Transparency and reporting in the family courts
This guidance is for parents and family members involved in family court proceedings. It explains transparency orders and reporting of cases by certain journalists and lawyers.
Applies to England and Wales
Parliament has decided that the family justice system should be more open. This means that certain journalists and lawyers are allowed to come to hearings and report on them.
Anything that is reported must be anonymised so that you and your family cannot be identified. This is to help the public understand how the courts work, while still protecting your family’s privacy.
Between 2023 and 2025, the Transparency Implementation Group (TIG) ran a pilot in about half the family courts in England and Wales to see how this worked. There was also an independent evaluation by the National Centre for Social Research. You can read more about the open reporting provisions.
Transparency orders
If the court allows reporting of your case, you will be sent a transparency order. The order details what can and cannot be reported.
A transparency order only allows journalists and lawyers to report on the case – it does not allow anyone else to publish anything about the case.
Journalists and legal bloggers
A journalist is someone who has a UK press card. A legal blogger is a lawyer who is not involved in the case but is authorised to attend hearings just like a journalist.
A UK press card is an identification card produced by the UK Press Authority. It is a blue card with a yellow header saying ‘press’ and a hologram.
A legal blogger will belong to a barristers’ chambers or a law firm, or an organisation such as a university or charity, and will be able to verify who they are.
What documents journalists can access
Journalists will be allowed to see certain basic documents, such as the documents the lawyers produce to help them understand the case. For example, case outlines or position statements.
If a journalist wants to see what is in any other document, they must ask the judge for permission.
Lots of sensitive information will still be private. Your family’s privacy will be protected.
What can and cannot be reported
The transparency order will say that journalists can report the details of your case and case documents, and what has happened at your hearing.
It will also give more detail about which people, places, and organisations can be named, and which ones must not be named. The judge dealing with your case may change the transparency order to make sure it’s right for your family.
Journalists cannot include:
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names of any children or family members involved
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places that the children live or go to
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dates of birth of any children
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photographs of you or the children
Sometimes an order will include other things that must not be included in reports, to make sure that your family cannot be identified by accident.
The transparency order does not allow you to report or publish anything about the case. This is to make sure that you and the children cannot be identified.
Even if there is press coverage of your case, you must not publish anything about it – including posting on social media – and you must not interact with any media coverage, for example, by liking or commenting on posts.
If you publish anything about the case, you could be breaking the law.
Who decides if a case should be reported
The judge will make the final decision about whether your case can be reported on. If you do not want your case to be reported, you will be able to tell the judge before they decide, but you cannot opt out without the judge agreeing.
When the judge is deciding, they will think about all the circumstances of the case and balance the things you are worried about, with the aim of making the family courts’ work more open.
The judge will tell you whether they will:
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allow your request and stop all reporting
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change the transparency order, so that less information can be reported
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leave the transparency order in place
Speaking to journalists
You can only speak to a journalist who has a press card or is an ‘authorised lawyer’.
If the journalist has already attended a hearing in your case, the judge will have checked this, and you can go ahead. If they have not, you should check with the court, so that you can be sure you are not breaking the rules. If in doubt, you should ask to see the journalist’s UK press card or their qualifications.
You do not have to speak to a journalist unless you want to. It is up to the journalist to make sure that what they include in their report is allowed to be published. You are not allowed to share any court documents with a journalist apart from what they already have access to, unless the judge has given permission.
Get help
If you need further information on transparency and reporting in the family courts, you should contact your lawyer.
If you do not have a lawyer, you can contact the court. The transparency order will tell you who to contact about your case.
You can also find the contact details for the court dealing with your case.