prohibited steps orders

A prohibited steps order is:

'… an order that no step which could be taken by a parent in meeting his parental responsibility for a child, and which is of a kind specified in the order, shall be taken by any person without the consent of the court…'

It allows the court to place a specific embargo on the exercise of parental responsibility.

A prohibited steps order may be made against anyone, regardless of whether they have parental responsibility, eg to restrain a former cohabitant from contacting or seeking to have contact. An order may be made against a person who is not a party to the proceedings.

An order may deal with a specific issue such as prohibiting the removal of a child from the UK (where no child arrangements order (CAO) is in force) or preventing the removal of a child from their home. See Practice Note: Leave to remove—external relocation. An order may also be sought to prevent one parent from moving with the child from one part of the UK to another, see