Child Custody in England & Wales: A Parent's Guide

In short: England & Wales does not have "custody" in law. Since the Children and Families Act 2014, courts issue a single Child Arrangements Order (CAO) setting out who a child lives with and who they spend time with, decided under the Children Act 1989's welfare principle. Most court applications require attending a MIAM first, and contested cases typically start with an FHDRA hearing where a Cafcass officer helps the parties toward agreement. There's no default schedule; arrangements are built around the individual child.

This is an educational overview written for parents, not solicitors. It isn't legal advice, and family law can turn on the specifics of your situation. For anything beyond general understanding, talk to a family law solicitor or use the GOV.UK guide to child arrangements.

What a Child Arrangements Order covers

A Child Arrangements Order is a court order that sets out:

• Who the child lives with (a "lives with" order), which can name one parent, or both under a shared arrangement that doesn't have to mean an equal split of nights
• Who the child spends time with (a "spends time with" order), covering visits, overnight stays, phone or video contact, and holiday time
• Any other conditions the court considers necessary, such as handover arrangements or restrictions

Once made, a Child Arrangements Order is legally binding. If either parent breaches it without good reason, the other can go back to court to enforce it. A parent named in a "lives with" order can generally take the child abroad for up to 28 days without the other parent's consent unless the order says otherwise; anyone else, or a longer trip, needs agreement or the court's permission.

Important terminology

• Child Arrangements Order (CAO): the single order that replaced the old "custody"/"access" and "residence"/"contact" terminology, covering both where a child lives and who they spend time with.
• Lives with / spends time with: the current legal language for what used to be called residence and contact (and before that, custody and access).
• Welfare principle: under section 1 of the Children Act 1989, the child's welfare is the court's paramount consideration in any decision about their upbringing.
• No order principle: courts won't make an order at all unless doing so is better for the child than making no order, reflecting a preference for parents reaching their own agreements where it's safe to do so.
• Cafcass: the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass Cymru in Wales), which advises the court on the child's welfare and safety.
• MIAM: Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting, generally required before applying to court.
• FHDRA: First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment, the first substantive court hearing in a contested case.

How England & Wales's system works

England & Wales does not split custody into "legal" and "physical" categories the way some jurisdictions do. Instead, under the Children Act 1989 (as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014), the court's sole test for any decision about a child's upbringing is the child's welfare, applied through the statutory welfare checklist: the child's wishes and feelings (in light of age and understanding), physical and emotional needs, the likely effect of any change, age, sex, and background, any harm suffered or at risk, each parent's capability, and the range of powers available to the court.

There's no legal presumption in favour of either parent, and no presumption of an equal time split. The court also applies the no order principle: it won't make an order unless doing so is genuinely better for the child than leaving arrangements to the parents. Many separating parents in England & Wales never go to court at all, they agree arrangements privately or through mediation, sometimes recording them in a written parenting plan without needing a court order.

The court process

If parents can't agree, the general route is:

1. MIAM: before applying to court, the person making the application must normally attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting with a qualified mediator, who explains mediation and other non-court options and screens for domestic abuse or safety concerns. Exemptions apply for urgency, abuse, and certain other circumstances.
2. Application and Cafcass safeguarding checks: once an application for a Child Arrangements Order is issued, Cafcass (or Cafcass Cymru) is notified and carries out safeguarding checks with the police and local authority, usually reporting to the court within 17 working days.
3. FHDRA: the First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment is typically listed around week five or six after the application. A judge or magistrates work with a Cafcass officer to help both parents understand the issues, explore agreement, and identify what remains genuinely disputed. A significant share of cases resolve at or shortly after this hearing.
4. Further hearings if needed: unresolved cases may proceed to fact-finding hearings, further dispute resolution appointments, or a final hearing where the court decides and makes an order.

Private law Children Act cases in England & Wales have historically taken many months to conclude when contested through to a final hearing, which is part of why mediation and the FHDRA stage matter so much in practice.

Parenting time and schedules

There's no standard or default schedule in England & Wales, the court (or the parents themselves) build arrangements around the specific child: age, school routine, each parent's home and work situation, and distance between homes. In practice, parents commonly land on patterns such as alternating weeks, alternate weekends with a mid-week visit, or a 2-2-3 style rotation for younger children, the same broad patterns used elsewhere, just without any presumption in law that one is standard. See how to choose a custody schedule for a general framework, and the custody schedule generator to build the actual calendar once you've agreed a pattern.

Moving with your child (relocation)

Whether you can move with your child depends on your existing arrangement and the distance involved:

• Moving within England & Wales: generally doesn't need the other parent's consent unless an existing order specifically restricts it, though a significant move can still justify the other parent applying to vary the arrangements if it disrupts their time with the child.
• Moving abroad, or a trip longer than 28 days: a parent named in a "lives with" order can take a child abroad for up to 28 days without consent unless the order says otherwise; anything longer, or a permanent relocation abroad, generally needs the other parent's written agreement or the court's permission (a "leave to remove" application).
• No agreement: if the other parent won't consent, the moving parent needs a court order. The court applies the same welfare principle, weighing the reasons for the move, the impact on the child's relationship with the other parent, and the practicality of maintaining contact, among other factors.

Practical considerations

Most Child Arrangements Order cases resolve through mediation or at the FHDRA stage rather than a full contested hearing, and many parents never go to court at all. Whatever the arrangement ends up being, whether it's a court order or a private agreement, keeping both parents looking at the same calendar, logging change requests instead of relying on memory, and having a clear record if a dispute ever needs mediation or Cafcass involvement is a separate, ongoing piece worth planning for regardless of which schedule you land on.

Official resources

• GOV.UK: Child Arrangements If You Divorce or Separate
• Children and Families Act 2014 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Cafcass: Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service
• Practice Direction 12B: Child Arrangements Programme (Justice.gov.uk)

Related OnePage resources

• Custody schedule generator
• What is a parenting plan
• How to choose a custody schedule

Related England & Wales pages

• England & Wales hub
• England & Wales child support guide