How does the CSA sort out disputes about parentage?
We have three ways of sorting out disputes about parentage:
- presumed parentage
- DNA testing
- referring the dispute to a court to make a decision.
What is presumed parentage?
If there is a particular reason to believe that the person named as the parent of a child is, in fact, the parent we are entitled, by law, to presume they are the parent.
This allows us to work out how much child maintenance should be paid and to send a letter to the person named as the child's parent that tells them they must pay that amount. This arrangement will continue until the person named can produce evidence to show that they are not, in fact, the child's parent.
When can the CSA presume parentage?
We can presume that a person named as the parent of a child is the father if they:
- were married to the child's mother at any time between the conception and the birth of the child (if the child has not since been adopted)
- are named as the father of a child on the child's birth certificate and the child has not been adopted since the birth certificate was completed.
We can presume that the person named as the parent of a child is the parent if they:
- refuse to take a DNA test
- have taken a DNA test that shows they are the parent
- have adopted the child
- are named in a court order as the parent of a child where the child was born to a surrogate mother (a woman who has carried the child for another person)
- are a person who, by law, is said to be the parent of a child born as a result of fertility treatment (under Section 27 or 28 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990)
- have been declared to be a parent of a child in a 'declaration of parentage' made by a court, and the child has not since been adopted (in Scotland this is called a 'declarator of parentage')
- have been found or judged to be the parent by a court, even if parentage was not the central issue of the case.
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If I am named as the parent of a child, can I appeal to the CSA against presumed parentage?
Technically, no. The person named as the parent of a child can only appeal against a decision about how we work out child maintenance. They can do this on the grounds that they are not the parent of the child, but it is up to them to provide evidence that they are not the parent.
We must receive any appeal within one month of the date of the letter we sent to the person named as the parent of the child. This letter tells them how child maintenance has been worked out.
Or, the person named as the parent of a child can apply direct to a court at any time to prove they are not the child's parent. They would apply for a 'declaration of non-parentage' (or a 'declarator of non-parentage' in Scotland).
The courts will usually ask the person named as the parent of a child to take a DNA test. If the person refuses, the court may assume that they are, in fact, the parent of the child.
Going to court to prove parentage is not the same as appealing against a child maintenance decision. However, if the court makes a declaration of non-parentage, that person will no longer be expected to pay child maintenance for that child.
When do we refer decisions to the court?
In certain cases, such as if a child is born as a result of fertility treatment, a DNA test may not be appropriate and we cannot presume the parentage. In these cases, we may apply to a court and ask them to decide.
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