Guidance

Appeal a decision in a family law case

Find out how to appeal a decision made in family law proceedings, including decisions made in the family court or the Family Division of the High Court.

• From: HM Courts & Tribunals Service
• Published: 1 November 2016

Before you appeal

You can only appeal if you have legal grounds.

For example, you may have legal grounds if:

• the court made a serious legal mistake
• the correct procedure was not followed

You cannot appeal just because you disagree with the decision or think it was unfair.

If you lose your appeal, the court may order you to pay the other person’s costs. This includes the costs of their legal representative, if they have one.

You should get legal advice from a legal representative before you appeal. You can also get free legal information and advice from a law centre. You can find out more about how to get help.

If you were not at the hearing

If you did not attend a hearing and the court made an order against you, you may be able to apply to have the order set aside instead of appealing. This means asking the court to cancel the order and hear the case again.

You will need to give evidence to support your application. The court will only set aside the order if it agrees that you:

• acted quickly after finding out about the order
• had a good reason for not attending the hearing
• would have a reasonable chance of success if the case was heard again

To apply to set aside an order, you must complete an application notice (form N244) and send it to the same court that made the order.

This does not apply to financial remedy orders made in family proceedings. Different rules apply in those cases, so you should get legal advice before applying.

Check if you need permission to appeal

In most cases, you will need to get permission to appeal from the court.

If you do need permission, you can apply for it at the same time as making your appeal.

A judge will only grant permission if they think the appeal has a real chance of succeeding, or there is another good reason for the appeal to be heard.

If permission to appeal was already granted at the hearing where the decision was made, you do not need to apply for permission again.

You also do not need permission if you are appealing one of the following types of decisions:

• committal order – an order sending someone to prison for being in contempt of court, for example for not following a court order
• refusal to grant habeas corpus – an order that says a person in prison must be judged by a court before they can be forced by law to stay in prison
• secure accommodation order made under section 25 of the Children Act 1989
• secure accommodation order made under section 119 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014

Second appeals

A second appeal is an appeal against the decision of an earlier appeal.

If you make a second appeal, you must apply to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal will only hear a second appeal in exceptional cases. This is usually where the appeal raises an important legal issue that could affect other cases, or there is another strong reason why the Court of Appeal should hear it.

You can only make a second appeal if the earlier appeal was fully heard. This means there was a hearing or decision about the appeal itself, not just a decision about permission to appeal.

You cannot make a second appeal if permission to appeal was refused at a hearing.

How long you have to appeal

You have a limited time to appeal after the court makes its decision.

If the court set a deadline when they made the decision, you must appeal by that deadline.

If the court did not set a time limit, you usually have 21 days to appeal.

However, you must appeal within 7 days if you are appealing either:

• a case management decision
• an interim care order made under section 38(1) of the Children Act 1989

Court of Appeal cases

If you are appealing to the Court of Appeal, you usually have 21 days to appeal.

Some appeals to the Court of Appeal have different time limits. You can find the full list of exceptions in the time limits for appealing to the Court of Appeal.

Fees

In most cases, you will need to pay a court fee when you appeal.

The amount you need to pay depends on:

• which court you appeal to
• which appeal form you use

You can find out more about appeal fees and how to pay them.

You may be able to get help with fees if you cannot afford to pay.

Which court you can appeal to

Which court you can appeal to depends on:

• which court made the decision
• who made the decision, for example if it was made by a judge, magistrates or a justices’ legal adviser

If you are unsure who made the decision, you can:

• check the court order or judgment
• contact the court that made the decision

You can find contact details for the court.

Decisions made in the family court

This section is for decisions made in the family court. It explains which court you need to apply to, based on who made the decision.

If the decision was made in the High Court, go to the decisions made in the High Court section.

Use this section if the decision was made in the family court and decided by:

Once you know which court to appeal to, you can find contact details for the court.

Decisions made by magistrates, or a justices’ legal adviser

If the decision was made by one or more magistrates, or by a justices’ legal adviser, you should appeal to the family court.

Decisions made by a district judge

If the decision was made by a district judge, you should appeal to the family court.

Decisions made by a Senior District Judge of the Family Division (financial remedy cases)

If the decision was about financial remedy and made by a Senior District Judge of the Family Division, you should appeal to the family court.

Decisions made by a circuit judge or recorder

If the decision was made by a circuit judge or recorder, you should appeal to the High Court.

This does not apply if the appeal is from:

• a decision or order in proceedings under Part 4 of 5, or paragraph 19(1), of Schedule 2 of the Children Act 1989 or the Adoption and Children Act 2002

• a decision or order about contempt of court (for example, not following a court order)
• a decision made on appeal to the family court (also known as a second appeal)

In these cases, you should appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Decisions made by a costs judge

If the decision was made by a costs judge, you should appeal to the family court.

Decisions made by a High Court judge

If the decision was made by a High Court judge, you should appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Decisions made by any other judge in the family court

If the decision was made by any other judge in the family court, you should appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Decisions made in the High Court

This section is for decisions made in the High Court. It explains which court you’ll need to apply to, based on who made the decision.

If the decision was made in the family court, go to the decisions made in the family court section.

You should appeal to the High Court if the decision was made by:

• a district judge of the High Court
• a deputy district judge of the High Court
• a Senior District Judge of the Family Division
• a district judge of the Family Division
• a costs judge, or a person acting as a deputy for a costs judge

If the decision was made by a High Court judge, you should appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Once you know which court to appeal to, you can find contact details for the court.

How to appeal

To appeal, you must complete an appeal form, sometimes called an appellant’s notice.

You cannot introduce new evidence without the appeal court’s permission. New evidence is evidence that was not used at your hearing, or that became available after the hearing.

Which appeal form to use

The appeal form you need to use depends on which court you are appealing to.

Use form N161 if you are appealing to:

• the family court
• the Court of Appeal

Use form FP161 if you are appealing to the Family Division of the High Court.

Applying for permission to appeal

If you need permission to appeal, you can apply for it at the same time as making your appeal.

Forms N161 and FP 161 include a section to apply for permission, which you must complete if permission is needed.

After you appeal

This section explains what happens after you submit your appeal and what you may need to do next.

The court will tell you what happens next and if you need to take any further action.

Sending copies of your application to the respondent

After you submit your appeal form, the court will usually send copies of the documents you filed to the respondent (the other person in the case).

If you want to send the documents yourself, you must tell the court by email or post. The court will send you copies stamped with a court seal. You can find contact details for the court.

You must send these to the respondent within 7 days of the date you made your appeal.

If you made your appeal to the Court of Appeal, you must send the respondent:

• a copy of the appellant’s notice stamped with the court seal
• the grounds of appeal

You must do this within 7 days of the date you made your appeal.

What happens if you do not need permission to appeal

If you do not need permission to appeal, or you already have permission, the court will consider your appeal.

This may happen without a hearing. In some cases, the appeal may be decided based on the documents you have submitted.

If a hearing is needed, the court will tell you. They will also tell you whether you need to attend.

What happens if you asked for permission to appeal

A judge will consider your request. This usually happens without a hearing.

The court will then send you a written decision (also known as an ‘order’) explaining what the judge has decided.

If permission to appeal is granted, it may be granted:

• in full
• with limits on what you can appeal

The order will tell you which parts of the decision you are allowed to appeal.

If your request for permission is refused, you may be able to ask for the decision to be reconsidered at a hearing. You must do this within 7 days of receiving the order.

In some cases, you cannot ask for the decision to be reconsidered. The order will tell you if this applies to your case.

If permission is refused again after a hearing, you cannot appeal that decision to another court.

If you asked the Court of Appeal for permission and it was refused, you cannot make another application for permission.

If you made another application at the same time as your appeal

If you made another application when you appealed (for example, to ask for more time to collect documents), the court will either:

• arrange a hearing and tell you the date and time
• make a decision without a hearing and send you their decision

If the respondent also appeals

In some cases, the respondent may also appeal.

This might happen if they believe the court made a legal mistake.

If the respondent appeals, they must ask for permission (if needed) and complete an appeal form. They must send copies of their application to you.

The court will usually hear the respondent’s appeal at the same time as yours.

Reopening a final appeal decision

The family court cannot reopen a final appeal decision.

Only the Family Division of the High Court can reopen a final appeal decision, but this will only happen in very rare circumstances. The court would only consider reopening an appeal if:

• refusing to do so would risk serious injustice
• the circumstances are exceptional
• there is no other way to deal with the problem

Get help

You can get help if you are not sure how to appeal or need legal advice.

Law centres

Law centres provide free legal advice to people who cannot afford a lawyer. Some offer face to face advice and other offer telephone advice.

Find a law centre near you

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice offers free, confidential advice online, over the phone and in person.

Get help from Citizens Advice

Published 1 November 2016