Form C8, the confidential contact details form, lets you give a family court in England or Wales your address, phone number, and email without those details being shared with the other party in your case. You file it alongside your main application, most often a C100 for child arrangements or a C1 for other family orders. The form is free to download from GOV.UK and runs to two pages.1GOV.UK. Apply to Keep Your Contact Details Confidential: Form C8
When to File a C8
The form is for anyone in family proceedings who has a genuine safety concern about their contact details reaching the other side. Domestic abuse is the most common reason, but the form is not limited to abuse cases. Any applicant or respondent with a real reason to keep their whereabouts private can file one.2GOV.UK. C8 – Confidential Contact Details
The protection comes from Rule 29.1 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010. Under that rule, a party does not have to reveal their home address, other contact details, or a child’s contact details to anyone other than the court, unless the court directs otherwise. Form C8 is the mechanism for giving those details to the court separately.3Justice UK. Part 29 – Miscellaneous – Section: Personal Details
Filling In the Form
The current version is dated January 2025. You can complete the PDF on screen before printing, or print a blank copy and write it in.1GOV.UK. Apply to Keep Your Contact Details Confidential: Form C8
Page One
At the top of page one you fill in the name of the family court dealing with your case, the case number if one has been assigned (leave this blank if you are filing with a new application), the full names of the children involved, and your own full name. A tick box asks whether you are currently resident in a refuge.
Below that, there is an open section where you list the contact details you want kept private: your address, telephone number, email address, and the contact details of any children in your care. Only include details the other people in the case do not already know. Listing a phone number the other party has had for years will not retroactively make it private.2GOV.UK. C8 – Confidential Contact Details
Page Two
Page two is a statement of truth. You sign, date, and print your name to confirm the information is accurate. The form warns that contempt of court proceedings can be brought against anyone who makes a false statement verified by a statement of truth. If a solicitor is filing for you, they sign in place of you and add their firm name and position.2GOV.UK. C8 – Confidential Contact Details
Submitting It With Your Main Application
Form C8 is not a standalone application. You submit it together with whatever main form you are filing. For a child arrangements order that is a C100; for other family orders it is a C1. Both of those forms tell you directly: if you need confidentiality, leave the address section blank on the main form and complete a C8 instead.4HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Application for an Order
You can post the two forms to the family court or hand them in at the court office. There is no separate fee for the C8 itself. Any fee you pay relates to the main application it accompanies.
Send both documents together. If the main application reaches the court without the C8, your paperwork may be served on the other party before the confidential form is matched to the file, and at that point any details on the main form are already out.
Who Will See the Details
Once filed, the information on your C8 is available to the court and to Cafcass (Cafcass Cymru in Wales), which advises the court on what is in a child’s best interests and may need to reach you for welfare checks, interviews, or safeguarding enquiries.1GOV.UK. Apply to Keep Your Contact Details Confidential: Form C8
The protection is not absolute. Rule 29.1 allows the court to direct disclosure in a particular case, so a judge can order your details released to the other party if persuaded there is a compelling reason, such as enforcing an order or effecting service that cannot be done any other way. Courts use this power cautiously, but it exists.3Justice UK. Part 29 – Miscellaneous – Section: Personal Details
Mistakes That Defeat the Protection
The most damaging mistake is writing your address on the main application as well as the C8. The main form is served on the other party. A C8 cannot undo a disclosure that has already left the court. The C1’s own instructions are explicit on this point: leave the address section blank and complete a C8 instead.4HM Courts & Tribunals Service. Application for an Order
The second is listing details the other party already knows. The form asks only for information they are not already aware of. Focus on what is actually new to them: a refuge address, a new mobile number, an email they have never seen.2GOV.UK. C8 – Confidential Contact Details
The third is filing late. If the main application reaches the court first, it may be processed and served before the C8 catches up. Keep them together.
Updating Your Details Later
If your address, phone number, or email changes while the case is live, file a fresh C8 with the new information and write the existing case number on it so staff can match it to your file. The court needs current details to send you hearing notices and orders, and the same confidentiality applies to the replacement form: it goes to the court and Cafcass, not to the other party.