Emergency Residence Order UK: What Replaced It

Part of: Child Custody Specialists

There is no longer an emergency residence order in England and Wales. Residence orders were abolished on 22 April 2014, when section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014 replaced them with child arrangements orders. Today, if a child needs protecting urgently, you apply to the family court on form C100 marked as urgent, sometimes without notice to the other parent, for a child arrangements order saying who the child lives with, often alongside a prohibited steps order. The court can make a short-term (interim) order at an urgent hearing.

This guide explains what replaced the residence order, which urgent route fits which situation, how to apply, what to bring and what happens at the first hearing. It covers the law in England and Wales. If a child is in danger right now, call 999 first.

What is a residence order, and what replaced it?

A residence order was an order under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 that settled who a child lived with. On 22 April 2014 section 12 of the Children and Families Act 2014 removed residence orders and contact orders from the Act and replaced both with one order, the child arrangements order. It regulates with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact, and when (section 8(1)).

The part of the order that says where the child lives is often called a lives with order; the part about time with the other parent, a spends time with order. There is no residence order England and Wales courts can make today, but one made before April 2014 has not disappeared: it is treated as a child arrangements order about where the child lives (article 6 of SI 2014/1042).

The words have changed. The questions the court asks have not: where should this child live, and is the child safe?

Residence order UK: where the old term still applies

The United Kingdom has three family law systems, and only England and Wales abolished the residence order. In Scotland, a residence order is still one of the orders the court can make under section 11(2)(c) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995. In Northern Ireland it is still defined in Article 8 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

So a search for a UK residence order can lead to three different answers. This guide covers England and Wales, where our family law specialists work. If the child lives in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the procedure, forms and fees are different, and you need advice on that system.

Is there still an emergency residence order?

No. There is no separate form or fee for an emergency residence order. The phrase described an urgent application for a residence order, and since 2014 it means an urgent application for a child arrangements order. Where a child needs protecting before a full hearing can take place, the court can make an interim child arrangements order at an urgent hearing, saying that the child lives with you until the next hearing.

An urgent child arrangements application is often made together with a prohibited steps order, which stops a step of a kind named in the order being taken without the court’s consent, such as removing the child from the country (section 8(1)). Both are applied for on the same C100 form.

If what you need is for an order that already exists to be obeyed, that is enforcement rather than a new urgent order. Our guide to going against a family court order explains the options.

Which urgent route fits your situation?

Start with the risk, not the name of the order. This list matches common emergencies in England and Wales to the route that deals with them.

• A child is in danger right now. Route: call 999. The police can take a child into police protection (Children Act 1989, s.46). Who applies: the police. How long it lasts: no more than 72 hours.
• The other parent is keeping the child and you fear for their safety. Route: an urgent C100 for an interim child arrangements order saying the child lives with you. Who applies: a parent, or another person entitled to apply or given the court’s permission (s.10). How long it lasts: until the return hearing, then as the court directs.
• A threat to take the child abroad or hide them. Route: an urgent C100 for a prohibited steps order, heard without notice if warning the other parent would defeat the purpose. Who applies: as above. How long it lasts: as the order states.
• Domestic abuse against you or the child. Route: an urgent C100 plus form C1A setting out the harm. Who applies: as above. How long it lasts: interim, until the return hearing.
• Children’s services believe the child is at risk at home. Route: an emergency protection order (s.44). Who applies: usually the local authority. How long it lasts: up to 8 days, extendable once by up to 7 (s.45).
• The court ordered the child to be handed over and it has not happened. Route: an order authorising a court officer or a police officer to take charge of the child and deliver them (Family Law Act 1986, s.34). Who applies: usually the person the child should have been handed to. How long it lasts: until the child is delivered.

For how an urgent hearing runs on the day, including out-of-hours and remote hearings, see our guide to the emergency custody order process.

How to apply for an emergency court order for a child

An emergency court order about a child is an ordinary C100 application that asks to be dealt with urgently. The government’s guidance on urgent hearings about child arrangements (CB2) sets out what to do.

1. Check the MIAM exemption. You normally have to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting before applying, but not where the application must be made urgently because of a risk to life, liberty or physical safety, a risk of harm to a child, or a risk of the child being unlawfully removed from the UK (FPR r.3.8). Claim the urgency exemption on the form.
2. Complete form C100 and mark it urgent. CB2 says to answer yes at question 2c in section 2, tick the relevant boxes in section 3, and use section 4b to explain your concerns and what the other person is likely to say. You can apply online or on paper.
3. Add form C1A if there is harm or abuse. Form C1A is where you tell the court about harm that you or the child have suffered or are at risk of suffering.
4. Give your evidence. Sign the account in sections 6a and 6b of the C100, or attach a typed statement with a signed statement of truth (CB2).
5. Pay the £270 fee, or apply for help with fees. If you receive certain benefits or are on a low income, help with fees can reduce or remove it.
6. Decide about notice. Normally you tell the other parent that you are applying, in writing, by phone, text or email. Ask for a without-notice hearing only if telling them would let them defeat the purpose of the application or would put someone at risk (CB2).
7. Attend the urgent hearing. This is where the court can make an interim order. If it does not agree the case is urgent, expect it to be listed in the usual way.
8. Serve the papers within 48 hours. If the court makes an order without notice, you must serve a copy of the application on each respondent within 48 hours of the order (FPR r.12.16(4)).
9. Go to the return hearing. The other parent has the chance to respond, and the court decides whether the interim order continues, changes or ends.

For help with the form itself, see our C100 form guide.

What is a without-notice application?

A without-notice application is one the judge hears before the other parent knows about it. The rules allow it for section 8 orders and emergency proceedings, and it can even be made by telephone, with the papers filed the next business day (FPR r.12.16(1)–(2)).

It is the exception. CB2 says that “only in exceptional cases” will the court hear an urgent application without notice: where warning the other person would let them defeat the purpose of the application, or would create a risk to safety. Because the other parent has not been heard, any order is short and is followed by a return hearing on notice. You must tell the judge everything you think the other person would say if they were at court, including anything that does not help your case.

What evidence should you bring to an urgent hearing?

The judge needs to see, quickly, why the child cannot wait for an ordinary hearing. Bring what you have; do not hold back an urgent application to gather more.

• A short, dated timeline of what has happened and what you fear will happen next.
• Messages, emails or social media posts, with dates, especially threats to harm the child or take them away.
• Police incident or crime reference numbers, and the name of any social worker involved.
• Medical records or photographs of injuries, where relevant.
• Any existing court orders about the child.
• Where the child is now and where the other parent may take them: addresses, travel bookings, and passport details if removal abroad is a risk.

What happens at the first hearing and the return hearing?

At an urgent hearing the court decides only what must happen now to keep the child safe. The child’s welfare is its paramount consideration (Children Act 1989, s.1(1)), it must treat delay as likely to harm the child (s.1(2)), and it will not make an order unless doing so would be better for the child than making none (s.1(5)).

If an interim order is made, the court lists a return hearing, with notice to the other parent, where both sides are heard. The case then follows the normal track: Cafcass gives the court safeguarding advice in a safeguarding letter, and if the case goes beyond the first hearing the court may ask Cafcass for a report. Our guide to the role of Cafcass explains what to expect.

If a final order says the child lives with you and you are not a parent or guardian, you have parental responsibility for as long as that order lasts (s.12(2)). A father without parental responsibility who is named as someone the child lives with must also be given it (s.12(1)).

How long does a residence order last now?

An interim order made at an urgent hearing lasts until the date the court sets, usually the return hearing. A final child arrangements order saying who the child lives with can last until the child turns 18 (s.9(6B) and s.91(10)–(11)). Other section 8 orders, including prohibited steps orders, cannot be made to last beyond 16 unless the circumstances are exceptional (s.9(6)).

While an order saying where the child lives is in force, no one may change the child’s surname or take the child out of the UK without the written consent of everyone with parental responsibility, or the court’s permission. The person the child lives with can take them abroad for less than a month (s.13).

To change or end an order later, see our guide on whether a residence order can be overturned.

Emergency protection orders and police protection

These are public law routes: the state acting to protect a child, rather than one family member asking the court to decide between parents.

An emergency protection order is made under section 44 of the Children Act 1989 where the court is satisfied that the child is likely to suffer significant harm if not removed, or not kept where they are. Any person can apply on that ground, but applications usually come from the local authority, which has its own ground where its enquiries are being frustrated. The order lasts up to 8 days and can be extended once, by up to 7 days (s.45). A parent who was not both given notice of the hearing and present at it can apply to discharge it, unless the order has been extended, and there is no appeal against it (s.45).

Police protection under section 46 lets a police officer remove a child to suitable accommodation, or stop a child being removed from somewhere safe such as a hospital, where the officer has reasonable cause to believe the child would otherwise be likely to suffer significant harm. It lasts no more than 72 hours. Our guide to police protection under section 46 covers it in detail.

People also search for an emergency care order. There is no order with that name. A care order is made under section 31 on an application by a local authority or an authorised person, where the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm. The emergency steps are the emergency protection order and police protection described above.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an emergency court order take?

There is no fixed timescale. A genuinely urgent application can be heard very quickly: the rules even allow an application to be made by telephone, with the papers filed the next business day (FPR r.12.16(2)). If the court does not accept that the case is urgent, it is likely to be listed in the ordinary way.

How much does an emergency court order cost?

The court fee for a C100 application is £270 (GOV.UK). You may pay less or nothing if you receive certain benefits or are on a low income: apply for help with fees.

Which court deals with an emergency court order?

The family court. Applications about where a child lives, and prohibited steps orders, are made there on form C100, whether they are urgent or not.

How do I get an emergency residence order for my child?

You apply to the family court on form C100, marked urgent, for a child arrangements order saying the child lives with you, often with a prohibited steps order. The court can make an interim order at an urgent hearing, and in exceptional cases without telling the other parent first. The steps are set out above.

What rights does a residence order give you?

A residence order made before 22 April 2014 now counts as a child arrangements order saying the child lives with you. It settles where the child lives but does not end anyone else’s parental responsibility (s.2(6)). If you are not a parent, it gives you parental responsibility while it lasts (s.12(2)), and you can take the child abroad for less than a month without the other parent’s consent (s.13(2)).

Can grandparents apply for an urgent order?

Yes, but a grandparent usually needs the court’s permission first. Under section 10 of the Children Act 1989, a relative the child has lived with for at least a year can apply without permission for a child arrangements order about where the child lives, and anyone the child has lived with for at least three years can apply for a child arrangements order. Other grandparents must ask for permission, and should explain the urgency when they do. See our guide to grandparents’ rights.

Can the order be changed or ended later?

An order can be varied or discharged on a later application to the court, which again decides on the basis of the child’s welfare. Our guide on whether a residence order can be overturned covers the grounds and the process.

Expert Advice From The Specialists

Quite often concerned parents would like to know how soon the court can deal with an urgent child arrangements application. In a genuine emergency the court can act very quickly, even outside normal court office hours, but there is no fixed timescale. It is important you seek legal advice before submitting your application to ensure it includes all the evidence and information. If it does not, the court may decide the application does not need to be treated as urgent, and the hearing will be delayed.

Hannah Overton, Complex Children Specialist

Urgent application? Check the route before you file

If you apply as an emergency and the judge decides it is not urgent, the case can join the ordinary queue. If you ask for a hearing without telling the other parent, you must tell the judge what they would have said, including anything that does not help you. The first page the judge reads decides a lot. If a child’s safety is at stake and you are not sure which route fits, book a free initial consultation with our child law specialists before you file. You can also read about our child custody specialists.