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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.

Updates to this page

From:
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
Published:
18 November 2022
Last updated:
3 September 2026
Show all updates

  1. Updates to the images and guidance in the submit and service guide.

  2. Added guidance on making confidential applications to the 'Make an additional or placement application' guide.

  3. Added the manage a query guidance.

  4. Added guidance on how to remove a barrister from a case to the 'Add other legal representatives or a secondary local authority' guide.

  5. Updated the information on making an application for a Home Office order in the 'upload other documents, orders or bundles' guide.

  6. Updated the Make an additional or placement application guide to include confidential address guidance

  7. Added guidance explaining how to remove a Cafcass document if it was uploaded to the wrong case, or contains a confidential address.

  8. Updated several of the guides with clarifications and new functionality

  9. Added information about confidential orders to submit and serve an application, upload other documents, orders or bundles, and make an additional or placement application.

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

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

  12. Added new help information to the guides

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

  14. Added a line to set expectation for intermediaries

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

  16. New guidance and screens following updates to the service

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

  18. First published.

Documents

Assign an external partner to manage the application

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Submit and serve an application

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Upload other documents, orders or bundles

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Add other legal representatives or a secondary local authority

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Make an additional or placement application

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Manage a query

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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:

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