Family Court Navigation & Case Strategy
Court Form Support — C100, C79, C2 & C1A
Practical help understanding, preparing and reviewing common family-court forms when you are managing your own proceedings.
A court form is not simply an administrative exercise. The form you use depends on what proceedings already exist, what order or direction you want the court to consider, and what information the court needs in order to understand the application.
JSH Law can help you identify the information required, organise the underlying facts and prepare the form and supporting material for you to review before filing.
The difficult question is often not “how do I fill in this box?” — it is “what am I actually asking the court to do?”
Family-court forms can look deceptively simple. But a form sits inside a legal and procedural framework. An application may need to connect to an existing order, existing proceedings, safeguarding concerns, previous directions or an approaching hearing.
Good preparation starts by identifying the purpose of the application and then making sure the information placed before the court is accurate, relevant and consistent with the wider case.
Common children proceedings forms
What are C100, C79, C2 and C1A used for?
These are different forms with different procedural functions. Which one is appropriate depends on what you need the Family Court to consider.
Child arrangements, prohibited steps & specific issues
Form C100 is used for applications under the Children Act 1989 for:
- a child arrangements order;
- a prohibited steps order;
- a specific issue order;
- variation or discharge of relevant section 8 orders; or
- permission to make a relevant application where permission is required.
Enforcement of a child arrangements order
Form C79 is used for applications relating to enforcement of a child arrangements order, including applications connected with an alleged failure to comply with an existing order.
The existing order, the alleged non-compliance and the circumstances surrounding it need to be understood carefully before the application is presented.
Applications in existing children proceedings
Form C2 can be used in existing children proceedings to request an order or directions and in certain circumstances to seek permission to start proceedings or to join or leave existing proceedings.
The key issue is identifying precisely what order or direction is being requested and why the application is being made within the existing case.
Allegations of harm & domestic abuse
Form C1A provides supplemental information where it is alleged that a child or adult has suffered, or is at risk of suffering, harm or domestic abuse. It may also be used to respond to allegations made by another person in relevant proceedings.
Allegations should be presented accurately and carefully, distinguishing the allegation itself from supporting evidence and any existing findings.
Start with the procedural question
Which form you need depends on what is happening in the case
The form should follow the application — not the other way around.
Is this a new section 8 application?
A C100 may be relevant where you are asking the court to make, vary or discharge an appropriate child arrangements, prohibited steps or specific issue order.
Is an existing child arrangements order allegedly not being followed?
A C79 may be relevant where enforcement of the existing order is being sought.
Are children proceedings already underway?
A C2 may be relevant where a party seeks a further order, direction or other procedural relief within the existing proceedings.
Are allegations of harm or domestic abuse being raised?
A C1A may need to accompany or respond to the relevant allegations in the children proceedings.
Before completing the form
Gather the information the application actually depends on
The current order
If proceedings already exist, start with the most recent relevant sealed court order.
The existing case number
Existing proceedings need to be identified accurately where the application is being made within that case.
What you want the court to do
Define the order, variation, enforcement step or direction you are asking the court to consider.
Why you are asking
Identify the relevant factual and procedural basis without trying to reproduce the entire history of the relationship.
Safeguarding information
Relevant allegations of harm, domestic abuse or welfare concerns need careful and accurate treatment.
Timing
Tell JSH Law immediately if there is an approaching hearing, filing date or genuinely urgent safeguarding issue.
C1A & safeguarding
Serious allegations need clarity, not exaggeration
Where domestic abuse or harm is alleged, the form needs enough information for the court and safeguarding professionals to understand the concern. That does not mean every event should be described in the most dramatic possible language.
The strongest preparation usually distinguishes: what is alleged, when it is said to have happened, what evidence supports the allegation, whether there has already been a finding, and why the issue is relevant to the child's welfare or the orders being sought.
If the safeguarding history is substantial, separate support with a chronology or schedule may be more effective than trying to force years of evidence into a limited form.
What the service includes
JSH Law can help with more than typing information into boxes
Identify the purpose
Work through what you are asking the court to consider and how that fits into the current proceedings.
Review relevant orders
Check the existing procedural context before preparing an application connected with an ongoing case.
Organise the facts
Reduce a complicated history to the information relevant to the application.
Draft or review wording
Help prepare clear, measured wording for you to review and confirm before filing.
Identify supporting documents
Consider which orders, statements, schedules or other materials may be relevant to the application.
Check consistency
Compare the form with the factual chronology, previous orders and other material you have asked JSH Law to review.
What you receive
A prepared form that you understand before you submit it
The precise work depends on the agreed scope, but form support may include:
- review of the relevant procedural background;
- identification of information needed to complete the form;
- a draft or reviewed version of the relevant form;
- structured wording for relevant narrative sections;
- identification of supporting documents that may need consideration;
- safeguarding or chronology issues identified for separate preparation where appropriate;
- a list of matters for you to check or confirm before signing or submitting; and
- practical explanation of the next procedural step where that falls within the agreed work.
Common problems
What can make a family-court application harder to understand?
Not sure which application you need?
Do not choose a form simply because its title sounds close to the problem.
Start with what proceedings already exist, what the current order says and what you need the court to consider. The correct procedural route can then be looked at in context.
Book a 15-Minute ConsultationClient experience
Clear procedure makes the paperwork less intimidating
Jessica broke the process down in a way that finally made sense. I stopped panicking about every letter from the court and was able to focus on what mattered at each stage.
Mark
Having someone explain the procedure and help me organise my case gave me confidence as a litigant in person. I finally felt like I was engaging with the process properly.
Daniel
Clear boundaries
JSH Law can help prepare the application. You remain responsible for making it.
JSH Law provides non-reserved legal services, litigation support and McKenzie Friend assistance. JSH Law is not an SRA-authorised solicitors' firm.
You remain responsible for confirming the factual accuracy of the form, signing declarations or statements of truth where required, paying any applicable court fee, and filing or serving the application unless a particular lawful task has expressly been agreed.
JSH Law cannot guarantee that the court will issue an application, grant the order sought or accept your interpretation of disputed facts.
Focused form support
You can instruct JSH Law for one application
Straightforward form preparation may require relatively limited review. More complex applications involving lengthy proceedings, enforcement history, domestic abuse, disputed evidence or multiple orders may require additional analysis first.
Where the task and document volume can be defined clearly, a fixed-fee quote may be available before you commit.
Court fees and payments to third parties are separate from JSH Law's fees unless expressly stated otherwise.
View PricingNeed help with an application?
Book a 15-minute consultation
Tell me whether proceedings already exist, which form you think may be needed, what order or direction you want the court to consider and whether there is an approaching hearing or deadline.
If you are unsure which form applies, that is fine. The purpose of the initial conversation is to understand the problem rather than expecting you to diagnose the procedural route yourself.
Choose a convenient time
Include any imminent hearing, filing deadline or urgent safeguarding issue in your booking notes.
Your enquiry will be handled in accordance with the JSH Law Privacy Policy .
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