What Is A Child Arrangements Order?
If you need a court to decide where your child lives or when they spend time with each parent, a Child Arrangements Order is the order that does this. It is made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and applies in England and Wales. A Child Arrangements Order does not have to mean it is made following a contested hearing, as many parents either agree in early stages of proceedings, or in some cases reach outcomes by non-Court resolution methods, or private agreement in some extreme circumstances, and ask the court to approve it as a consent order.
Last reviewed: 6th October 2026
Article summary
✓ A Child Arrangements Order is a Family Court order that sets out where your child lives, who they spend time with, and what other contact takes place.
✓ You do not need one if you and the other parent can agree arrangements safely; as there is a presumption of no order, you need one if agreement is not possible or not safe.
✓ The court applies the welfare checklist in section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989 to your family’s own facts.
✓ Applying involves a court hearing (currently £270) using form C100, and the national average time to a final order was 35 weeks in October to December 2025, though urgent cases can move faster.
✓ If the other parent breaches the order once it is made, you can apply to enforce it, and the court can impose an unpaid work requirement, order compensation, or commit them for repeated breaches.
Parents who come to me for advice about Child Arrangement Orders are rarely calm. Many are exhausted from the mental strain caused by uncertainty regarding custody and access matters and worrying about the effect arguments are having on their children. Although it can feel like you are facing this alone, as Family Law Solicitor who handles these types of disputes daily, in most cases I can quickly tell whether you need a court order, a parenting plan, or whether family mediation or arbitration offers the most effective dispute resolution route for your situation.
What does a child arrangement order actually do?
A Child Arrangement Order sets out where your child lives, who they spend time with, and what other contact, such as phone or video calls, takes place between your child and another person.
Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 gives the Family Court power to make a Child Arrangement Order, defined as an order regulating arrangements relating to with whom a child is to live, spend time, or otherwise have contact, and when that contact takes place. The order replaced the older residence and contact orders and can record a “lives with” arrangement for one or both parents alongside a “spends time with” schedule for the other.
The order can also address contact with grandparents, siblings, or other relatives; however, they may need to apply to the court for permission to request a child arrangement order. The court can also impose conditions on the order such as supervision at a contact centre where safety concerns exist.
Do I need to apply for a child arrangement order if I have separated from my children’s father or mother?
You need a Child Arrangement Order only if you and the other parent cannot agree arrangements for your children privately or through non-court dispute resolution methods.
Many parents manage without ever applying to court. A written parenting plan can record school routines, holidays, handovers and communication, and it works well where both of you are agreed. Government guidance and the Court system both encourage parents to reach agreement outside court wherever it is safe to do so, because an arrangement you both keep to typically involves less disruption for your child than contested proceedings.
An order becomes the appropriate route once informal arrangements have broken down, one of you is not complying with what was agreed, or safety concerns, such as domestic abuse or coercive control, mean mediation or other forms of non-court dispute resolution is not appropriate.
What happens if we cannot agree privately on arrangements for our children?
If agreement is genuinely not possible and you need to apply to the Court, you will usually need to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting before applying for a court order.
A Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting, known as a MIAM, is required under Practice Direction 3A of the Family Procedure Rules before most private law children’s applications, unless a recognised exemption applies, such as urgency or evidence of domestic abuse. If mediation is not appropriate, or has already failed, and other forms of non-Court dispute resolution you can make an application to the family Court.
Once your application is issued, Cafcass carries out safeguarding checks with the police and local authority and sends the court a safeguarding letter at least three days before the first hearing. Where the case needs more investigation, the court can order a welfare report under section 7 of the Children Act 1989, prepared by Cafcass, the local authority, or an independent social worker, before making a final decision.
How does the court decide?
The court decides your case using the welfare checklist in section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989, weighing your child’s individual circumstances rather than applying a fixed formula.
Section 1(1) of the Children Act 1989 makes your child’s welfare the court’s paramount consideration whenever it decides a question about their upbringing. Section 1(3) sets out the welfare checklist: your child’s wishes and feelings in the light of age and understanding, their physical, emotional and educational needs, the likely effect of any change in circumstances, their age, sex, background and relevant characteristics, any harm suffered or risk of harm, and each parent’s capacity to meet their needs. The court weighs the evidence about your family as a whole rather than treating any one factor as decisive.
There is no legal presumption in favour of either parent, and no rule that guarantees an equal division of time. Section 1(2B) of the Children Act 1989 states that a parent’s involvement in a child’s life “does not imply any particular division of a child’s time”, so the court orders shared care only where the facts of your case support it.
| Option | What it involves | Approximate time | Approximate cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parenting plan | Written agreement between you and the other parent, with no court involvement | Days to weeks | No court fee |
| Consent order | Agreed arrangements submitted to the court for approval | A few weeks once agreed | Court fee |
| Contested application | The court decides after considering the evidence, possibly with a section 7 report | National mean of 33 weeks | Court fee, plus any legal costs |
| Urgent or interim application | The court considers a short-term order pending further hearings | Depends on the urgency, level of risk and court availability | Court fee, plus any legal costs |
What if the order is broken?
If the other parent breaches a Child Arrangement Order without a reasonable excuse, you can apply to the Family Court to enforce it, and the court has real sanctions available.
Section 11J of the Children Act 1989 allows the court, if satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a person has failed to comply with the order, to make an enforcement order imposing an unpaid work requirement. Section 11O of the Children Act 1989 lets you claim compensation for any financial loss the breach caused you, such as wasted travel costs, capped at your proven loss. In serious and repeated cases, the court can also commit the non-compliant parent to prison or impose a fine.
The burden is on the parent accused of breaching the order to show, on the balance of probabilities, that they had a reasonable excuse. Under section 11J(3), the court will not make an enforcement order if satisfied that a reasonable excuse existed. For you, this means keeping a clear record of missed handovers or cancelled contact if you are ever asking the court to enforce the order against the other parent.
Note: The terms ‘custody’ and ‘access’ were removed from English law by the Children Act 1989, which replaced it with child arrangements orders dealing with where a child lives and how much time they spend with each parent.
Talk to Purcell Solicitors
If you are trying to work out whether you need a Child Arrangement Order, want help agreeing a parenting plan first, or need to enforce an order that is not being followed, we can talk you through the option that fits your situation. Contact us on 01908 693000 to discuss how we can assist you.
Please note this article does not constitute legal advice.
Further reading:
For more information, please see below.
A Complete Guide To Children’s Law After Separation
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Child Arrangement Order cost?
The current court fee to apply using form C100 is £270. You may be eligible for help with this fee if you receive certain benefits or are on a low income, and any solicitor’s fees you incur are separate from the court fee itself.
How long does it take to get a Child Arrangement Order?
The Ministry of Justice recorded a national average of 35 weeks from application to disposal for private law Children Act cases in October to December 2025. Straightforward or agreed cases can conclude sooner, while contested or complex cases involving a section 7 report often take longer.
Can I get an order quickly in an emergency?
Yes, the court can make an urgent interim order within days, or in genuine emergencies within hours, where there is a real risk to your child’s safety or wellbeing. You will still need to attend a further hearing before any final order is made, unless you and the other parent reach agreement sooner.
Will Cafcass decide where my child lives?
No, Cafcass advises the court but does not make the final decision. Cafcass safeguarding letters and section 7 reports can influence the outcome strongly, but the judge decides what order, if any, best serves your child’s welfare if you as parents are unable to agree.
Does the law favour mothers after separation?
No, the law in England and Wales does not give mothers an automatic preference in child arrangements disputes. The court applies the welfare principle and the welfare checklist to the facts of your child’s case, rather than starting from either parent’s status or sense of entitlement.
How can I get legal advice?
If you need help working out whether to agree a parenting plan, apply for a Child Arrangements Order, or respond to a proposed relocation, we can talk through your position with you and help you choose the next step that fits your family. Contact us on 01908 693000 to discuss how we can help you.
Director – SRA number: 494434
Lisa Buckridge is a Director at Purcell Solicitors and has over 20 years of experience in family law. She qualified in the early 2000s and became a director of the firm in October 2015. She holds accreditation as a Family Mediation Council-accredited Mediator, obtained in 2022, and is one of a small number of lawyer-mediators qualified to carry out Child Inclusive Mediation. She is also a trained collaborative lawyer and hybrid mediator.
Lisa handles the full range of family law matters, including divorce, financial settlements, children proceedings, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, and cohabitation disputes. Her referrals come principally from solicitors, including London-based practices, the local judiciary, and former clients, a pattern that reflects her standing in the field. She has worked on cases involving a terminal health diagnosis and cases in which the opposing party was a specialist family law barrister.
Chambers and Partners ranks Lisa in Band 3 for Family/Matrimonial in the Thames Valley in the UK Guide 2026. She has also been spotlighted specifically for her mediation practice in the Family/Matrimonial Mediators: Thames Valley category. Chambers describes her as “an excellent solicitor who robustly and effectively represents her clients’ interests” and as “incredibly clever” with the ability to “construct cases perfectly”.
Her reported cases include Re R (a child) EWCA Civ 35, in which the Court of Appeal held that a judge had erred by failing to properly evaluate a child’s wishes or to hear evidence from a CAFCASS officer before departing from that officer’s recommendation. She also acted in Scotching and Birch EWHC 844 (Ch), a case concerning burial arrangements and letters of administration following the death of a child; the case has since been cited in several academic papers and journal articles.
Lisa is a member of Resolution and is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA number: 494434). She can be contacted at lisa@purcellsolicitors.co.uk.