms and send the copies back to you. You need to keep them safely.
