Custody and access applications in the District Court

Custody is the day-to-day care of a child: where the child lives and who looks after them. Access is the time the child spends with the parent, or other person, they do not live with. Both are applied for in the District Court under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 as amended by the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015, and both are decided on the child's best interests. This guide explains who can apply, the mediation step most courts expect first, the application, how the child's views are heard, what the hearing looks like, what an order contains, and how it is varied. It explains procedure only; family law is heard in camera and nothing here comes from any case.

In 2025 the District Court received 11,200 applications under the 1964 Act, covering guardianship, custody and access.

Who can apply

• A parent, married or not, and whether or not a guardian. An unmarried father who is not a guardian can still apply for custody or access; the guardianship guide explains the separate guardianship application.
• A guardian who is not a parent.
• A grandparent or other relative of the child, or a person who has acted in loco parentis, for access. The 2015 Act widened this, and the court office will tell you whether a preliminary application is needed in your case.
• A step-parent, civil partner or cohabitant of a parent who has shared the child's day-to-day care, for custody, under the 2015 Act.

Custody can be sole or joint. Where unmarried parents separate, the mother has custody unless the court orders otherwise; married parents are joint custodians, and on separation the court decides how the child's time is divided. Joint custody does not mean an equal split of time; it means both parents share the day-to-day decisions and the child has a home with each.

Mediation first

The Legal Aid Board's Family Mediation Service is free, regardless of means, and mediates parenting arrangements. Private mediators are also available. The Mediation Act 2017 requires a solicitor to tell a client about mediation before issuing proceedings and to file a statutory declaration confirming that advice was given, and a judge can adjourn a case to let the parties mediate. A mediated parenting plan can be made a court order by consent, which gives it the same force as a contested order.

Mediation is not expected where there has been domestic violence, and the court will not press it in those circumstances; the safety and barring orders guide explains how access can be dealt with inside a domestic violence order.

The application

The application is made on the family law form at the District Court office for the district where either parent lives; in Dublin at the family law office at Dolphin House. Use find a court. There is no fee. The forms were cut from 37 to 7 in June 2025 under S.I. No. 219/2025, and the same form covers guardianship, custody and access, so tick everything you are asking for.

Set out the children's names and dates of birth, where they live now, what arrangement you are asking for, and briefly why. The office issues a summons with the hearing date, which is served on the other parent by registered post or in person as the office directs. Keep the proof of service.

Civil legal aid from the Legal Aid Board covers custody and access applications, with a means test and a contribution. You can also represent yourself.

The child's views

Article 42A of the Constitution and the 2015 Act require the court to take the views of the child into account in proceedings about custody and access, giving them weight according to the child's age and maturity. The District Court does this in one of three ways:

• The judge takes account of what the parents say the child wants, tested in evidence.
• The court appoints an expert, usually a child psychologist or a social worker, to meet the child and report on the child's views and welfare. The court decides who pays for the report; where neither parent can, the report may not be available, and the office will tell you the position in your district.
• In some cases the judge meets the child, with the parties' agreement, in a way the judge decides.

A child is not asked to choose between parents in court, and the decision is the court's. The weight given to a child's view grows with age; there is no age at which the view decides the matter.

Before the hearing

Prepare a written proposal: the days and times you propose, where handovers happen, how holidays, birthdays and Christmas are divided, how school runs and activities work, and how the child keeps contact with the other parent when with you. A judge faced with two proposals can work from them; a judge faced with grievances has to build an arrangement from nothing.

Bring the documents that show the current pattern: school reports, a calendar of the time the child has spent with each parent, messages arranging handovers, and anything about the child's needs. Leave out what the other parent did wrong in the relationship unless it bears on the child's welfare. The court day checklist builds a list for a family law hearing.

The hearing

Custody and access are heard on a family law day, in camera. The clerk calls the list; when your case is called, both parents come forward. The applicant gives sworn evidence first, the other parent can ask questions, then the other parent gives evidence and the applicant can ask questions. The judge asks questions of both, and often asks each parent what arrangement they could live with.

The 2015 Act lists what the court considers: the benefit to the child of a meaningful relationship with each parent and with relatives; the child's views; the child's physical, psychological and emotional needs, including the effect of change; the history of the child's upbringing and care; any harm the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering, including domestic violence; the capacity of each parent to meet the child's needs and to co-operate with the other; and the proposals each parent makes. Where one parent has obstructed contact without good reason, the Act lets the court take that into account.

Many cases settle at the door of the court, and a consent order is drawn up in the terms agreed. Where the case is contested, the court may make the order the same day, adjourn for a report, or make an interim order for a period and list the case again to see how it works.

What the order contains

A custody order says who the child lives with, or that custody is joint. An access order sets out:

• the regular pattern: which days, from what time to what time, and overnight stays;
• holiday access: school holidays, Christmas, Easter, the summer, and how they alternate;
• special days: birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, religious occasions;
• handovers: where, who collects, who returns;
• other contact: phone and video calls, and how often;
• conditions where needed: supervised access, a named supervisor, no alcohol, no removal from the State, no overnight stays until a date.

Ask for specifics. "Reasonable access" is an order that each parent can read differently; "every second weekend from 6 pm Friday to 6 pm Sunday, collected from and returned to the mother's home" is an order that can be kept and, if necessary, enforced. The breach of an access order guide explains the enforcement orders the 2015 Act introduced.

Access orders say nothing about maintenance, and maintenance orders say nothing about access. Neither depends on the other: a parent cannot stop access because maintenance is unpaid, nor stop paying because access is refused. The maintenance guide covers that application.

Varying the order

Children grow, parents move and jobs change. Either parent can apply back to the District Court to vary a custody or access order, on the same form, with the same best-interests test, and the court can vary, suspend or discharge the order. The existing order stays in force until the court changes it; an arrangement both parents agree to informally is sensible, but the order is what the court enforces, so if the agreed change is to last, have it made a consent order.

An appeal lies to the Circuit Court within 14 days, with a €25 fee, and is a full rehearing.

Where this leaves you

Try the free mediation service first unless there is a reason not to, and bring a written proposal to court whatever happens. Use the court date tool to count the days to the hearing and find the family law office, and keep a calendar of the child's time with each parent from today.

Civil legal aid from the Legal Aid Board covers these applications subject to its means test, and its Family Mediation Service is free for everyone. Where the background includes violence or control, the support page lists the services that can help with the hearing. The sister site DivorceWise covers custody and access where the parents are married and separating.