Explanatory note

These Regulations prescribe the form to be used for parental responsibility agreements under Article 7(1)(b) of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“the Children Order”). They also prescribe the manner of recording parental responsibility agreements.

A parental responsibility agreement is one way in which a father can acquire parental responsibility for a child (defined in Article 6 of the Children Order) where the mother and father of the child were not married to each other at the time of the child’s birth (within the meaning of Article 155 of the Children Order). Where the child’s mother and father were so married, each parent has parental responsibility for the child automatically.