Birth, death and marriage registration

Parental responsibility has been defined as all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent has in relation to a child and his or her property. Parental responsibility gives a parent legal rights in respect of the child.

A child’s mother automatically receives parental responsibility when a child is born. If the parents are married to each other, both the father and the mother receive parental responsibility when the child is born.

From 1 December 2003, if the parents are not married to each other, the father will acquire parental responsibility if both parents act together to register him as the father or if the birth is re-registered to record him as the father.

For registrations made before 1 December 2003 where the birth was not later re-registered after that date, the father only acquired parental responsibility by later marrying the mother, entering into a parental responsibility agreement or obtaining a relevant court order.

Examples of some of the things that someone with parental responsibility is able to do include:

• providing a home for the child;
• having contact with the child;
• protecting and maintaining the child;
• determining and providing for the child’s education,
• consenting to the child’s medical treatment;
• agreeing to the child’s adoption;
• vetoing the issue of a passport for the child;
• determining the child’s religion;
• naming the child or agreeing to a change in the child’s name;
• consenting to the child’s marriage;
• taking the child outside the jurisdiction of the UK and consenting to the child’s emigration.

This list is not exhaustive.

Parentline Plus provides a free telephone helpline for advice on parental responsibility: 0808 800 2222.

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