Parental Responsibility

Parental responsibility is a legal term that refers to the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities, and authority that a parent has in relation to their child. It allows parents to make important decisions concerning the child’s upbringing and welfare, and is at the very heart of protecting the best interests of the child.

In the United Kingdom, certain individuals automatically have parental responsibility:

• Mothers: A child’s biological mother automatically has parental responsibility, regardless of her marital status.
• Married Fathers: If the child’s parents are married to each other at the time of the child’s birth, the father automatically acquires parental responsibility.
• Unmarried Fathers: If the child was born after 1st December 2003, an unmarried father can acquire parental responsibility by being named on the child’s birth certificate.

In addition to mothers and married fathers, you can acquire parental responsibility through various means:

• Unmarried fathers where the child is born before 1st December 2003 can acquire parental responsibility through a formal agreement with the mother or by obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order from the Court.
• Step-parents can acquire parental responsibility for their stepchild by obtaining a Parental Responsibility Order from the Court. This is usually done with the consent of the child’s biological parents.
• Special Guardians, who are individuals caring for a child under a Special Guardianship Order, automatically have parental responsibility for the child.

Individuals with parental responsibility have the right to be involved in significant decisions concerning the child’s life, such as:

• Education: Decisions about the child’s schooling and educational needs.
• Healthcare: Consent to medical treatments and decisions about the child’s health and well-being.
• Religious upbringing: Decisions related to the child’s religious or spiritual upbringing.
• Name change: Agreement on any change to the child’s surname.

Even if you are no longer in a relationship or living with the other parent, both parents retain your parental responsibility unless an order from the Court states otherwise. Parental responsibility is not affected by changes in living arrangements or contact arrangements.