Guides / Family court
Chapter 6 · 2 min read
Urgent applications and prohibited steps orders
In short
- 1Urgent applications are for genuine, immediate risk, not frustration at delay.
- 2If you fear abduction abroad, get legal advice the same day.
- 3An urgent order holds the position. It doesn't decide the case.
Most cases follow the normal timetable. Sometimes waiting is genuinely unsafe. The law provides ways to ask the court to act quickly, but the threshold is real urgency, not a strong wish for things to move faster.
When urgency may be justified
- a real and immediate risk of harm to your child
- a credible risk that your child will be taken abroad without consent
- a child about to be removed from school or moved a long distance without agreement
- a significant step being taken that would be hard to undo
Months of reduced time can feel desperately urgent, and the loss is real. On its own it doesn't usually meet the court's threshold. Claiming urgency you can't support invites close scrutiny and can damage the first impression the court forms of you.
Prohibited steps orders
A prohibited steps orderProhibited steps order. An order stopping a parent from taking a particular step without the court's permission. stops a parent taking a particular step without the court's permission. Common examples include removing a child from the country, changing their school, changing their surname or moving them a long distance.
You apply on the C100C100. The application form for a child arrangements, prohibited steps or specific issue order, or to vary one. by ticking the prohibited steps box and answering yes to the urgency question, which opens the section where you explain the orders sought, the reasons for urgency and the timetable you're asking for.
Without notice applications
In rare cases, the court will consider an application before the other parent is told, if giving notice would allow the very harm you're trying to prevent. These applications aren't granted lightly. If an order is made, there's usually a further hearing within days so the other parent can respond.
Travel abroad
Taking a child out of the UK without the consent of everyone with parental responsibilityParental responsibility. The legal rights, duties and authority a parent has in relation to a child. It does not on its own guarantee a set amount of time with the child., or the court's permission, can be a criminal offence. There's an exception: a parent named in a child arrangements orderChild arrangements order. An order deciding who a child lives with and who they spend time with, and when. as someone the child lives with can take the child abroad for less than a month without consent, unless an order says otherwise.[11]
If you're worried about a child being taken abroad, don't sign any consent you're unsure about, keep any passports you lawfully hold safe and get legal advice the same day. The court can order a passport to be surrendered.
Get advice
Urgent applications have specific requirements and the stakes are high. A family solicitor or direct access barristerDirect access barrister. A barrister you can instruct directly, without going through a solicitor. can often respond within a day. If you can't get advice in time, set out the facts calmly and specifically, attach any evidence and explain why the normal timetable isn't enough.
An urgent order is a holding measure. The case then usually returns to the normal process, and you continue preparing as you would otherwise.