Parental responsibility means all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and their property.
The birth mother of a child will always have parental responsibility unless it is extinguished by the making of an adoption order to another person.
Where the child’s father and mother are married to each other at the time of the birth, they both have parental responsibility for the child.
Where the child’s mother and father are not married to each other at the time of the birth the general rule is that the mother has sole parental responsibility for the child. However, an unmarried father will have parental responsibility for a child born after 1st December 2003 if he is named on the birth certificate and Register.
Other ways in which a father can obtain parental responsibility are by:
- drawing up a parental responsibility agreement with the mother, which is a specific form that has to be signed by both parents;
- marrying the mother; and
- the court making a child arrangements order for parental responsibility if the parents cannot agree on the father having parental responsibility.
Other people may acquire parental responsibility by entering into an agreement if they are the husband or civil partner of the mother, or if they obtain a child arrangements order for residence.
More than one person can have parental responsibility for the same child at the same time. Parental responsibility is shared between everyone, but where more than one person has parental responsibility for a child each of them may act alone in meeting that responsibility except in circumstances where the consent of everyone with parental responsibility is required.