Child Abduction Warning Notice (CAWN): A Guide for Parents

Part of: International Child Abduction: Complete UK Legal Guide

A Child Abduction Warning Notice (CAWN) is a formal warning police serve on an adult they believe puts a child at risk. The worry is that the adult will take or keep the child away from the people who have parental responsibility for them. It is not a court order. It carries no penalty on its own, and it does not appear in any family law statute — but breaching one can support a criminal prosecution, and it can sit alongside a family court application at the same time (Home Office guidance). If you are worried a child may be taken, kept, or hidden from you, a warning is one tool among several — and usually needs to be combined with a family court order to give you enforceable protection. That is where our child custody specialists can help.

This guide covers England and Wales only.

Reviewed by: Hannah Overton, Complex Children Specialist & Client Support, Kabir Family Law

What is a CAWN?

It is a notice a police officer serves on an individual. It warns them that they have no permission to associate with a named child. Continuing could lead to arrest and prosecution (HMICFRS). Police use it as a safeguarding tool where they believe a child under 16 (or under 18, if the child is in local authority care) is at risk from an adult — including situations where a family member or a parent’s new partner is refusing to return a child, encouraging a child to stay away from home, or otherwise keeping the child from the person who should have care of them.

No Act of Parliament creates the notice itself — there is no “Child Abduction Warning Notice Act.” Each police force issues it under its own policy. Its legal weight comes from what happens if someone ignores it: police can use a breach as evidence if the person later faces prosecution under the Child Abduction Act 1984 or the Children Act 1989.

Who can issue a CAWN, and who can ask for one?

Only a police officer can issue one. A parent or another person with parental responsibility can ask the police to consider issuing one where they fear that:

• another adult is preventing a child returning home,
• an adult is encouraging or enabling a child to stay away from the people who have parental responsibility for them, or
• there is a specific, credible risk that someone will take a child and keep them away.

The police need a statement from a person with parental responsibility about their concerns. They then decide whether to serve the notice on the other adult. The child does not have to make a complaint.

Is a CAWN legally binding?

No. It is a warning, not an injunction and not a criminal sanction in itself. Ignoring the notice is not, by itself, a criminal offence. What changes is that, if the person named in the notice goes on to take or keep the child unlawfully, the notice becomes evidence that they knew they had no permission, which strengthens any later prosecution.

This is the single most important thing for parents to understand: a warning on its own does not stop anyone doing anything. If you need something a court can enforce — an order stopping someone taking a child out of the country, for example — you need a family court order, not just a police notice.

Which criminal offences does the notice relate to?

The Child Abduction Act 1984 creates two separate offences, and it matters which one is relevant to your situation:

• Section 1 covers a parent (or person connected with the child) taking or sending a child under 16 out of the United Kingdom without the “appropriate consent”.
• Section 2 covers abduction of a child under 16 by someone other than the child’s parent, for example a step-parent, a new partner, a grandparent, or a family friend. It applies where they take or detain the child without lawful authority or reasonable excuse.

For a child in care, section 49 of the Children Act 1989 creates a further offence. It covers knowingly taking the child away, keeping them away, or encouraging them to run away.

Section 2 specifically excludes the child’s own parents (and certain others, such as a person named in a child arrangements order as the person the child lives with) from prosecution under that section. For unmarried parents, the exclusion covers only the mother. The father has a defence if he proves he is the father. So a CAWN linked to section 2 targets a third party sheltering or harbouring the child, not the child’s other legal parent. If your concern is that the other parent themselves might remove the child from the UK, section 1 and the family court routes below (particularly a prohibited steps order or wardship) are usually the more relevant tools.

Which family court orders can work alongside a CAWN?

A warning can run in parallel with family court proceedings, but it is not a substitute for them. These orders can help where there is a real risk that someone will take or keep a child away.

An order that stops a named step

The family court makes a prohibited steps order under section 8 of the Children Act 1989. It can stop anyone taking a step named in the order without the court’s consent, including removing the child from the UK, or removing the child from a particular person’s care. The court decides the application by reference to the child’s welfare as the paramount consideration, under section 1 of the Children Act 1989. This is often the first order to consider where you fear a specific, defined risk of removal.

Protection from harassment and threats

A non-molestation order comes under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996 (section 42). It protects a person, and can protect a relevant child, from harassment, threats, or intimidation. The order is against someone associated with them, such as a spouse, former cohabitant, or relative. Where the threat of a child being taken or kept away is bound up with domestic abuse or harassment of the parent, a non-molestation order can give more enforceable protection than a warning on its own. That is because breaking it is a criminal offence (section 42A).

Protection from the High Court

Wardship places a child under the protection of the High Court, using its inherent jurisdiction (Family Procedure Rules 2010, Practice Direction 12D). Once a child becomes a ward of court, no “important step” in that child’s life — including taking them out of England and Wales — can happen without the court’s permission. The High Court can make injunctions too, including orders preventing undesirable associations. It is worth asking about in urgent, serious situations where the other routes above don’t give enough protection, for example where there’s a real risk of a child being taken abroad at short notice.

See our guides to wardship of the court and non-molestation orders for how each application works in practice.

What should you do if you fear someone will take a child?

1. If a child is at immediate risk, contact the police first: 999 in an emergency, 101 otherwise (GOV.UK). Ask them to consider a CAWN if a specific third party is behind the risk.
2. Get family court protection in parallel. A warning alone is not enforceable. Speak to a family law specialist about whether a prohibited steps order, non-molestation order, or wardship application fits your situation.
3. Keep a record of dates, messages, and anything the other adult has said about keeping or taking the child. This evidence helps both a police request and any family court application.
4. If the risk involves the child being taken abroad, ask about a prohibited steps order specifically preventing removal from the jurisdiction, and see our guide to international child abduction.

Frequently asked questions

Is a CAWN the same as a court order?

No. It is a police warning with no independent legal force. A court order, such as a prohibited steps order, non-molestation order, or wardship, is what a court can actually enforce.

Can police use the notice against the child’s other parent?

Rarely. Section 2 of the Child Abduction Act 1984 generally excludes a child’s own parent from that specific offence. Where the risk comes from the other parent themselves (for example, a threat to take the child abroad), a prohibited steps order or wardship is usually the more relevant route.

What happens if someone breaches a CAWN?

Breaching the notice is not, by itself, a criminal offence. But if the person goes on to take or keep the child unlawfully, the fact they were warned can be used as evidence in a prosecution under the Child Abduction Act 1984 or the Children Act 1989.

How do I ask the police for a warning notice?

Contact your local police, either in an emergency (999) or through 101, and explain your concerns about a specific adult and a specific child. They will decide whether the notice is appropriate based on their own checks and any statement you provide. A person with parental responsibility will need to give a statement. The child does not have to make a complaint.

Does a CAWN stop someone taking a child out of the country?

Not on its own. If your main concern is removal from the UK, ask about a prohibited steps order or, in urgent cases, wardship. The court can enforce both of these, unlike a police warning.

Will the police keep a record of the notice?

Yes. Home Office guidance tells forces to log every notice they serve. It goes on their intelligence systems and on the Police National Computer or Police National Database.

Worried someone will take or keep a child from you? Get advice this week

If you think someone may take, keep, or hide a child from you, don’t wait to see what happens. A police warning can help, but it isn’t enforceable on its own. A family court order tailored to your situation gives protection a court can enforce. Speak to Kabir Family Law. Book a free initial consultation, where one of our specialists gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances. They can explain which route — a prohibited steps order, a non-molestation order, or an urgent wardship application — fits what’s happening in your case. You can also read how our child custody specialists assist and advise families.

Expert Tip

Parents often expect a police warning to settle things, then feel let down when the adult ignores it. A warning depends on that person choosing to listen. So if your child keeps going back to the same adult, ask the police about a notice. At the same time, ask a specialist whether your family needs a court order too. Keep a dated note of every contact, because that record helps whichever route you take.

Iblal Iqbal, Partner & Family Law Strategist