Table 1.

Legal definitions of parental responsibility.

UK country where birth is registered
England & Wales	Married  - both have parental responsibility and retain this if they later divorce  - applies if both jointly adopt a child Unmarried  - legal responsibility is obtained by i) jointly registering the birth of the child with the mother (after 1 December 2003); or ii) a parental responsibility agreement with the mother; or iii) a parental responsibility order from a court
Scotland	Married  - both have parental responsibility providing he is married to the mother at the time of conception or any time afterwards Unmarried - father has parental responsibility if he is named on the child’s birth certificate (from 4 May 2006)
Northern Ireland	Married  - both have parental responsibility if the father is married to the mother at the time of the child’s birth  - if they marry after the child’s birth, a father has parental responsibility if he lives in Northern Ireland at the time of the marriage Unmarried  - a father has parental responsibility if he is named, or becomes named, on the child’s birth certificate (from 15 April 2002)
Births registered outside of the United Kingdom	If a child is born overseas and comes to live in the United Kingdom, parental responsibility is determined by the UK country where they now reside
Same-sex parents	Civil partners  - both have parental responsibility Non-civil partners  - legal responsibility is obtained by the second parent by i) a parent responsibility agreement ii) becoming a civil partner of the other parent iii) jointly registering the birth
Other	Step parents, foster parents and grandparents do not automatically have parental responsibility but can apply to the courts