To fill out and file Form C79, download the 14-page PDF from GOV.UK, complete the applicant, respondent, and breach sections using your existing case number and a dated log of what happened, then send it with the court fee to the family court nearest your child.1GOV.UK. Form C79: Apply to the Court to Enforce a Child Arrangements Order One thing has to be true before you start: your original Child Arrangements Order must already carry a warning notice. Without it, the application cannot proceed.
Check the Warning Notice on Your Order
Pull out your original Child Arrangements Order and look for the warning notice. It sets out that ignoring the order can lead to fines, imprisonment for contempt of court, an enforcement order requiring unpaid work, or a compensation order.2GOV.UK. C78 Application for Attachment of a Warning Notice to a Child Arrangements Order If the breach happened before the other party received a copy of the order with that notice attached, the court cannot enforce for that breach.
Most orders made after December 2008 already include one. If yours does not, file Form C78 first to have a warning notice attached. The court will not refuse that application. Once the notice is in place and the other party has been served with a copy, any future breach becomes enforceable through C79. Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons enforcement applications stall.
Is C79 the Right Form for Your Situation
C79 applies when you already hold a Child Arrangements Order made under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and the other party is not doing what it requires — blocking scheduled contact, failing to return the child on time, refusing handover.3Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 8 If you do not yet have an order, you need Form C100 instead. If the schedule itself has stopped working because of a job change, a house move, or a new school, a variation through C100 usually fits better than punishing someone for not following a plan the child has outgrown. C79 is for a workable order being ignored.
One age boundary matters. The “spend time with” provisions of a Child Arrangements Order expire when the child turns 16 unless the order specifically extends beyond that age. After 16, the child decides for themselves. The “live with” provisions can technically run to 18, but courts rarely enforce them past 16 except in unusual circumstances.4Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 91
What to Have Ready Before You Open the Form
Get these together first. Filling C79 in without them means starting over.
- Your court case number, taken directly from the original order. Copy it, don’t rely on memory.
- The original order itself, so you can reference the exact provisions breached and confirm the warning notice is attached.
- The respondent’s full legal name and current address, so the court can serve them.
- A breach log with dates, times, and short factual descriptions. “Saturday 12 April — arrived at 10am as agreed, respondent did not answer the door, children were not made available” is far more useful than a general complaint about non-cooperation.
- Supporting evidence in date order: text messages, emails, screenshots showing refusal or non-compliance.
- Proof you attended a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting, or grounds for an exemption. Many family court applications require a MIAM beforehand, and if you qualify for exemption (for example, domestic abuse or urgency), attach any required evidence.5Justice UK. Practice Direction 3A – Family Mediation Information and Assessment Meetings (MIAMs) and Non-Court Dispute Resolution
Completing Form C79 Section by Section
Download the current version from GOV.UK.1GOV.UK. Form C79: Apply to the Court to Enforce a Child Arrangements Order The form is 14 pages, but most of that is space for names, addresses, and written descriptions.
The header asks for the court name and your existing case number. Copy the number from your order rather than typing it from memory; a wrong digit delays things.
The applicant section takes your full name, address, and contact details. If sharing your address with the respondent raises safety concerns, say so on the form and the court can withhold it. The respondent section mirrors this. Give the other party’s full name and current address. If they have moved and you do not know where, give the last known address and explain.
The breach section is the one that matters most. Be specific and factual. Refer to the exact paragraphs of your order that were breached, then describe what happened and when, in order. A clear chronological account carries far more weight with a judge than emotional language. Stick to what your evidence supports.
The form then asks what you want the court to do. Options include an enforcement order requiring unpaid work, financial compensation for losses caused by the breach, or setting aside or changing an existing enforcement order. You can ask for more than one on the same form. Be clear; a vague request is harder to act on.
Where to Send It and What It Costs
Send the completed form to your child’s local family court. This is usually the court that made the original order, but if the child has moved, use the family court nearest to where the child now lives. The signature box allows email submission, so check with your local court whether they accept applications electronically.1GOV.UK. Form C79: Apply to the Court to Enforce a Child Arrangements Order
A court fee is payable on submission. The amount for enforcement applications sits in the EX50 fees schedule published by HMCTS, and the schedule is updated periodically, so check the current figure before filing.6GOV.UK. EX50A: Civil and Family Court Fees – November 2025 Payment is usually accepted by cheque, postal order, or through the court’s payment system.
If You Cannot Afford the Fee
Apply for a fee remission using Form EX160. You automatically qualify if you receive income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Universal Credit while earning less than £6,000 a year, or Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit), and have savings under £4,250. Without a qualifying benefit, you may still be eligible on income grounds: £1,420 or less per month if single, or £2,130 or less with a partner, plus £425 per child aged 0 to 13 and £710 per child aged 14 or older.7GOV.UK. Get Help Paying Court and Tribunal Fees
What Happens After You File
The court issues a notice of hearing to you and the respondent with a date. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) will normally be involved, advising the court on the child’s best interests and carrying out safeguarding checks, which may include speaking to both parents.8Cafcass. Cafcass
At the hearing the judge looks at two questions. Did the respondent breach the order? For an enforcement order the standard is high: the court must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt, the same standard used in criminal cases.9Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 11J Then, did they have a reasonable excuse? That burden falls on the respondent. If they claim a good reason, they have to show it.
What the Court Can Order
Where the court finds a breach without reasonable excuse, it has several options.
Under Section 11J of the Children Act 1989, it can order the respondent to carry out between 40 and 200 hours of unpaid work, supervised by probation services.9Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 11J The court will only make this order if it believes doing so will promote future compliance; it is not purely punitive.
Under Section 11O, the court can order the respondent to pay compensation for financial losses caused by the breach: wasted travel, lost holiday bookings, childcare arranged at short notice when contact fell through.10Legislation.gov.uk. Children Act 1989 – Section 11O Compensation cannot exceed your actual loss, and the court considers the respondent’s ability to pay. You have to ask for it specifically on the form; the court will not add it on its own.
In serious or repeated cases, the court can find the respondent in contempt, which can lead to fines or imprisonment. Contempt proceedings are rare and generally reserved for the most persistent or deliberate defiance.2GOV.UK. C78 Application for Attachment of a Warning Notice to a Child Arrangements Order The judge’s overriding concern throughout is the welfare of the child, not penalising a parent for its own sake.