If parents are married to each other when a child is born then both the mother and the father have parental responsibility for their child. Each parent can exercise that parental responsibility independently of the other parent.

Where parents are not married to each other only the mother will automatically acquire parental responsibility for the child.

An unmarried father acquires automatic parental responsibility for their child if they are named on the birth certificate for any child born after 1st December 2003.

If you are not named on your child’s birth certificate you can acquire parental responsibility by entering into a parental responsibility agreement with the child’s mother and then registering this agreement with the Principal Registry.

If the child’s mother is not willing to enter into an agreement then you can seek an order from the court that you are granted parental responsibility for your child or children.

Step-parents can also now acquire parental responsibility for a child in the same way. However if the child’s father also has parental responsibility then the agreement of both the mother and the father will be required to a parental responsibility agreement.