Mothers under 16

If you are under 16 and have a baby, you have the same legal rights and responsibilities towards the child as any mother.

Maintenance

As a young mother, you can apply to the Child Support Agency for a maintenance assessment to be carried out in respect of your child. This applies if you are not living with the father of your child.

Fathers under 16

As a father aged under 16, you have no automatic parental responsibilities and rights. However, if you jointly register the birth of your child with the child's mother on or after 4 May 2006, you will automatically acquire full parental responsibilities and rights which you will share with the child's mother.

Alternatively, if the mother agrees, you can make a parental responsibilities agreement with her before you are 16 but you may not be able to enforce any rights until you are 16.

If as a young father you need to seek advice about applying for a parental responsibility agreement, you should consult an experienced adviser for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau.

Maintenance

If you are aged under 16 and you father a child, the Child Support Agency can expect you to pay maintenance. Once the Agency is satisfied that you are the father, you will be expected to make maintenance payments when you begin earning or receiving a benefit.

Fathers over 16

Since Dec 2003 a father has parental responsibility whether or not he is married to the child's mother. If the father does not have day to day responsibility for looking after their child then they may be liable to pay Child Support Maintenance. Child support maintenance is money paid to the child's mother to support the child.