When does parental responsibility terminate?

Parental responsibility terminates:

• when a young person reaches the age of 18;
• when a young person between the ages of 16 and 18 gets married;
• when a child or young person is adopted;
• where parental responsibility has been obtained by a residence order and that residence order has been discharged or has expired; (If a father acquired parental responsibility via a residence order, he will not lose it on its expiry, unless a specific order discharges it.) and
• where parental responsibility has been granted to an unmarried father under a parental responsibility order, a parental responsibility agreement, or registration on the child’s birth certificate, a child or any other person with parental responsibility can make an application to the court to have it terminated. In order for a child to make such an application, they will need to acquire leave (permission from the court) first.

Only when adoption takes place, can a mother lose parental responsibility.

A father with parental responsibility does not lose it if he divorces the mother.

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