How can I stop a father seeing his child?

Part of: Child Custody for Fathers

How can I stop a father seeing his child? In England and Wales you cannot lawfully keep a father away from his child for long on your own decision. If there is no court order, nothing forces contact today, but he can ask the family court to set arrangements. If there is an order, stopping contact without a reasonable excuse is a breach. The lawful route is to keep your child safe now and then ask the court to restrict or stop contact, which it decides by what is best for your child (Children Act 1989, section 1(1)).

If you or your child are in danger right now, call 999 and ask for the police. On a mobile, if you cannot speak, press 55 when prompted and your call is put through to the police (GOV.UK: domestic abuse, how to get help). The National Domestic Abuse Helpline is free and open 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247. Protecting a child in an emergency comes first; the court process comes after.

How can I stop a father seeing his child? What the law lets you do

Three questions decide what you can lawfully do: is there a court order, is your child at real risk, and how urgent is it? No parent, mother or father, has a unilateral right to end the other parent’s relationship with a child. Equally, no one can force contact to happen unless a court has ordered it.

Parental responsibility does not change that answer. A married father has it automatically. An unmarried father has it if he is registered on the birth certificate (for births registered in England and Wales from 1 December 2003), signs a parental responsibility agreement with the mother, or obtains a court order (section 4(1)). But a father without parental responsibility is still a parent. He can apply for a child arrangements order without the court’s permission, and the court applies the same welfare test. Our guide to parental responsibility explains the routes in full.

So if you want to stop a father seeing his child, the real choice is between an informal pause, which is fragile and can be challenged, and a court order, which has legal force. For most parents with a genuine safety worry, the court order is the safer route.

Is it legal to stop a child seeing their father? It depends on your situation

Find the row closest to your position. The table shows what you can lawfully do now, what tends to cause trouble later, and which route puts the decision in front of a judge.

Fees are those shown on GOV.UK on 11 September 2026: “It costs £270 to apply for a court order” (GOV.UK), and there is no fee for a domestic abuse injunction (GOV.UK). Help with fees may be available on a low income or certain benefits. Check the fee again before you apply.

Can a mother stop a father from seeing his child without a court order?

In practice, yes, for a short time: if no order is in force, there is no order to breach. It rarely stays that way. The father can apply for a child arrangements order as of right. The court will then look at why contact stopped, and a pause with no welfare reason behind it will need explaining.

If you are looking up how to legally stop someone from seeing your child, the answer here is that an informal stop only protects your child until he goes to court. Where the worry is real, it is usually better that you make the application, so the court hears your concerns first and can make an order that binds everyone. Before most applications you must attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM). It is not required where there is evidence of domestic abuse, a risk of harm to a child, or real urgency (GOV.UK).

How do I get a court order to stop a father seeing his child?

You apply to the family court on form C100, asking either for a child arrangements order that restricts or ends direct contact, or for a prohibited steps order. These are the steps, in the order they usually happen.

1. Write down what has happened. Keep dates, messages, police reference numbers, and anything from a GP, school or health visitor. Specific, dated evidence carries far more weight than a general description.
2. Get advice early. A family law specialist can tell you whether your concerns are the kind the court acts on and which order fits them.
3. Attend a MIAM, unless an exemption applies. Domestic abuse, risk to a child and urgency are all recognised exemptions.
4. Complete form C100. Say clearly what order you want. A child arrangements order regulates with whom and when a child spends time or has contact. A prohibited steps order stops a specified step being taken without the court’s consent. The fee is £270.
5. If it cannot wait, ask for an urgent hearing. The court can hear urgent applications quickly, and in some cases without the other parent being told first.
6. Cafcass carries out safeguarding checks. Before the first hearing, Cafcass checks with the police and the local authority. It sends the court a safeguarding letter at least three days before that hearing (Cafcass; Practice Direction 12B, para 13). Our guide to the role of Cafcass covers what they ask.
7. The first hearing. The court decides what needs to happen next. If abuse is alleged and denied, it may hold a fact-finding hearing to decide what happened.
8. The decision. The court applies the welfare checklist. It can order supervised or indirect contact, limit overnight stays, or order no direct contact.

Can I get an injunction to stop a father seeing his child?

If the father is abusing you or your child, the injunction people usually mean is a non-molestation order. It can prohibit him from molesting you and “a relevant child” (Family Law Act 1996, section 42). The court must consider the health, safety and well-being of you and your child. It can even make one of its own accord in family proceedings where no one has applied.

You apply on form FL401, the same form used for an occupation order, and there is no court fee. Breaking a non-molestation order is a criminal offence, with a maximum of five years’ imprisonment (section 42A). It protects you from abuse, but it is not itself a decision about where your child lives or who they see: that is decided under the Children Act, usually on a C100. For how the different orders compare, see our guide to a no contact order.

What happens if you stop contact when there is already a court order?

A child arrangements order binds both parents. If you stop contact that the order sets out, the father can go back to court, and the court may make an enforcement order imposing unpaid work (Children Act 1989, section 11J). It must be sure, beyond reasonable doubt, that the order was breached. It cannot make an enforcement order if you prove, on the balance of probabilities, that you had a reasonable excuse.

A genuine safety emergency may amount to a reasonable excuse, but only the court decides that, after the event. The safer course is to apply to vary the order on form C100 as soon as the risk appears. If you had to act first to protect your child, tell the court at once. Our guides to how enforcement applications work and going against a family court order set out the consequences in more detail.

What if the risk comes from his new partner, not from him?

If you have no concern about the father himself but real worries about someone in his home, stopping all contact is unlikely to be the answer the court reaches. The narrower tool is a prohibited steps order. It can forbid a specified step, such as leaving your child in the care of a named person, being taken without the court’s consent (section 8).

You would need to show the court why that person’s presence puts your child at risk: police involvement, previous findings, or what your child has said or shown. A new relationship you disapprove of is not the same as a risk to your child.

What if your child refuses to go, or is frightened?

Take it seriously, but do not end contact informally on the strength of it alone. The court must consider your child’s wishes and feelings “in the light of his age and understanding” (section 1(3)(a)). That is one factor in the checklist, not a veto, and no fixed age makes a child’s view decisive.

Try to find out calmly what is behind it, write down what your child says in their own words, and avoid questioning them repeatedly. If what you learn suggests your child has been harmed, treat it as a safeguarding concern: call 999 in an emergency, contact children’s services, and apply to the court. If there is no sign of harm, the father may say your child has been influenced against him. Our guide to parental alienation explains how courts approach that argument. A separate guide covers the reasons courts treat as justifying restricting contact, including how much weight a child’s view carries at different ages.

Can a mother stop a father seeing his child for no reason?

Not lawfully, if an order is in place. And not for long without consequences if there is none. The court decides contact on your child’s welfare, not on how the adults’ relationship ended, so the following do not on their own justify stopping a father seeing his child:

• unpaid or late child maintenance, which is a separate legal issue from contact;
• being late for handovers or missing the occasional visit;
• a new partner you do not like, where there is no evidence of risk;
• wanting a clean break from your former partner.

If contact stops for reasons like these, he can apply for an order, and where one exists already, for enforcement. For fathers facing the other side of this question, see what rights a father has to see his child.

What the court weighs: welfare, the presumption and domestic abuse

Your child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration, and it works through a welfare checklist. That checklist covers the child’s wishes, needs, the likely effect of change, any harm suffered or at risk, and each parent’s capability (section 1(1) and (3)).

The court must also presume that a parent’s involvement will further the child’s welfare unless the contrary is shown (section 1(2A)). That presumption applies only to a parent who can be involved without putting the child at risk of harm (section 1(6)). “Involvement” means involvement of some kind, direct or indirect, not any particular division of time (section 1(2B)).

Is the presumption being scrapped? The government announced that the Courts and Tribunals Bill will remove it from the Children Act 1989 (GOV.UK, 7 March 2026). As at 11 September 2026 the Bill has not become law. legislation.gov.uk still shows section 1(2A) in force, so courts still apply it.

Where domestic abuse is alleged, the court follows Practice Direction 12J. It must consider carefully whether the presumption applies at all (para 7). It should only order contact if it is satisfied that the physical and emotional safety of the child, and of the parent the child lives with, can as far as possible be secured before, during and after contact (para 36).

Stopping a father seeing his child: your questions

Can a father be stopped from seeing his child?

Yes, by the family court. It can restrict contact to supervised or indirect contact, or order no direct contact, where the child’s welfare requires it. A parent acting alone can pause contact only where no order exists, and the father can then apply to the court.

Can a mother stop a father seeing his child if he has parental responsibility?

Parental responsibility gives a father a say in major decisions about his child, but it does not itself set a contact timetable. Only a child arrangements order does that. Whether or not he has parental responsibility, he can apply to the court, and the welfare test is the same.

Can I stop my child seeing their father while I apply to court?

If there is no order and you have a genuine safety concern, you can keep your child with you while you apply. Apply promptly, and ask for an urgent hearing if the risk is serious. If an order exists, ask the court to vary it rather than stopping contact yourself, unless an emergency leaves you no choice.

How much does it cost to apply to court?

On 11 September 2026 GOV.UK lists £270 for an application on form C100, which covers child arrangements, prohibited steps and variation applications. A non-molestation order has no court fee. Help with fees may be available if you are on a low income or certain benefits.

What if I am in danger at a handover?

Call 999 if you are in immediate danger. Afterwards, tell the court about the incident, ask for handovers to take place somewhere safe or through a third party, and consider a non-molestation order for your own protection.

If you are worried about your child’s safety with their father, our family law specialists can talk through your evidence, the right order to ask for and the safest sequence of steps. Ask us to call you back for an initial no-obligation conversation.

Expert Analysis from Our Family Law Team

We are commonly asked whether a father’s contact can be stopped due to them not financially supporting the child through child maintenance.

“No. Child maintenance and contact are separate issues, and the court decides contact on your child’s welfare, not on payments. Unpaid maintenance is dealt with through the Child Maintenance Service or by agreement, not by withholding the child”.

Iblal Iqbal, Partner and senior Family Law Strategist