Free Parental Responsibility Agreement Template

STATUTORY BASIS

1.1 This Agreement is entered into pursuant to Section 4 of the Children Act 1989 (Parental Responsibility Agreement — birth father) and the Parental Responsibility Agreement Regulations 1991 (SI 1991/1478). 1.2 It records the agreement of the First Parent (who holds parental responsibility for the children) and the Second Parent (who wishes to acquire parental responsibility) that both shall have and exercise parental responsibility jointly from the date of registration with the Principal Registry of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice (HMCTS). 1.3 The parties acknowledge that, under rule 14.22 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and the 1991 Regulations, a parental responsibility agreement does not take effect unless and until it is recorded on the statutory form and filed with the Principal Registry.

DEFINITION OF PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

"Parental responsibility" has the meaning given by section 3 of the Children Act 1989, namely "all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property". This includes, without limitation: providing a home; safeguarding and promoting the child's welfare; consenting to medical treatment (save where the child has Gillick competence); choosing and consenting to education (Education Act 1996); choosing the child's name; agreeing to the issue of a passport; consenting to the child leaving the United Kingdom for a period of more than one month (Child Abduction Act 1984 s.1); choosing religion; and making decisions about the administration of the child's property.

THE CHILDREN

This Agreement relates to the following children:

Sophia Grace Taylor, born 2022-03-10 at University College Hospital, London (Birth Cert Ref: Entry No. 234 / 2022, Islington Register of Births)
Oliver James Taylor, born 2024-07-02 (Birth Cert Ref: Entry No. 518 / 2024, Islington Register of Births).

The First Parent confirms that, at the date of this Agreement, the First Parent holds parental responsibility for the children above-named, and that no court order under sections 8, 9 or 14 of the Children Act 1989 or otherwise has removed or suspended that parental responsibility.

GRANT OF PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

4.1 The First Parent and the Second Parent agree that the Second Parent shall have parental responsibility for the children with effect from the date on which this Agreement is recorded in the prescribed form and registered with the Principal Registry of the Family Division. 4.2 The grant of parental responsibility to the Second Parent does not remove, extinguish or diminish the parental responsibility of the First Parent, nor of any other person (including the court under s.12 CA 1989) who holds parental responsibility for the children: section 2(6) Children Act 1989. 4.3 Each person who holds parental responsibility may act alone in exercising that responsibility, except where the Children Act 1989, any other enactment or rule of law, or an order of the court requires the consent of more than one holder of parental responsibility.

WELFARE PRINCIPLE AND EXERCISE OF RESPONSIBILITY

5.1 The parties acknowledge that, in exercising parental responsibility for the children, the welfare of them shall be the paramount consideration (Children Act 1989 s.1(1)), having regard to the welfare checklist in s.1(3). 5.2 The parties shall consult each other promptly and in good faith about all significant matters affecting the children, including (without limitation) schooling, non-routine medical treatment, religious upbringing, change of name, relocation within or outside the United Kingdom, and legal proceedings. 5.3 Neither party shall remove the children from the United Kingdom for more than one month without the written consent of every other person who has parental responsibility or the permission of the court, in accordance with section 1 of the Child Abduction Act 1984 and section 13 of the Children Act 1989. 5.4 Each party shall keep the other informed of the children's habitual residence, any change of address, and any material change in the children's circumstances.

REGISTRATION AND FORMALITIES

6.1 This Agreement shall be completed on the statutory Form C(PRA1) — Parental Responsibility Agreement (father) prescribed by the Parental Responsibility Agreement Regulations 1991. 6.2 The parties shall sign the prescribed form in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, Justices' Clerk, an Assistant to a Justices' Clerk, or an officer authorised by the Lord Chancellor to administer oaths, or before a solicitor, commissioner for oaths or a court officer authorised to take oaths and affidavits. 6.3 Two copies of the signed form shall be filed with the Principal Registry of the Family Division, First Avenue House, 42-49 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NP, together with any court fee payable under the Family Proceedings Fees Order 2008. 6.4 Once filed, the Principal Registry will keep the record on the agreement and return sealed copies to the parties. The parental responsibility conferred by this Agreement shall not take effect until the form has been so recorded.

TERMINATION

7.1 The parties acknowledge that, once registered, a parental responsibility agreement can only be brought to an end by order of the court (Children Act 1989 s.4(2A) and s.4A(3) / s.4ZA(5) as applicable) or on the death of the Second Parent. An application to terminate must normally be made in the Family Court by the child, a person with parental responsibility, or any other person with leave of the court. 7.2 Parental responsibility otherwise continues notwithstanding the end of any marriage or civil partnership between the parties, or the formation of a new relationship by either party.

DATA PROTECTION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

8.1 Personal data of the children and the parties shall be processed only for the purposes of parental responsibility and any registration required by law, in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. 8.2 If a dispute arises about the exercise of parental responsibility, the parties shall first attempt to resolve it through family mediation (accredited under the Family Mediation Council) before making any application to the Family Court under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (child arrangements, prohibited steps, specific issue). 8.3 Nothing in this Agreement restricts the right of either party, the children (if Gillick-competent) or any other person entitled in law, to make an application to the court in respect of the welfare of the children.

GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

This Agreement is governed by and to be construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. The Family Court of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any matter arising under or in connection with it, save that applications relating to the welfare of the children may be made in the court of the children's habitual residence.