Grandparents' Rights and Child Arrangements Orders in the UK

The Reality of Grandparents' Legal Rights

Under the Children Act 1989, grandparents do not have an automatic legal right to apply for a child arrangements order. Unlike parents — who can file a C100 application as of right — grandparents must first satisfy the court that they should be allowed to make the application. This extra step is called "permission" or "leave."

The permission requirement is not a judgment on your relationship with the child. It is a gatekeeping mechanism designed to filter out applications that are unlikely to serve the child's welfare. If you are already caring for a grandchild full-time, that care relationship is relevant to the court's assessment, but it does not guarantee permission.

When You Can Apply Without Permission

The Children Act 1989 creates several routes that bypass the permission requirement entirely:

One-year continuous residence (Section 10(5B)). If your grandchild has lived with you continuously for at least one year immediately before you apply, you qualify. The year must be unbroken and must run right up to the filing date.

Three years in five (Section 10(5)(b)). If the child has lived with you for a total of at least three years within the last five, and that period ended no more than three months before you apply, you can file directly. The three years do not need to be continuous.

Consent of all PR holders (Section 10(5)(c)). If every person who holds parental responsibility for the child gives written consent to your application, no permission is needed.

If any of these apply, you file Form C100 without requesting leave. The application proceeds straight to safeguarding checks and a first hearing.

How the Permission Process Works

If none of the automatic routes apply — for example, the child has been in your care for eight months rather than twelve — you ask for permission in the dedicated section of Form C100. You pay a single £270 fee that covers both the permission request and the substantive application.

The court assesses your request against four factors under Section 10(9):

• The nature of your proposed application — what order are you asking for, and is it realistic?
• Your connection with the child — how close is your relationship, and how involved have you been in the child's daily care?
• Risk of disruption — could the application itself cause harm to the child by destabilising current arrangements or drawing the family into conflict?
• Local authority plans and parental wishes — if the child is looked after by the council, what is their care plan?

A close connection with the child and a coherent reason for the application are relevant, but permission is not guaranteed. The court applies each of the Section 10(9) factors to the circumstances of the case.

If permission is refused, the application ends. If granted, it proceeds to a substantive hearing — but being granted leave does not predict the outcome of the main application.

What a "Lives With" Order Gives You

When the court makes a child arrangements order specifying that the child "lives with" you, you automatically acquire parental responsibility for the child under Section 12(2) of the Children Act 1989. This means you can:

• Enrol the child in school and consent to trips and activities
• Register the child with a GP and consent to routine medical treatment
• Claim Child Benefit and the Universal Credit child element
• Make everyday decisions about the child's upbringing

Parental responsibility is shared with anyone else who already holds it (usually the parents). For major decisions — changing the child's surname, taking the child abroad for more than 28 days, or consenting to major surgery — you need the written consent of all PR holders or a court order.

The order typically runs until the child turns 16, or 18 in exceptional circumstances.

The Practical Steps

1. Check whether you qualify for direct application (one-year residence, three-in-five, or parental consent)
2. Attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM), or confirm you qualify for an exemption
3. Complete Form C100, including the permission section if required
4. File Form C1A if there are safeguarding allegations, and Form C8 if you need your address kept confidential
5. Pay the £270 court fee or apply for fee remission through Help with Fees (Form EX160)
6. Cooperate with Cafcass safeguarding checks
7. Attend the First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment (FHDRA)

Our Child Arrangements Order Process Guide covers each of these steps in detail, including checklists for every form and templates for preparing your position statement and Cafcass call.

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