How to Apply for a Fact-Finding Hearing When Domestic Abuse Affects Your Children

Part of: Non Molestation Order

You can’t simply apply for a fact-finding hearing. In England and Wales, the family court directs one within children proceedings, usually after allegations are raised on Form C1A, when those allegations — most often of domestic abuse — are disputed and would affect what arrangements are safe for a child. This page walks through how that happens: the C1A form, when a fact-finding hearing is necessary, what the judge decides at the first hearing, and how to prepare once a hearing is listed.

What is a C1A form?

Form C1A is the court form for allegations of harm and domestic violence. On GOV.UK it is called Form C1A: Provide supplemental information when making or responding to allegations of harm and domestic violence. You use it to tell the court about harm that you or your children have suffered or are at risk of suffering — or to respond to allegations the other parent has made in their application.

It is usually filed alongside a C100 form (the application for a child arrangement order), so the court sees the allegations before the first hearing. It matters more than its length suggests: it is often the first account of events the judge reads, and later statements are compared against it. An allegation described one way on that form and another way in a statement months later is exactly the kind of inconsistency that gets raised at a hearing.

When is a fact-finding hearing necessary?

A fact-finding hearing is a step the court directs within existing proceedings, where the facts in dispute are contested and relevant to the court’s eventual decision. Practice Direction 12J requires the court to decide as soon as possible whether one is needed (PD12J on justice.gov.uk, paragraphs 16 and 17). The judge looks at the views of the parties, whether any allegations are admitted, and whether a separate hearing would be necessary and proportionate.

The practical test is whether the disputed allegations, if proved, would make a real difference to what the court decides about the child. Since the 2022 judicial guidance on fact-finding hearings and domestic abuse, courts are expected to ask that question carefully rather than listing one by default. Cafcass carries out safeguarding checks before the first hearing, and its safeguarding letter is part of what the judge considers. Domestic abuse has a legal definition that includes controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse and psychological or emotional abuse, not only physical violence (Domestic Abuse Act 2021, section 1).

At the first hearing: how the judge decides whether one is needed

Most cases involving disputed allegations go through a First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment before anything is decided about a fact-finding hearing. At the FHDRA, the judge considers the safeguarding information, hears from both parties (and often Cafcass), and decides whether the disputed facts genuinely need a separate fact-finding hearing to resolve — not every allegation does.

If the judge decides a fact-finding hearing is needed, directions are given for what happens next — including how the allegations will be set out (often a Scott Schedule, or a narrative statement where the concern is a pattern of coercive or controlling behaviour rather than a few separate incidents), and a timetable for the other party’s response.

From application to a listed fact-finding hearing

• Stage 1: Application. You file a C100 form, with Form C1A if you are raising or answering allegations of harm. The court issues the application.
• Stage 2: Safeguarding checks. There is no form to file at this stage. Cafcass checks with the police and local authority and sends the court a safeguarding letter within 17 working days of receiving the application, and at least 3 working days before the first hearing (Practice Direction 12B, paragraphs 13.3 and 13.7).
• Stage 3: First hearing (FHDRA). Usually in week 5, and at the latest week 6, after the application is issued. You attend and should be ready to explain which disputed facts matter to the arrangements for your child. The judge looks at the safeguarding information and gives directions, including whether a fact-finding hearing is needed (PD12B paragraph 14.1; PD12J paragraphs 16 and 17).
• Stage 4: Directions. The court sets how the allegations will be presented and the timetable (PD12J paragraph 19). You follow the order: statements, any schedule or table of allegations, and the deadlines.
• Stage 5: Fact-finding hearing. You give evidence and answer questions. The judge decides each disputed allegation on the balance of probabilities. Timing is set by the court’s directions.

This shows the order of events. What it cannot tell you is which allegations matter to the decision about your child, or how to put them so the judge can follow them. That judgement call is where early advice makes the most difference.

Once a fact-finding hearing is listed: directions and deadlines

Once a fact-finding hearing is directed, the practical work begins: gathering the evidence that supports each allegation (police reports, medical records, contemporaneous messages), preparing witness statements, and — where domestic abuse is alleged — considering whether special measures (such as screens or a video link) need to be requested ahead of time rather than raised on the day, and whether the ban on the alleged abuser cross-examining you in person applies. Our main fact-finding hearing guide covers how to prepare for the hearing itself.

This is also the stage to think about timing. Where there’s an immediate safety concern, an interim protective order may be sought alongside — not instead of — the fact-finding process; the two run on different, faster timescales.

After the hearing

What happens once the fact-finding hearing itself takes place — including cross-examination and, if the outcome goes against you, your appeal options — is covered in detail in the two guides below:

• Cross-examination in fact-finding hearings — what to expect during the hearing itself, and the protections available if you’re a vulnerable witness.
• What happens if you lose your fact-finding hearing — your appeal window, what a proven finding means for contact, and how to rebuild your position.

For a broader introduction to the whole process, see our main guide: all you need to know about a fact-finding hearing.

Common questions about getting a fact-finding hearing

Can I ask the court for a fact-finding hearing?

You can ask — by setting out your allegations on the C1A form and explaining at the FHDRA why the disputed facts matter to the arrangements for your child. But the judge decides whether a fact-finding hearing is necessary, applying Practice Direction 12J.

How long does it take to get a fact-finding hearing?

There is no fixed timescale. It depends on when the FHDRA takes place, the directions the judge gives for statements and evidence, and when the court can list a hearing of the right length. Ask for the timetable at the directions stage, and raise any immediate safety concern straight away rather than waiting.

Do I need a C1A form if the police were never involved?

Yes, if you are raising allegations of harm. The form is not limited to incidents reported to the police — you set out what happened and any evidence you have. A lack of police records does not stop the court considering an allegation, although the judge will weigh whatever evidence there is.

What if the judge decides a fact-finding hearing is not needed?

Practice Direction 12J says that where the court decides a fact-finding hearing is not necessary, “the order must record the reasons for that decision” (paragraph 18). The court still has to decide what arrangements are safe for your child. If you think the decision was wrong, the time limits for challenging it are short, so get advice quickly; our guide to grounds for appeal in the family court explains what an appeal court looks for.

What if the other parent has made allegations against me on a C1A?

You can respond on your own form, and if a fact-finding hearing is directed you will be asked to respond to each allegation in the format the judge sets. Our Scott Schedule guide explains how responses are usually set out.

Before you file a C1A form or go to the first hearing, get it checked

What goes on that form, and what is said at the first hearing, shapes whether the court directs a fact-finding hearing at all — and those early accounts are compared with everything that follows. It is far easier to get them right at the start than to explain an inconsistency later.

Book a free initial consultation with our family law specialists and we’ll talk through your allegations or your response, the evidence you have, and whether a fact-finding hearing is likely to be needed at all. Call us on 029 2192 1400 or arrange a call-back. We work with families nationally, with offices including Cardiff, York, Worcester, Newcastle, Northampton, Oxford and London.