Appeals in family cases

An appeal in a family case is a challenge to a decision of the Family Court or the Family Division of the High Court in England and Wales, brought before a more senior judge on the ground that the decision was wrong or that the proceedings were seriously unfair. Appeals within the Family Court and to the High Court are governed by Part 30 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and Practice Direction 30A; appeals to the Court of Appeal are governed by Part 52 of the Civil Procedure Rules.[1][2][3] Permission to appeal is required in almost every case and is granted only where the appeal “would have a real prospect of success” or “there is some other compelling reason why the appeal should be heard”.[1]

The route depends on who made the decision: appeals from lay justices and district judges are heard by a circuit judge in the Family Court; appeals from circuit judges and recorders go to a High Court judge, except in public law children, adoption and second-appeal cases, which go to the Court of Appeal; and appeals from High Court judges go to the Court of Appeal.[4][5][6] The appellant’s notice must ordinarily be filed within 21 days of the decision.[1] An appeal is a review rather than a rehearing, and succeeds only if the decision was “wrong” or “unjust because of a serious procedural or other irregularity”; the Supreme Court in Re B [2013] UKSC 33 held that the test is whether the decision was wrong, not “plainly wrong”.[1][7]

Written by Jess Knauf, Director of Client Strategy at Mediate UK and Associate Member of Resolution. Reviewed by Belinda Atkins, Managing Director of Mediate UK. Last reviewed 6 September 2026; last updated 6 September 2026; next scheduled review March 2027.

Definition and purpose

An appeal asks a higher court to review a decision already made. It is different from an application to vary an order because circumstances have changed, from an application to set aside an order obtained by fraud or non-disclosure, and from a complaint about a judge’s conduct. The appeal court does not hear the case again; it examines whether the judge below went wrong in law, in fact or in the exercise of a discretion, or whether the process was so unfair that the decision cannot stand.[1]

In family cases most decisions involve the evaluation of evidence and the exercise of judgment about a child’s welfare or a fair financial outcome, in which the trial judge, who has seen the witnesses, is given considerable latitude. The Supreme Court in Re B observed that trial judges have particular advantages in assessing witnesses and evaluating future parenting arrangements, which makes appellate intervention in children cases difficult unless the judge can be shown to have been wrong.[7] The result is that appeals are comparatively rare and permission is refused in many cases.

Section 31K(1) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 provides that, subject to any order under section 56(1) of the Access to Justice Act 1999, a party to proceedings in the family court who is dissatisfied with the decision “may appeal from it to the Court of Appeal in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be provided by Family Procedure Rules”.[8] Two orders under section 56 redirect most appeals. The Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) (Family Proceedings) Order 2014 sends appeals from lay justices, district judges and equivalent office-holders to the Family Court itself, and the 2016 Amendment Order sends appeals from circuit judges and recorders to the High Court, with exceptions.[4][5] Part 30 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 supplies the procedure for appeals to the Family Court and the High Court, and Part 52 of the Civil Procedure Rules for appeals to the Court of Appeal.[1][3]

The level of judge who hears an appeal within the Family Court is fixed by the Family Court (Composition and Distribution of Business) Rules 2014. Rule 6 provides that an appeal from a district judge or lay justices is heard by “a judge of circuit judge level”, or by a High Court judge “where there is a need for such a level of judge”, and rule 7 requires a judge of High Court judge level for appeals from certain senior district judges and for appeals raising “an important point of principle or practice”.[9]

Routes of appeal

Routes of appeal in family proceedings in England and Wales
Decision ofAppeal lies toFormRules
Lay justices (magistrates) or a justices’ legal adviser in the Family CourtA circuit judge in the Family CourtN161FPR Part 30[4][9][6]
District judge or deputy district judge in the Family Court, including District Judges (Magistrates’ Courts)A circuit judge in the Family CourtN161FPR Part 30[4][9][6]
Senior District Judge of the Family Division or a district judge of the Principal Registry (financial remedy)A judge of High Court judge level in the Family CourtN161FPR Part 30[9][6]
Circuit judge or recorder in the Family Court (most cases, including private law children and financial remedies)A High Court judge of the Family DivisionFP161FPR Part 30[5][6]
Circuit judge or recorder in proceedings under Parts 4 or 5 of the Children Act 1989 (care, supervision and emergency protection), under the Adoption and Children Act 2002, in related contempt cases, or where the decision was itself made on appealThe Court of AppealN161CPR Part 52[5][6]
High Court judge (in the Family Court or the Family Division)The Court of AppealN161CPR Part 52[8][6]
District judge of the High Court (Family Division)A High Court judgeFP161FPR Part 30[6]
Court of AppealThe Supreme Court, with permission of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme CourtAs in Re B [2013] UKSC 33[7]

The judiciary summarises the position by noting that the Family Division “hears appeals from certain decisions made by Circuit Judges and Recorders in the Family Court”.[10] HMCTS leaflet FP201 sets out the same routes in tabular form and identifies which form is used: Form N161 for appeals within the Family Court and to the Court of Appeal, and Form FP161 for appeals to the Family Division of the High Court.[6][11][12] Before 3 October 2016 all appeals from circuit judges went to the Court of Appeal; the 2016 Order redirected most of them to the High Court to relieve pressure on the Court of Appeal.[5]

Permission to appeal

Rule 30.3 requires permission to appeal in every case except an appeal against a committal order, a secure accommodation order under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 or a refusal of habeas corpus.[1] Permission may be sought from the lower court at the hearing at which the decision is made, or from the appeal court in the appellant’s notice.[1] It is granted only where “the court considers that the appeal would have a real prospect of success” or “there is some other compelling reason why the appeal should be heard”.[1] Where the appeal court refuses permission on the papers, the appellant may ask for the decision to be reconsidered at an oral hearing, unless the judge has certified the application as “totally without merit”, in which case that right is removed.[1]

The same test applies in the Court of Appeal under rule 52.6 of the Civil Procedure Rules: “the appeal would have a real prospect of success; or there is some other compelling reason for the appeal to be heard”.[3] “Real” means realistic rather than fanciful; the applicant need not show that the appeal will probably succeed. Permission may be granted on some grounds only, or subject to conditions.[1]

Time limits

Under rule 30.4 the appellant’s notice must be filed at the appeal court within such period as the lower court directs, which may be longer or shorter than 21 days, or, where the lower court makes no direction, “21 days after the date of the decision of the lower court”.[1] For an appeal against a case management decision, or against an interim care order under section 38(1) of the Children Act 1989, the period is 7 days.[1][6] Time runs from the date of the decision, not from the date the order is sealed or the date written reasons are received.[1]

The parties cannot agree to extend time between themselves; only the appeal court may do so, on an application in the appellant’s notice explaining the delay.[1] A respondent who wishes to ask the appeal court to uphold the decision for different or additional reasons, or to cross-appeal, must file a respondent’s notice, usually within 14 days of service of the appellant’s notice or of notification that permission has been granted.[1]

The test on appeal

Rule 30.12 provides that every appeal “will be limited to a review of the decision of the lower court” unless a practice direction provides otherwise or the court considers that in the circumstances of an individual appeal it would be in the interests of justice to hold a rehearing.[1] The appeal court will allow an appeal where the decision of the lower court was “wrong” or “unjust because of a serious procedural or other irregularity in the proceedings in the lower court”.[1] Rule 52.21 of the Civil Procedure Rules is in the same terms for the Court of Appeal.[3]

The meaning of “wrong” was settled by the Supreme Court in Re B (A Child) [2013] UKSC 33, an appeal against a care order made with a view to adoption. The court held that an appellate court should ask whether the judge’s decision was wrong, and that the older formulation “plainly wrong” added nothing of substance to a decision that was evaluative rather than discretionary. Lord Wilson said of the word “plainly” that “Either the word adds nothing or it serves to treat the determination under challenge with some slight extra level of generosity”.[7] Lord Neuberger held that the appellate court should review whether the judge “approached the question of proportionality correctly as a matter of law and reached a decision which he was entitled to reach”, rather than conducting a fresh proportionality assessment of its own.[7]

In practice, a decision is “wrong” where the judge misdirected himself or herself in law, took into account something irrelevant or left out something relevant, made a finding of fact that no reasonable judge could have made on the evidence, or reached a conclusion outside the range of reasonable decisions. In children cases the appellate court will also ask whether the judge applied section 1 of the Children Act 1989 and the welfare checklist properly.[13][7] A “serious procedural or other irregularity” covers matters such as a party being denied a fair opportunity to present their case, a judge deciding a point the parties had not argued, or inadequate reasons.[1]

Procedure

Practice Direction 30A sets out the steps. The appellant files the appellant’s notice with the fee or a Help with Fees reference, together with the grounds of appeal, a skeleton argument (which may follow within 14 days), a sealed copy of the order under appeal, the judgment or written reasons, and any order granting or refusing permission.[2][14] Where the judgment was given orally, the appellant should obtain the court’s written reasons or an approved transcript of the judgment.[2] Paragraph 5.9 lists the contents of the appeal bundle, which must contain the notice, the order, the permission decision, the skeleton argument and the judgment but should exclude extraneous material.[2]

Filing an appeal does not by itself stop the order taking effect. Under rule 30.8 the appeal court or the lower court may grant a stay pending appeal, but the presumption is that orders, particularly those concerning children, continue in force.[1] Appeals within the Family Court are usually listed before a circuit judge at the same court centre or a neighbouring one; appeals to the High Court are listed at the Royal Courts of Justice or before a Family Division judge on circuit.[2][6]

Powers of the appeal court and outcomes

Rule 30.11 gives the appeal court all the powers of the lower court and the power to “affirm, set aside or vary any order or judgment made or given by the lower court”, to refer any application or issue for determination by the lower court, to order a new hearing, to make orders for the payment of interest and to make a costs order.[1] Where a finding of fact is overturned the appeal court will often remit the case for rehearing by a different judge rather than substitute its own view, because it has not heard the witnesses.[7][1]

The appeal court may also draw inferences of fact and receive fresh evidence, though it will not do so unless the evidence could not with reasonable diligence have been obtained for the original hearing, would probably have had an important influence on the result and is apparently credible.[1]

Second appeals and reopening

A second appeal is an appeal from a decision that was itself made on appeal, for example from a circuit judge who has decided an appeal from a district judge. Second appeals go to the Court of Appeal, and rule 52.7 of the Civil Procedure Rules provides that permission will not be given unless the appeal “would have a real prospect of success” and either “raise[s] an important point of principle or practice” or “there is some other compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to hear it”.[5][3] Rule 30.13 of the Family Procedure Rules provides for the transfer to the Court of Appeal of an appeal that raises “an important point of principle or practice” or where there is “some other compelling reason”.[1] HMCTS guidance states that “The Court of Appeal will only hear a second appeal in exceptional cases”.[6]

Once an appeal has been finally determined the High Court may reopen it only in the exceptional circumstances set out in rule 30.14: where “necessary to do so in order to avoid real injustice”, where the circumstances are “exceptional” and where there is no alternative effective remedy.[1]

Fees

The July 2026 edition of HMCTS leaflet EX50 lists two appeal fees in the family court: £146 “On filing an appeal notice from a district judge, one or more lay justices (magistrates), a justice’s clerk or an assistant to a justice’s clerk, except appeal against decisions under the Children Act 1989” (fees order 6.1), and £251 for an appeal notice in respect “Of any provision of the Children Act 1989, except in relation to appeals for breach or revocation of an enforcement order”.[15] The civil table of EX50 gives £302 for filing an appellant’s or respondent’s notice in the High Court.[16] Help with Fees is available for appeal fees on the same terms as for other applications.[14] Current figures are kept on family court fees.

Alternatives to appeal

An appeal is not always the right route. Where circumstances have changed since an order about a child was made, the correct course is usually an application to vary the order rather than an appeal, because the appeal court judges the decision on the material before the judge at the time.[1][13] Where a financial order was obtained by fraud, material non-disclosure or mistake, rule 9.9A of the Family Procedure Rules allows a party to apply “to set aside a financial remedy order where no error of the court is alleged”, within the original proceedings and without an appeal.[17] Slips and clerical errors in an order are corrected by the court that made it.

Timescales matter because the appeal clock runs from the decision. In January to March 2026 private law children cases took an average of 35 weeks to reach a final order, and a party who is unsure whether to appeal should ask the judge for permission at the hearing and for the time to be extended if written reasons are awaited.[18][1]

History

Development of family appeals in England and Wales
DateDevelopment
6 April 2011Family Procedure Rules 2010 in force, including Part 30 on appeals[1]
12 June 2013Re B (A Child) [2013] UKSC 33: the Supreme Court held that the appellate test is whether the decision was wrong, not plainly wrong[7]
22 April 2014The single Family Court opened; the Destination of Appeals (Family Proceedings) Order 2014 routed appeals from lay justices and district judges to the Family Court[19][20]
3 October 2016The 2016 Amendment Order redirected appeals from circuit judges and recorders from the Court of Appeal to the High Court, except in public law, adoption and second-appeal cases[5]

See also

References

  1. Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 30: Appeals. Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  2. Practice Direction 30A: Appeals. Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  3. Civil Procedure Rules, Part 52: Appeals. Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  4. The Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) (Family Proceedings) Order 2014, article 2. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  5. The Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) (Family Proceedings) (Amendment) Order 2016, SI 2016/891. legislation.gov.uk. In force 3 October 2016. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  6. Routes of appeal (FP201). HM Courts and Tribunals Service. updated 17 August 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  7. In the matter of B (a Child) [2013] UKSC 33. Find Case Law, The National Archives. 12 June 2013. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  8. Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, section 31K: Appeals. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  9. The Family Court (Composition and Distribution of Business) Rules 2014, Part 2: Composition (rules 6 and 7). legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  10. Family Division and Family Court. Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  11. Give details of your appeal to the court: Form N161. HM Courts and Tribunals Service. updated 27 August 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  12. Appellant’s notice for appeals to the Family Division of the High Court: Form FP161. HM Courts and Tribunals Service. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  13. Children Act 1989, section 1: Welfare of the child. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  14. Get help paying court and tribunal fees. GOV.UK. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  15. Family court fees (EX50). HM Courts and Tribunals Service. updated 13 July 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  16. Civil court fees (EX50). HM Courts and Tribunals Service. updated 13 July 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  17. Family Procedure Rules 2010, Part 9: Applications for a financial remedy (rule 9.9A). Ministry of Justice. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  18. Family Court Statistics Quarterly, January to March 2026. Ministry of Justice. 25 June 2026. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  19. Crime and Courts Act 2013, section 17: Civil and family proceedings in England and Wales. legislation.gov.uk. Accessed 5 September 2026.
  20. The Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) (Family Proceedings) Order 2014, SI 2014/602. legislation.gov.uk. In force 22 April 2014. Accessed 5 September 2026.

This article is part of Family Court Wiki, published by Family Legal Ltd. It is general information about the law of England and Wales, not legal advice. Last reviewed 6 September 2026. About this site and editorial policy · Report an error.