The C100 court form is the application you file in the family courts of England and Wales when you need a judge to decide something about your child’s living arrangements or upbringing. It costs £263 and covers three orders under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989: a child arrangements order (who the child lives with and spends time with), a prohibited steps order (stopping someone from taking a specific action regarding the child), and a specific issue order (settling a particular disagreement about the child’s care).1GOV.UK. Making Child Arrangements if You Divorce or Separate: Apply for a Court Order Most people reach for it after negotiation or mediation with the other parent has broken down.
Who Can File Without Permission
Parents and legal guardians can apply directly. So can anyone who already holds a child arrangements order in their favour, and anyone married or formerly married to the child’s parent where the child was treated as a child of that family. There is also a route for anyone who has lived with the child for at least three years. That time does not have to be continuous, but it cannot have started more than five years ago or ended more than three months before you apply.2Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 10
If none of that describes you (this affects many grandparents, aunts, uncles, and family friends), you must ask the court’s permission before you can file. The court will look at your connection to the child, the order you want, and whether the application itself risks disrupting the child’s life.
The MIAM You Almost Always Need First
Before the court will accept your C100, you normally have to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting. An authorised family mediator runs the meeting, explains how mediation works, and assesses whether your case is suitable. The mediator signs the relevant part of the C100 to confirm you attended.3GOV.UK. Apply for a Court Order to Make Arrangements for a Child or Resolve a Dispute About Their Upbringing: Form C100
You do not have to agree to actually mediate. The meeting is a checkpoint, not a commitment.
When You Can Skip the MIAM
Domestic abuse is the most common exemption. If the other party has been violent or abusive toward you, you can bypass the MIAM by providing evidence such as:
- Police involvement: an arrest, caution, or ongoing criminal proceedings for a domestic violence offence
- A protective injunction, a domestic violence protection notice, or a binding-over order
- A letter from a doctor confirming injuries consistent with domestic violence, a referral to a specialist domestic abuse service, or a letter from an independent domestic violence adviser
- Confirmation from a multi-agency risk assessment conference that you or the child is at risk
Urgency is the other main exemption. If there is a genuine risk of harm to the child or a risk that the child will be removed from England and Wales before mediation can take place, you can file without a MIAM certificate. The form has a section where you tick the exemption and explain it. Claiming an exemption without proper justification can lead the court to refuse your application.4Justice UK. Practice Direction 3A – Family Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMS)
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Trying to hunt down addresses or case numbers halfway through leads to inconsistencies that court staff will bounce back. Gather these first:
- Full names, dates of birth, and current addresses for you, each child, and every respondent
- Every address the child has lived at over the past five years, with dates
- Names and dates of birth for anyone else living in the child’s home
- Any previous court orders about the children, with reference numbers
- Your signed MIAM certificate, or the documentary evidence for your exemption
- Birth certificates, any existing mediation notes, and records of specific incidents you plan to reference
Decide which order you are asking for. A child arrangements order covers who the child lives with and when they spend time with each parent. A prohibited steps order stops someone from doing something specific without the court’s consent, such as taking the child abroad or changing their school. A specific issue order settles a particular dispute, like medical treatment, religious education, or a change of surname.5Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 8 You can ask for more than one in the same application.
Filling In the Form
The C100 is available as a paper document or through the GOV.UK online portal. Online is faster and avoids postal delays. The content is the same either way.
The Statement of Outcomes section is where you tell the court, in plain terms, what you want ordered. Be specific. “I want to see my child” gives the judge nothing to work with. “I want my child to spend every other weekend and half of school holidays with me” does. List each child individually so the order covers all of them.
There is a section on harm and safety concerns. If you raise anything involving domestic abuse, child abduction risk, drug or alcohol misuse, or another welfare issue, you also need to complete a C1A form setting out the specific allegations and submit it with your C100.6GOV.UK. Form C1A: Provide Supplemental Information When Making or Responding to Allegations of Harm and Domestic Violence If you flag concerns without filing a C1A, the respondent will be asked to fill one in when they reply.
The form also asks about previous Cafcass involvement, whether anyone needs an interpreter, and whether any special assistance is required at hearings. Distinguish carefully between the primary respondent and other people who should only be notified. At the end, you sign a statement of truth confirming the information is accurate.7Justice UK. Part 22 – Statements of Truth
Keeping Your Address Off the Papers
If the other party poses a risk to you or your children, file a C8 alongside your C100 to keep your contact details private. The C8 covers your address, phone number, email, and any contact details for children in your care. The court and Cafcass see this information; the respondent does not, unless a judge specifically orders it.8GOV.UK. C8: Confidential Contact Details
One thing catches people out. Court staff will not scan your other documents for accidental disclosures. If your address appears on a medical report or financial statement you later submit, no one will redact it for you. Only put details on the C8 that the other party does not already know.
Filing and the Fee
Submit online through the GOV.UK portal, or by post. If you go by post, send the original plus three copies to your child’s local family court.1GOV.UK. Making Child Arrangements if You Divorce or Separate: Apply for a Court Order The fee is £263, payable when you file.
If You Cannot Afford the Fee
Apply for help using form EX160. You qualify for a full waiver if you receive certain means-tested benefits such as Universal Credit and your net monthly income is below the relevant threshold (£1,085 for a single applicant or £1,245 for a couple). Even without qualifying benefits, you may get a partial or full reduction based on income, savings, and household circumstances.9GOV.UK. Apply for Help with Court and Tribunal Fees: Form EX160 If you are under 61, your savings and investments must not exceed £3,000 for full remission. For applicants aged 61 and over, the savings threshold ranges from £3,000 to £16,000 depending on the fee.
The C100 is designed so you can complete and file it yourself as a litigant in person. If your case involves domestic abuse allegations, international elements, or unusually complex facts, a solicitor at the outset can prevent costly mistakes; guideline hourly rates start at around £142 and run past £400 for experienced London practitioners.10GOV.UK. Solicitors Guideline Hourly Rates
What Happens After You File
A court officer checks the paperwork for completeness and gives your case a unique reference number that stays with it for every document, letter, and hearing notice from that point on.
Unless you ask to serve the papers yourself or the court tells you to, the court serves the respondent. They receive a sealed copy of your C100, a copy of your C1A if you filed one, a blank C7 acknowledgement, a blank C1A, and a notice giving the date and time of the first hearing. They have 14 days from receiving the notice to return the C7.
Between filing and the first hearing, Cafcass runs safeguarding checks with the police and local authority to see whether there are any recorded concerns about the children or parties. The resulting safeguarding letter goes to the court and to both sides before the hearing.
The First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment usually happens around five to six weeks after filing. It is short. The judge reviews the case, considers the safeguarding information, and looks for any agreement. If both sides fully agree, the judge can make a consent order and close the case. More often, the judge issues directions setting out what each party must prepare and by when, and where welfare concerns or disputed allegations are in play, further reports or a fact-finding hearing may follow. From filing to a final order typically takes several months, and longer in complex cases.