Parental responsibilities and rights

As a parent you've a responsibility to look after the growth, health and welfare of your child.

Parental Responsibilities and Rights is an extremely complex area of law. In UK law, the person who gives birth is the baby’s mother.

Parental Responsibilities and Rights

If you have Parental Responsibilities and Rights (PRRs), you can make major decisions about your baby, such as:

• where they live
• what school they go to

PRRs are automatically given to baby's mother. For your baby’s father to have the same responsibilities and rights:

• they can be married to you at the time of your baby's conception or at any time after
• they can be named as the father on the birth certificate
• both of you can register a Parental Responsibilities and Parental Rights Agreement to give him PRRs
• a court can give father PRRs

mygov has more information about parental responsibilities and rights

Settling disputes

It’s best for a child to grow up with the involvement of both parents in their lives, as long as this is practical and in their best interests. If there's a dispute, you can get help to resolve it or ask a court to make a decision.

While it’s not legally binding, a Parenting Plan can help settle any differences between you and your child's other parent as your child grows older.

mygov has more about making a parenting plan

Artificial insemination

If your baby was conceived by donor insemination or fertility treatment, and:

• you're married or in a civil partnership - your civil partner or spouse is the child’s other legal parent unless they didn’t agree to the insemination or treatment
• you're not married - you can nominate someone else to be the child’s other parent (such as a cohabiting partner) at the time if it was done at a licensed fertility clinic in the UK

Registering the birth

Your midwife or hospital staff will inform the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages that your baby's been born.

How to register the birth

You may need to make an appointment with your local registration (register or registry) office to register the birth.

When you go to register, take:

• the birth card given to you by the hospital or your midwife
• your marriage or civil partnership certificate, if appropriate

mygov has more about registering a birth in Scotland

Transgender or non-binary parents

If you’re a transgender or non-binary parent who has given birth you’ll need to register as your baby’s mother on the birth certificate.

Stonewall and the Equality Network have more about trans parenting rights.

Translations and alternative formats of this information are available from Public Health Scotland.