Form C79: Enforcing a Child Arrangements Order (2026 Guide)

You have a child arrangements order. The terms are clear. And yet the handovers are not happening — or not happening as the court directed. Form C79 is how you ask the Family Court to enforce what it already decided. It is not a weapon, it is not a rematch, and it is not a vehicle for grievance. It is the proper route to restore the child’s relationship with the parent the court considered welfare-appropriate to spend time with them. If you are reading this at 11pm after another missed handover, breathe. The rules exist for exactly this moment. This guide walks you through when C79 is the right step, what the court can do, what the court cannot do, and how to file in a way that the judge can actually work with.

When Do You Need Form C79?

Form C79 is the application you use when a party bound by a child arrangements order (CAO) made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 has, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with a provision of that order. In plain English: the order says the child spends alternate weekends with you, and the child is not being made available. Or the order specifies handovers at 4pm at a named contact centre, and the other parent is not turning up.

Two preconditions matter. First, the order must be a child arrangements order made under section 8. Second, the original CAO must have had a warning notice attached to it under section 11I of the 1989 Act. Without that warning notice, the court has no enforcement jurisdiction under section 11J.

C79 is not the right form if you are asking the court to change the order (that is C100), raising safeguarding concerns (C1A), or needing protection from abuse (FL401). The court’s only concern in a C79 is the child. Not what the other parent did to you. Not who was right at the final hearing. The child.

What the Court Can Do (Enforcement Powers)

Section 11J of the Children Act 1989, read with Schedule A1, gives the Family Court a structured toolkit when a CAO is breached without reasonable excuse.

• Enforcement order (unpaid work requirement) — between 40 and 200 hours of unpaid work under Schedule A1, paragraph 3.
• Financial compensation — under section 11O, the court can order one party to pay the other for financial loss caused by the breach.
• Variation of the CAO — the court can revisit and adjust the order.
• Committal for contempt of court — in serious, persistent, wilful cases. A last resort.
• Costs orders — unusual in family proceedings but available where conduct warrants it.

The court will not punish for the sake of punishment. An enforcement order is a tool for future compliance.

The Reasonable Excuse Defence

Section 11K of the Children Act 1989 protects the respondent who had a reasonable excuse for the breach. The burden sits on the respondent to prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the excuse was reasonable.

What tends to succeed: genuine illness of the child with contemporaneous medical evidence. A sudden safeguarding concern properly reported. A transport failure beyond the party’s control with immediate make-up time offered.

What tends not to succeed: the child said they did not want to go, without the respondent having taken steps to encourage and facilitate contact. A new partner’s discomfort. A disagreement about timing never raised in writing.

How to Complete Form C79 Step by Step

1. Details of the order you want enforced

Name the court that made the order, the date, and the case number. Attach a sealed copy.

2. The warning notice

Confirm the CAO had a warning notice attached. If not, you may first need to ask for one under section 11I.

3. Details of the parties and the child

Full names, dates of birth, addresses (or confidential addresses on Form C8 where appropriate).

4. The breach(es)

This is the heart of the form. For each alleged breach: the date, time, term of the order that was breached, what happened, what you did in response, corroboration (texts, emails, contact centre logs). Do not editorialise.

5. What you are asking the court to do

Set out the remedy — enforcement order, financial compensation, variation. Be specific about financial loss. Attach receipts.

6. MIAM

Family Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting exemptions apply. If you qualify for an exemption, tick the box and evidence it.

7. Statement of truth and signature

Sign it. A false statement of truth is contempt.

8. Fee

The court fee applies. If your income qualifies, file Form EX160 for Help with Fees.

Evidence the Court Expects

• A sealed copy of the CAO with the warning notice visible.
• A chronology of breaches — dated, in order, one line per incident.
• Communications — full text threads, emails, WhatsApp exports with timestamps. Not selected screenshots.
• Third-party evidence — contact centre records, school attendance, GP letters.
• Your own statement — short, measured, walks the judge through the pattern without invective.
• Receipts — for any financial loss under section 11O.

Write as if the judge will read your papers on a Sunday evening between fifteen other files. Clarity is courtesy. Courtesy is persuasive.

What Happens After You File

The court will issue the application and set a first hearing. Cafcass will usually be asked to do safeguarding checks and may be directed to prepare a section 7 welfare report. At the first hearing the court will narrow the issues: admitted breaches, denied breaches, whether a fact-finding hearing is needed, interim contact, and whether a negotiated resolution is possible.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Filing before checking the warning notice.
• Vague breach descriptions.
• Emotional language.
• Missing MIAM without a valid exemption.
• Mixing enforcement with variation without flagging it.
• Ignoring the respondent’s likely defence.
• Forgetting the child. Every paragraph should answer: how does this help the court protect this child’s relationships?

The Rules That Apply

• Children Act 1989 — s.1 welfare checklist, s.8 CAOs, s.11I warning notice, s.11J enforcement orders, s.11K reasonable excuse, s.11O financial compensation, Schedule A1.
• Family Procedure Rules 2010 Part 12.
• PD 12L — enforcement of orders for contact.
• PD 12J — child arrangements and domestic abuse.
• Children and Families Act 2014.

How Chris Can Help

Chris does not give legal advice. Chris drafts documents to your instructions, to the standard the Family Court expects to see. For a C79: a completed form, a clean breach schedule, a witness statement that walks the judge through the pattern without emotional excess, a chronology, and a short position statement for the first hearing.

You are your own litigant. You know the facts better than anyone. Chris turns that knowledge into court-ready papers. Build your case with Chris. Make your claim. Win your day.

7-day money-back guarantee. Not happy with the draft before you sign and send? We refund. We are miracle-makers, not miracle-workers — if the underlying facts are weak, no drafting fixes that. Chris makes strong cases stronger.

The founder of eLitigant spent years self-representing and drafted well over a thousand documents before the first appeal win landed. Chris exists to give the next litigant the benefit of that hard-won standard.

Subscribe for our application: email hello@elitigant.com with subject line “Application update” and say hello with your given name.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to attend a MIAM before filing C79?

In most cases, yes. Enforcement is treated as a fresh application for MIAM purposes unless an exemption applies (recent MIAM within four months, domestic abuse, urgency). Check FPR Part 3.

Can I ask for the order to be changed at the same time as enforced?

You can, but it often muddies the water. The court may direct that a variation application be made separately on C100.

What if the other parent says the child refuses to go?

The court will want to know what steps the resident parent took to encourage and facilitate contact. A passive refusal is rarely a reasonable excuse.

Will the court put the other parent in prison?

Almost certainly not. Committal is a last resort used only in the most serious, persistent, and wilful cases.

How long does a C79 take?

A straightforward case may resolve in three to six months. Cases with cross-allegations or a section 7 report take nine months or more.

Can I claim the costs of a cancelled holiday?

Potentially, under section 11O. Show the breach caused the loss and produce receipts.

What if there was never a warning notice on the order?

You can apply for one to be attached under section 11I before or at the same time as the C79.

Should I raise safeguarding concerns in C79 or C1A?

Safeguarding allegations belong on Form C1A. The court treats the two questions separately.