Guidance

MyHMCTS: How to apply for a family public law order

Guides for local authorities or their solicitors using MyHMCTS to make a family public law order application.

Documents

Details

Use these guides to help with a family public law application using the MyHMCTS online service. You can you this service to apply for:

  • care orders and interim care orders
  • supervision orders and interim supervision orders
  • emergency protection orders
  • other orders under Part 4 of the Children Act 1989

If you a respondent’s legal representative, read our guidance on how to respond to a family public law order application.

If you are an intermediary, you cannot access MyHMCTS. The local authority will send you any court documents directly as required.

Before you start

Before you start, you might want to read the following MyHMCTS guidance:

Published 18 November 2022
Last updated 6 March 2024 + show all updates
  1. Added information about confidential orders to submit and serve an application, upload other documents, orders or bundles, and make an additional or placement application.

  2. Added new screens and text to upload other documents guide for case file view

  3. Added subsection in main guide about urgent out of hours applications

  4. Added new help information to the guides

  5. Added a line about adding additional court bundles to the Upload other documents, orders or bundles guide

  6. Added a line to set expectation for intermediaries

  7. Added new subsection in additional and placement applications guide for replacing or adding documents after submission

  8. New guidance and screens following updates to the service

  9. Several updates to guides to make instructions clearer and improve signposting following feedback

  10. First published.