Parental responsibility is the legal rights a parent has for a child. It involves having the right to make decisions about the child. Parental responsibility ends when the child becomes an adult and does not end when the child ceases to live with either parent. Parental responsibility does not entitle a parent who is not living with the child to interfere on a daily basis with the child’s however they share the obligations relating to that child and they have the right to make significant decisions concerning the child, such as where the child will go to school, or which medical treatment may be best for the child.

Mothers automatically have parental responsibility for a child. Married parents share parental responsibility for the child. However, unmarried fathers do not automatically have such responsibility. Until 1 December 2003 unmarried fathers could only acquire parental responsibility with the mother’s agreement or by court order. From the 1st December 2003 an unmarried father who is named as the father on the child’s birth for children born after the 1st December 2003 now acquires parental responsibility automatically.

If an unmarried father wishes to obtain parental responsibility as he does not automatically parental responsibility he can does so by either entering into a Parental Responsibility Agreement with the mother, or by applying to the Court for a Parental Responsibility Order. When an unmarried father makes an application to the court is usually grants parental responsibility as long as he can show that he is committed to his relationship with the child, he is genuinely attached to the child and is not motivated by a desire to disrupt the mother’s life.

Other carers who are not the natural parents of the child can also obtain parental responsibility for the child. They cannot obtain a Parental Responsibility Order however, they can make an application to the court for a Residence Order, which would give them parental responsibility.