Guide
Parental responsibilities and rights
Parental responsibilities and rights
Parental responsibilities
Parental responsibilities mean the things you must do to look after your child.
Parental rights
Your rights include being able to make choices about:
- how your child is brought up
- where your child should live
Who has parental responsibilities and rights
All mothers have parental responsibilities and rights as soon as they give birth to a child.
A birth mother's parental responsibilities and rights can be removed by a court. They will also be removed if a birth mother's child is adopted.
Not all fathers have parental responsibilities and rights.
Find out more if:
- you're a father
- you're a step parent
- you have a same-sex partner
