C7 Form: How to Answer a Court Application About Your Child

By Hannah OvertonPublished 17 September 2026Last reviewed 17 September 202612 mins read10 sections

Part of: Applying for a Child Contact Order

If court papers about your child have just arrived, the C7 form is your formal reply, and it usually has to reach the court within 14 days. Someone, often the other parent, has asked a family court to decide something about your child, such as where they live or when they see each other (Children Act 1989, s.8). That is a lot to take in, and the papers rarely explain what the court will do with your answer. Our guide to applying for a child contact order shows the process from the other side.

This guide covers England and Wales only. It is not a question-by-question guide, because the right answers depend on your family.

Reviewed by: Iblal Iqbal, Partner & Family Law Strategist, Kabir Family Law

What is a C7 form in the family court?

It is the official acknowledgement for Children Act cases. GOV.UK says you use it to give the court information about an application that names you as respondent, “including whether you agree or oppose the making of any order” (GOV.UK: Form C7).

You rarely have to find it yourself. Unless the applicant asked to do it, the court serves you with a pack: the application, the notice of hearing, the acknowledgement form, a blank C1A and a leaflet (PD12B, para 8.8). The application is often a C100, which our C100 guide explains from the applicant’s side.

The same C7 court form also answers an application to enforce an existing order on form C79, according to its notes. Our guide to enforcing a child arrangements order explains that route.

The C7 form family courts send you is short, yet your reply is usually the first thing the court learns about you. The rules stress that the C100, the C7 and any C1A should be “fully and accurately completed” so the court can make the right early decisions (PD12B, para 9.1). So a rushed or patchy answer can shape those decisions before you say a word in court.

How long do you have to send back a C7 form?

Usually 14 days. Your reply, and any C1A, must reach the court within 14 days after you receive the application, unless the court has set a shorter time (PD12B, para 8.11). The Family Procedure Rules set the same limit for a respondent’s answer, counting from the date of service (FPR, r.12.32).

According to the notes on the C7, the count runs from the day you received the notice of proceedings or, if it came by post, from the postmark on the envelope. So keep the envelope. Also read every page from the court, because it may have set a shorter time limit.

The deadline matters because the court will not pause for you. The law treats delay as likely to harm a child’s welfare (Children Act 1989, s.1(2)), and the court fixes the first hearing from the day it issues the application. If your reply is late, the court may form its early picture of your family from one side’s paperwork alone.

Who reads what you write on the C7?

More people than most parents expect. When your reply arrives, the court sends one copy to Cafcass (Cafcass Cymru in Wales) and another to the applicant (PD12B, para 8.12). Cafcass then writes a safeguarding letter for the judge, and that letter should say which forms it considered, including the C7 (para 13.7). The judge should have your reply at the first hearing too (para 14.10).

Two protections help. First, if your address must stay private, the notes tell you to leave it off the C7 and complete a C8 form, which goes to the court only. Second, if Cafcass phones you before the first hearing, the call covers safety, not the rest of your case (para 13.2).

Then there is the statement of truth. You sign to confirm the facts are true, and the form warns that contempt proceedings can follow a knowingly false statement (FPR, r.17.6). Once the court has words you wrote in anger, you can only explain them, in front of the people deciding your child’s future.

Agree, oppose or raise a concern: where does each C7 answer lead?

The form asks a blunt question: do you oppose the application, yes or no? Real life is rarely that simple, so know where each route tends to lead.

Sources: PD12B, paras 14.8 and 14.13; GOV.UK on applying for a court order and what happens next; PD12J, para 9; and GOV.UK’s domestic abuse help page.

Allegations raise the stakes most. If the application accuses you of something, or you have fears of your own, our guide to how the court deals with allegations of harm explains what can follow. Tick “no” to keep the peace when you have real worries, and the court may start from a false picture. You can say more later, but a change is harder to explain once the other parent and Cafcass have read your first answer.

If the application says things about you that are not true, or you fear for your child, book a free initial consultation before you send your reply. One of our specialists will give you initial advice on your situation.

Where does a C7 form usually go wrong?

The notes on the form point to the places where replies trip up (GOV.UK: Form C7):

• Counting from the wrong day. Your 14 days start when the notice reached you, or from the postmark, not when you finally opened the envelope.
• Leaving out safety worries. Where the harm questions apply to you, the notes say you must also complete a C1A.
• Writing down a private address. If yours must stay confidential, it belongs on a C8, never on the C7.
• Forgetting the copies. The notes ask you to give a copy to the applicant and every other party, then send the original to the court.
• Treating a tick as an application. Question 8 asks whether you plan to apply for an order yourself. Your answer shows your plan, but an application still needs its own prescribed form (PD12B, para 8.2).
• Keeping quiet about your needs. Tell the court if you need an interpreter or disability support. The notes warn that the court may have to adjourn a hearing if it does not know.

Each slip has a cost. A late or thin reply can mean Cafcass and the judge start without your side, and a missing C1A can leave a safety issue unexamined. Once the other parent has an address you meant to protect, you cannot take it back.

What happens once the court has your C7 form?

Under the standard rules, the next weeks usually run like this (PD12B):

1. The court shares your reply. Cafcass and the applicant each get a copy (para 8.12).
2. Cafcass runs background checks. For a child arrangements order, it asks the local authority for information and runs police checks on both of you (para 13.3).
3. Cafcass may phone you. Before the first hearing, the call covers safety only (paras 13.2 and 13.4).
4. A safeguarding letter reaches the judge. Cafcass sends it within 17 working days of getting the application, and at least 3 working days before the hearing (para 13.7).
5. You attend the first hearing. It normally takes place in week 5 after the court issued the application. Every party must attend unless the court directs otherwise (paras 14.1 and 14.4).

At that hearing, the judge and the Cafcass officer try to help you both agree. But what you say there can come up again later, because the rules say it is not privileged (para 14.9). Our guide to the first hearing dispute resolution appointment explains the day itself.

In Child Focused Court areas, which grew out of a pilot scheme, the 14-day limit is the same, but your reply goes to the agency preparing a Child Impact Report (PD12B (Pilot), paras 8.12 and 8.13), so read the court’s directions closely.

None of these steps waits for a late reply. If your side is missing when Cafcass writes its letter, the judge may first see a safety picture drawn only from the application.

Before you send your C7 form: are you on track?

Use these points to see where you stand. They cannot tell you what to write.

Frequently asked questions

Expert Tip

Many parents either post the C7 back the same evening, still upset, or leave it until the week of the hearing. Both can cost you. The court, Cafcass and the other parent all read it, and it is often the first thing they learn about you. Keep it calm and centred on your child, put any safety worries on the right form, and get advice while your 14 days are still running.

Hannah Overton, Complex Children Specialist & Client Support