How family court works in Northern Ireland

A lot of family court information online is written for England and Wales. Northern Ireland has its own law, its own courts and its own forms. If what you're reading mentions Cafcass, a C100 or a Child Arrangements Order, it isn't about Northern Ireland.

The law

The main law is the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. Your child's welfare is the court's paramount consideration, which means it comes before anything else, including what either parent wants.

The judge works through a welfare checklist in Article 3(3) of the Order. It includes your child's wishes and feelings, their needs, the likely effect of any change, any harm or risk of harm, and how able each parent is to meet their needs. The judge tries to avoid delay, and will only make an order if that's better for your child than no order at all.

The orders you'll hear about most are a Residence Order, which settles who a child lives with, and a Contact Order, which sets out the time a child spends with the other parent.

Which courts deal with family cases

• Family Proceedings Court. Most cases start here, in the Magistrates' Courts. A District Judge usually sits with two lay magistrates. Hearings aren't recorded, so take your own notes.
• Family Care Centre. A County Court judge hears more complex cases here.
• High Court (Family Division). A High Court judge in Belfast hears the most serious or complex cases.

Above them sits the Court of Appeal. A judge can transfer a case up to the Family Care Centre or the High Court. If that happens, the new court fixes the next hearing and your letters go there from then on. Any later application, including one to change an order, goes to the level of court that's dealing with the case or that made the order.

Hearings are private, there's no jury, and your child doesn't attend.

How to apply for a Residence or Contact Order

1. Fill in Form C1 for the Family Proceedings Court, and Form C1A, the summons the court staff will serve on the other parent.
2. If your child has suffered or is at risk of harm, for example from domestic abuse, also fill in Form C1AA. To keep your address private, use Form C5.
3. Send the forms and fee to the family court nearest to where your child lives. Ask the court office how many copies it needs and how it wants them sent.

It can take up to 6 weeks from applying to getting your first hearing date.

Fees. The Department of Justice schedule from 1 April 2026 lists £81 in the Magistrates' Courts for a Children Order application of this kind, plus £17 to serve the summons (£22 if personal service is needed) and £4 for each document served with it. In the Family Care Centre the fee is £123, and in the High Court £163. Ask the court office to confirm your fee. If you're on benefits or a low income, you may not have to pay. Use Form ER1.

The Court Children's Officer and the Article 4 report

There's no Cafcass in Northern Ireland. Instead, the judge may ask a Court Children's Officer to report. They're specialist social workers who work for the Health and Social Care Trusts and are seconded to the court. They must stay neutral and focus on your child.

Their report is called an Article 4 report, after the part of the Order that allows it. The officer may meet you, the other parent and your child, and makes recommendations, for example about where your child lives and how much time they spend with each parent. If the judge doesn't follow those recommendations, they'll usually give reasons.

The report is confidential. You can't show it to anyone outside the case, including a McKenzie Friend, without the judge's permission, so ask early.

The Children's Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland, formerly NIGALA, works in public law and adoption cases, not in disputes between parents.

Mediation

In England and Wales you normally have to attend a MIAM before applying to court. NI Direct describes mediation in Northern Ireland as voluntary, and free pre court mediation is available from Family Mediation NI and Barnardo's.

It's still worth considering. You can reach agreement at any point, even after a case has started, and the judge will check it before making an Order by Consent.

Judiciary NI is also piloting an Early Resolution Forum at the Family Proceedings Court in Laganside, Belfast, for 12 months from 6 May 2026. Cases with allegations of domestic abuse aren't suitable for it.

Bringing a McKenzie Friend

You need the court's permission. Under Practice Note 3/2012 (revised July 2024), your McKenzie Friend completes the Annex A form, you both sign it, their CV goes with it, and you send it to the court office for the judge to approve.

Main differences from England and Wales

• Law. Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, not the Children Act 1989.
• Orders. Residence and Contact Orders, not Child Arrangements Orders.
• Forms. Form C1, not the C100.
• Reports. A Court Children's Officer from a Health and Social Care Trust, not Cafcass.
• Mediation. Voluntary, according to NI Direct, rather than a MIAM before you apply.
• Divorce. Still based on fault or separation, with a decree nisi and then a decree absolute. The Department of Finance consulted on reform in 2025 and reported in January 2026, but as at 30 September 2026 the law hasn't changed.

This page is information, not legal advice.