WHAT IS THE FEE TO SEND FORM C1 TO THE COURT AND HOW TO PAY FOR IT?

The fee to submit form C1 to the court is £232.00.

Please click on the link below to government guide EX50 page 15 for family court fees.

LINK TO GOVERNMENT GUIDE EX50 FOR FAMILY COURT FEES

• Please attach a cheque or postal order made payable to HM Courts & Tribunal Service.
• If you are on certain benefits or on a low income, you can apply to the court to have your fees paid for you. The form you need is called form EX160. You can complete and submit the form online or download a hardcopy from the government website. You will need to attach proof of your benefits, your income, and/or 3 months bank statements. The government website also has the EX160A guidance notes which you can download and read to help you complete form EX160. You can send the completed form EX160 with all attachments along with your completed form C1 for the court to consider. Or you could have sent your completed form EX160 to the court in advance and received a ‘help with fees’ reference number starting with HWF to put on the front page of the form you are asking help with, in this case, form C1.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM EX160 (Here, you can access both form EX160 & EX160A guidance notes) 

HOW TO COMPLETE FORM C1 AND WHERE TO SEND IT.

• NOTE 1 – If you are completing and sending this form in then you are known as the petitioner or applicant. Your ex-partner is known as the respondent.
• NOTE 2 – You can complete this form online and then print a hard copy. Alternatively you can download it, print it and then complete by black pen. 
• NOTE  3- If you find there is not enough space to complete your answers on your form then please use additional sheets of paper to continue on and attach them to your form. Please write your name, address, case number and question number on the top of your additional sheets of paper. 
• NOTE 4 – Please send at least 3-4 copies of form C1, any evidence and any other forms to the court. The court will distribute the copies accordingly. One copy is required for the court, one for Cafcass and one for each party in the proceedings.
• NOTE 5 – Please keep a copy of your form C1, all evidence, sheets and forms for yourself outside of the ones you send to the family court.
• Form C1 is 9 pages long.
• If you are using form C1 to make an application for the following court orders listed below then you will need to complete form FM1 and send it with your form C1. The court requires you attend mediation first before you send form C1 to the court. By ticking the relevant box in part 1 (1a, 1b, 1c or 1d) of your form FM1, you are telling the court that either you are exempt from attending mediation, in which case you must complete parts 2 and 3 of form FM1, or if you have tried mediation and it has not been successful. In this case, your mediator must complete and sign part 4 of your form FM1.
  • • • A parental responsibility order or an order terminating parental responsibility.
      • An order appointing or terminating a child’s guardian.
      • An order giving permission to change a child’s surname or remove a child from the United Kingdom. 
      • A special guardianship order, or an order varying or discharging such an order.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM FM1

• On page 1 underneath the box where you write the HWF help with fees number are two boxes for you to complete. In the first box you must write down the name of the court where your hearing will be heard/where you are sending the application to. In the second box you must write down the full names of the children this application is about.
• Part 1 of form C1 will ask you for your personal details. If you want yours and your child’s contact details to be kept confidential from your ex-partner, please do not put your contact details down on part 1 of your form C1. Please complete a form C8 and send it along with your form C1. You must make sure that all forms, evidence, or reports you send to the court from now on must not contain your contact details. The court staff will not do this for you. Once you have completed form C8, the court and Cafcass will not release your contact details to anyone without a court order.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C8

• Part 1 will also ask you for your solicitors details if you have one acting for you.
• Part 2 will ask you personal details about the children and details of the court order you are applying for.
• Part 3 will ask you about previous, present and pending court orders concerning you and your children. You must attach a copy of these court orders to form C1 and write down the answers to the information they are requesting.
• Part 4 is asking you to give personal information about the respondent, and their relationship to the children.
• Part 5 will ask you about details of any other parties whom should be given notice of this application such as a carer.
• Part 6 will ask about the care of each child named in your application, their address details and how long they have lived there, who cares for them, and the relationship of each child to each other.
• Part 7 only needs to be completed is you are applying for a parental responsibility order. If you have ticked the box in part 7 about domestic violence and abuse, you must complete form C1A and send it along with your form C1.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C1A

• Part 8 will ask you details about whether the children are known to social services, the name and address of the social worker and if  the children are on the child protection register.
• Part 9 will ask you to detail where the children study, if the children have any health issues, disabilities or special needs.
• Part 10 will ask you to detail the details of the parents of the children, their previous and present relationship to each other and whether they have been involved in any court cases concerning the children.
• Part 11 will ask you to give personal details about any other children in the family and their relationship to the children named in the application.
• Part 12 will ask you to give details about any other adults that live at the same address as the children named in the application and whether they have been involved in court proceedings concerning a child.
• Part 13 is asking about the reasons you are making this application and any plans you have for them. However, if you have completed form C1A then you can leave part 13 blank or write ‘please see form C1A’.
• Part 14 will ask you to write down if you need an interpreter when you attend court. You must also state if you have a disability and need any special assistance or facilities.
• Part 15 will ask you whether you have received a parenting booklet, agreed a parenting plan and if so has it broken down. You will be asked to explain further. You must attach a copy of this parenting plan with your form C1. 
• Then on page 9 you will need to sign your form C1.
• Just underneath is a statement you will be required to read. It is two paragraphs long. The paragraphs are about the questioning of a victim of domestic violence or a witness by the alleged perpetrator or the questioning of an alleged perpetrator by the victim. If your case involves domestic violence and your court hearing is one where you or your ex-partner will give oral evidence then the court may send forms EX740 (the party making the abuse allegation) and EX741 (the party accused of abuse) to you and/or your ex-partner along with the court order informing you of the date of the oral hearing. You and/or your ex-partner will need to complete forms EX740 and EX741 and return them to the court. Once the court has one or both of these forms then the court can consider whether to prevent the questioning or cross-examination in person of either party by each other. You can also make this application to the court by yourself if you DO NOT wish to be cross-examined by the perpetrator or the accuser.

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM EX740

LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM EX741

WHERE CAN YOU FIND FORM C1/DOWNLOAD THIS FORM?

Please click on the link below to download form C1 from the government website. Please complete and send by post (signed for recorded delivery).

LINK TO GOVERNMENT WEBSITE FOR FORM C1

WHEN WAS FORM C1 FIRST PUBLISHED AND LAST UPDATED?

Form C1 was first published by the government (HM Courts & Tribunals Service) on 01-06-2016 and it was last updated on 06-01-2023.