How to Fill Out a Child Travel Consent Form for the UK

A child travel consent form for the UK is a signed letter from every person with parental responsibility giving permission for a child to leave the country with someone else. There is no official government template — you draft the letter yourself, or ask a solicitor to, and carry it with supporting documents when you travel. The stakes are real: taking a child under 16 out of the UK without the required consent is a criminal offence under the Child Abduction Act 1984, punishable by up to seven years in prison.¹

What to Put in the Letter

GOV.UK does not publish a template. It says the letter should include the contact details of the person giving consent and the details of the trip.² In practice a border officer reading a vague one-liner is more likely to pull you aside than one reading a letter that answers the obvious questions up front, so aim for something thorough.

A workable letter covers:

The child’s full legal name, date of birth, and passport number.
The consenting parent or guardian’s full name, relationship to the child, home address, phone number, and email address.
The full name and passport number of the adult traveling with the child.
Travel dates, destination country and city, and the address where the child will be staying.
A clear statement giving permission for the child to travel with the named adult on the stated dates.
The consenting person’s signature and the date it was signed.

If more than one person holds parental responsibility, each of them should sign the same letter or provide a separate signed one. Keep the wording plain and specific. A letter that reads like something a real person actually wrote about a real trip carries more weight than a generic paragraph copied from a template.

Whose Signature You Actually Need

The Child Abduction Act 1984 requires the consent of everyone with parental responsibility for a child under 16 before that child is taken out of the UK.³ Under the Children Act 1989, parents who were married or in a civil partnership at the child’s birth both hold parental responsibility automatically. An unmarried mother has it from birth. An unmarried father has it automatically only if he is named on the birth certificate, and in England and Wales that applies to registrations from 1 December 2003 onward.⁴

An unmarried father outside that rule can still hold parental responsibility through a signed agreement with the mother or a court order.⁴ Guardians appointed in a will or by a court, special guardians, and anyone named in a child arrangements order as the person the child lives with all count as well, and their consent is equally required.³

Divorce or separation does not end parental responsibility. A parent who no longer lives with the child still holds it unless a court has specifically removed it, and their written consent is still needed for the trip.

One useful exception. If a child arrangements order names you as the person the child lives with, you can take the child abroad for up to 28 days without anyone else’s consent, unless a separate court order bans the trip.² Special guardians have a similar window of up to three months.³ Even then, carry a copy of the order. A border officer cannot verify it on the spot, but the document itself will.

The criminal offence covers children under 16, but UK immigration rules treat anyone under 18 as a child for border purposes, and a visitor under 18 may be asked for written consent and evidence of accommodation on arrival.⁵ Carrying a consent letter for any traveler under 18 is the safer choice.

Documents to Carry with the Letter

The letter says someone gave permission. The supporting documents prove the people are who they say they are and that their relationship to the child is real. GOV.UK recommends carrying evidence of your relationship with the child, such as a birth or adoption certificate, and if your surname differs from the child’s, a marriage certificate or divorce decree that explains the difference.²

Bring originals or certified copies rather than plain photocopies, which an officer has no reliable way to verify. Any document not in English or Welsh needs a certified translation: a professional translation with a signed statement of accuracy, the translator’s contact details, and the date of certification.

A practical checklist:

Birth or adoption certificate, linking the child to the parents.
Marriage or divorce certificate, if there is a surname mismatch to explain.
A change of name deed, if a parent changed their name for other reasons.
A copy of any child arrangements order, especially if you are relying on the 28-day exception.
Passports for both the child and the traveling adult, kept accessible alongside the letter rather than in checked luggage.

Do You Need to Get It Notarized

There is no legal requirement in the UK to have the consent letter witnessed by a solicitor or notary. A letter signed at home is not invalid. Notarization does add credibility at foreign borders, though, and some destination countries are stricter than others about what they will accept.

UK notary fees for witnessing a personal document typically start around £90 plus VAT, roughly £108, for a straightforward signing, and can be higher if the notary drafts the letter or adds further certifications.⁶ For destinations known to scrutinize entry documents closely, the fee is usually worth it. For a straightforward trip within Europe, a clearly written unnotarized letter with solid supporting documents will usually be enough.

If the Other Parent Will Not Sign

If someone with parental responsibility refuses to consent, you cannot simply travel without their signature. Doing so risks prosecution. The route open to you is an application to the family court for a Specific Issue Order authorizing the trip.²

The court will want the trip details: departure date, return date and method of return, contact details for anyone with parental responsibility staying behind, and for longer trips, information about the child’s education while away.² The judge decides based on the child’s best interests. This takes time, so do not leave it to the week before departure. GOV.UK recommends getting legal advice from a solicitor for this kind of application.

When a Non-Parent Is Taking the Child

When a child travels with a grandparent, aunt, teacher, or family friend, the consent rules are the same but the letter needs to do more work because the relationship is less obvious to a stranger. A letter signed by every person with parental responsibility should name the accompanying adult, state their relationship to the child, and give their passport details. Include parental contact details so a border officer can call to verify.²

For school trips and other organized group travel, the school or organizer usually handles consent as part of its own paperwork, often using a standard form rather than a bespoke letter. Check well in advance, because some countries require individualized letters even for group travel.

At Passport Control

Keep the letter and every supporting document in your hand luggage. When you reach passport control, whether leaving the UK or arriving elsewhere, an officer may ask for proof that you have authority to travel with the child. This is routine.

The officer will compare names and details on the letter against the child’s passport and the supporting certificates. If it matches and the letter is clear, it takes a minute. Officers may also speak to the child directly, especially if the child seems uncomfortable. Calm answers and organized paperwork move things along.

If the letter is missing, incomplete, or does not match, the officer can hold you for further investigation. That can mean extended questioning, contact with the non-traveling parent, or involvement of police or social services if abduction is suspected, and in the worst case you can be refused entry or prevented from leaving.² Ten minutes spent on a thorough letter avoids all of it.

1
Legislation.gov.uk. Child Abduction Act 1984
2
GOV.UK. Get Permission to Take a Child Abroad
3
Legislation.gov.uk. Child Abduction Act 1984 – Section 1
4
Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 4
5
GOV.UK. Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor – If You’re Under 18
6
Clarkson Wright and Jakes Solicitors. Notarial Services Pricing