What Is a Prohibited Steps Order: How to Apply and Enforcement

A Prohibited Steps Order is a family court order under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 that stops a parent from taking a named action concerning their child’s upbringing without the court’s permission.¹ The judge spells out exactly what is forbidden, and doing it anyway is contempt of court. These orders usually come up during or after separation, when one parent is worried the other is about to make a major decision on their own.

What the Order Can Stop

In practice, the restrictions most often sought cover removing a child from England and Wales, changing the child’s surname, moving the child to a different school, or arranging significant medical treatment without agreement. Religious upbringing, relocation within the UK, and contact with a specific person the other parent considers a risk can also be prohibited.

The scope is not fixed to a list. The statute defines a Prohibited Steps Order as an order that “no step which could be taken by a parent in meeting his parental responsibility for a child, and which is of a kind specified in the order, shall be taken by any person without the consent of the court.”¹ If the action falls within parental responsibility and could disrupt the child, the court can prohibit it. Each order names the specific step, so there is no guessing what is covered.

How It Differs From a Specific Issue Order

These two orders live under the same section and get confused constantly. A Prohibited Steps Order says what must not happen. A Specific Issue Order says what will happen. If parents disagree about which school a child should attend, a Specific Issue Order decides the school. A Prohibited Steps Order would instead block one parent from enrolling the child in a particular school without consent. One compels, the other prevents. Courts sometimes treat an application as the other type if the judge decides it fits better, but you want to frame it correctly on Form C100 from the start.²

One further boundary: Section 9(5) stops the court from using a Prohibited Steps Order to achieve something that should go through a Child Arrangements Order. If what you actually want is to change where the child lives or how contact runs, this is the wrong vehicle.³

Who Can Apply

Section 10(4) of the Children Act 1989 gives an automatic right to apply to any parent, guardian, or special guardian of the child, anyone who holds parental responsibility through a formal agreement or court order, and anyone named in a Child Arrangements Order as the person with whom the child lives.⁴

People without parental responsibility, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or family friends, cannot apply directly. They must first ask the court for “leave,” meaning permission to file. The court looks at the applicant’s connection to the child, the nature of the proposed order, and whether the application risks disrupting the child’s life in a way that outweighs its purpose.⁴ A child can seek leave to apply themselves, but only if the court is satisfied the child has sufficient understanding.

Birth mothers have parental responsibility automatically. Fathers acquire it by being married to the mother, being in a civil partnership with her, or being named on the birth certificate. Step-parents do not get it through marriage alone, but can gain it by court order or a formal parental responsibility agreement.⁵

How to Apply

Attend a MIAM First

Before you file, you have to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) under Section 10(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014. A certified mediator assesses whether the dispute could be resolved without court.⁶

Exemptions apply where mediation is inappropriate or impractical. The common ones are domestic abuse supported by evidence such as a police caution, a protective injunction, or a relevant medical report; cases where there is an immediate risk of harm to the child; and situations where the other party is overseas and cannot reasonably attend. If you are claiming an exemption, you indicate it on the application and provide supporting evidence.⁶

File Form C100

The application goes on Form C100, the standard form for any Section 8 order.² You set out the child’s current living arrangements, the parties involved, and a clear description of the specific action you want prohibited. Precision matters. “I don’t want the other parent to do anything without consulting me” is too broad. “I want to prevent the other parent from removing the child from England and Wales without my written consent or a court order” gives the court something it can actually enforce.

A court fee applies on filing. You may be eligible for help with fees or a full exemption if you are on a low income or receiving certain benefits. Once the form, MIAM certificate (or exemption evidence), and fee are in, the court sets a hearing date.

After You File

The court serves your application on the other parent, who gets time to respond before the first hearing. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is often involved. A Cafcass Family Court Adviser carries out safeguarding checks and may interview both parents and the child to prepare a report for the judge.⁷ Some cases resolve at the first hearing. Others need further evidence, a full Cafcass report, or a contested final hearing.

Emergency Without-Notice Applications

When the risk is immediate, waiting for a standard hearing can be too slow. If a parent believes the other is about to take the child abroad or is actively arranging a harmful change, the court can hear the application “without notice.” The other parent is not informed or present when the judge makes the initial decision.

Family Procedure Rule 18.10 permits this only where the court considers it just. In practice that means showing an immediate and significant risk to the child if the court does not act straight away, or that giving notice would allow the other parent to do the very thing you are trying to prevent, or that there are exceptional circumstances.⁸

A without-notice order is temporary. The other parent must be served with the application and the order and has the right to apply to set it aside or vary it within seven days of service.⁸ A full hearing then follows. Judges are cautious about granting these, so the evidence of urgency needs to be strong and specific.

How the Court Decides

The child’s welfare is the paramount consideration. Section 1 of the Children Act 1989 makes that the overriding standard, and the court applies a “no order” presumption: it will not make an order unless doing so is better for the child than not making one.⁹

To assess welfare the court works through the Section 1(3) checklist:

the child’s wishes and feelings, considered in light of age and understanding
the child’s physical, emotional, and educational needs
the likely effect on the child of any change in circumstances
age, sex, background, and any characteristic the court considers relevant
any harm the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering
how capable each parent is of meeting the child’s needs
the range of powers available to the court

This is where cases turn. If you are applying, your evidence has to speak to these factors. Vague concerns about the other parent’s judgment rarely carry the day. The court wants specific, concrete reasons why the action would harm or destabilise the child.⁹

How Long the Order Lasts

A Prohibited Steps Order will not normally extend beyond the child’s sixteenth birthday, and the court will not usually make a new order for a child already sixteen, unless the circumstances are exceptional. In rare cases involving particular vulnerability, an order may run until the child turns eighteen.³

Some orders include a fixed end date or are tied to a specific event, such as the conclusion of related proceedings or the expiry of a travel document. If the judge believes the risk is temporary, the order will say when the restrictions end. Once that date passes, or the child reaches sixteen, the restrictions fall away unless someone files a fresh application. The court can also vary or discharge the order earlier if circumstances change substantially.

What Happens If Someone Breaches the Order

Breaking a Prohibited Steps Order is contempt of court. A parent who deliberately does the thing the order forbids can face a fine, a suspended prison sentence, or in serious cases immediate imprisonment.¹⁰

If the other parent breaches the order, you can apply back to the court for enforcement. The court looks at whether the breach was deliberate, how serious it was, and what remedy is proportionate. A parent who genuinely misunderstood the terms is in a different position from one who knowingly defied them, though ignorance is not a defence if you were properly served.

Enforcement is where these orders can fall short in practice. Getting the order is one thing; securing compliance is another. If you suspect a breach is imminent rather than already past, going back to court urgently for a further order, or contacting the police in an abduction scenario, is often more effective than filing enforcement proceedings after the fact.

Changing or Ending the Order

Either parent can apply to vary or discharge a Prohibited Steps Order if circumstances have genuinely changed. Section 8(2) of the Children Act 1989 includes variation and discharge within its definition of Section 8 orders, so the procedure follows the same route as the original application.¹ The welfare checklist applies again. Being unhappy with the order is not enough; you need to show something material has changed, or that new information has come to light. If both parents agree to lift the order, it can usually be handled as a consent order without a contested hearing.

1
Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 8
2
GOV.UK. Apply for a Court Order to Make Arrangements for a Child or Resolve a Dispute About Their Upbringing: Form C100
3
Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 9
4
Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 10
5
GOV.UK. Parental Rights and Responsibilities – Who Has Parental Responsibility
6
Justice UK. Practice Direction 3A – Family Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs)
7
Cafcass. My Family Is Involved in Private Law Proceedings
8
Justice UK. Part 18 – Procedure for Other Applications in Proceedings
9
Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 1
10
Legislation.gov.uk. Contempt of Court Act 1981