The six-month deadline: why timing matters more than ever
You have six months from your child's birth to file a parental order application. Here's how the clock works and how to stay ahead of it.
The single most important date in the parental order process is the six-month deadline. You must apply within six months of your child's birth.
How the clock works
The clock starts on the day of birth, wherever in the world that was. Courts have discretion to accept late applications, but you should never rely on it.
- Register the birth
- Gather the surrogate's consent (valid from six weeks after birth)
- File form C51 before month six
Our deadline tracker does the counting for you — start free.
Going through a parental order?
PO Navigator guides you through every form, deadline and step — free to explore.
Start free →More reading
What a parental order actually costs
The court fee is £270 — far less than most people expect. The total depends almost entirely on one decision, plus a set of small costs nobody warns you about until the invoice arrives.
Read →Parental order eligibility: the eight conditions, checked
Section 54 sets eight conditions for a parental order, and most of them are hard gates rather than matters of discretion. Here is each one in plain English, what it actually means, and the three that carry real risk.
Read →Do you need a solicitor for a parental order?
Almost everything written on this was written by solicitors. Here is the honest version: most straightforward applications can be made without one, a minority genuinely cannot, and this is how to tell which you are.
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