Family law update: Named on a child’s birth certificate but not the biological father – what are your paternal rights?
Unmarried men incorrectly registered as a child’s father on a birth certificate but later shown through DNA testing not to be biologically related, never actually had parental responsibility, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
In this scenario, parental responsibility cannot be taken away because parental responsibility was never held in the first place.
However, through the courts, non-biological fathers can still be granted parental responsibility and child contact arrangements if it is deemed in the best interests of the child concerned.
What did the court consider in this important parental responsibility case?
This landmark hearing (Re J, Re M and Re P (Parental Responsibility) [2026] EWCA Civ 344) looked at three different but similar cases with significant and far-reaching implications for the law relating to parental responsibility.
All had been registered on a child’s birth certificate, acted as father and assumed they had parental responsibility but it was later shown they were not the biological father.
In two of the cases this was definitive and in the third case, involving identical twins, neither could prove they were the biological father so neither could have parental responsibility.
The case draws a clear distinction between being a father ‘in fact’ and being a father ‘in law’. It is only the latter that brings with it automatic parental responsibility.
What are the implications of this parental responsibility ruling?
The decision underlines that biological fatherhood is the prerequisite for acquiring parental responsibility under section 4 of the Children Act 1989 - having your name registered on a birth certificate without this does not create legal status.
The court said it came to this judgement to provide clarity, legal certainty and truth as to who holds parental responsibility.
Crucially, the judgement drilled down on the interpretation of the word ‘father’ concluding that within the current legal framework, this refers only to a biological father and not someone mistakenly named on the birth certificate, no matter how deep and meaningful the relationship formed in the process.
In short, said the court, social or psychological parenting cannot substitute for biological fatherhood when determining parental responsibility.
Get in touch
Parental responsibility is a complicated area of the law and specialist family law advice is vital.
See what else we’ve written on this subject:
- Parental responsibility for fathers
- Parental responsibility – Jude’s law
- Parental responsibility – female same sex parents
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