An interim care order is a temporary court order made while care proceedings continue. It gives the local authority parental responsibility alongside you and may affect decisions about your child’s placement, contact and day-to-day care.
It does not automatically decide the final outcome of the case. The court uses the order to manage risk while evidence is gathered, assessments are completed and longer-term arrangements are considered.
If you have been told that the local authority wants an interim care order, we understand how frightening that can feel. You may be worried about where your child will live, what decisions you can still make and what will happen next. In this guide, we explain:
An interim care order is a temporary order the Family Court can make under section 38 of the Children Act 1989 while an application for a care order or supervision order is ongoing. It allows the local authority to share parental responsibility and manage temporary arrangements while evidence and assessments are completed.
Key points:
The purpose of the order is to protect your child and provide a legal framework for their care while the court gathers more information. This may include parenting assessments, medical evidence, social-work reports and family-placement assessments.
The court will consider whether an interim care order is necessary based on the evidence available at that stage. It does not make one simply because care proceedings have started, and it does not decide the final outcome of the case.
In simple terms, the court must consider whether your child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, serious harm because of the care being provided, the care likely to be provided, or because the child is beyond parental control.
At this stage, the court is not making a final decision about every allegation. It is making an interim assessment based on the evidence available at that time.
The court must also consider:
If the local authority is asking for your child to be removed immediately, the court should focus on whether the risks are urgent and cannot safely wait until the final hearing.
This means removal should not be treated as automatic. The court should consider whether your child can remain safely at home, whether extra support could reduce the risk or whether a family placement is available.
Any disputed allegations may still need to be investigated and tested later in the proceedings.
Where your child lives will depend on the interim care plan, the evidence and what the court considers safe and appropriate.
Your child may remain living with you, or their other parent. Stay with a relative or trusted family friend. Move into foster care, or live in another approved placement.
If the local authority is proposing removal, the court can examine whether this is genuinely necessary. You can oppose the proposal, challenge the evidence or suggest a safer and less disruptive alternative.
For example, you may ask the court to consider whether additional support could allow your child to remain at home. You may also put forward a relative or connected person who could care for your child temporarily.
The local authority does not have unrestricted power to decide placement without scrutiny. The court must consider the proposed arrangement, the risks involved and whether removal is proportionate.
A child can remain at home under an interim care order where the court considers that arrangement safe and suitable.
You do not lose parental responsibility when the court makes an interim care order. Instead, the local authority gains parental responsibility and shares it with you while the order remains in force.
This can change how important decisions about your child are made, but it does not remove you from your child’s life or make the local authority their parent.
The local authority may decide how far you can exercise parental responsibility where this is necessary to safeguard or promote your child’s welfare. In practice, this may affect decisions about:
The local authority should still consult you and consider your wishes when making important decisions. However, it may have the final say where it believes this is necessary to protect your child.
The extent of the local authority’s involvement will depend on the care plan, the court’s orders and your child’s individual circumstances.
Yes. You retain parental responsibility and should continue to be involved in discussions about your child’s care.
You can raise concerns about placement, education, medical treatment or contact through your solicitor. Where an important issue cannot be resolved, it may be possible to ask the court to consider it.
An interim care order is different from adoption or a placement order. It does not permanently transfer parental responsibility or decide that your child will be adopted. It is a temporary arrangement while the court considers the wider case.
GOV.UK describes the first interim care order as lasting for up to eight weeks. However, changes introduced by the Children and Families Act 2014 removed the former statutory limits that required an initial eight-week order followed by repeated four-week renewals. The exact wording and duration will therefore depend on the order made and the progress of the proceedings.
Yes. An interim care order may continue beyond eight weeks while the care proceedings remain ongoing.
The court will manage the order alongside the case timetable. Care proceedings should usually conclude within 26 weeks, although the court may grant extensions where more time is needed to resolve the case justly.
This means an interim care order can remain in place for longer than six months where the wider proceedings are extended. However, the fact that it continues does not mean a final care order will automatically follow.
An interim care order may end when:
Your solicitor can check the exact wording of the order and explain when it is due to end. They can also advise whether there are grounds to ask the court to vary or discharge it before the proceedings finish.
The hearing may involve:
Your solicitor will explain who is expected to attend and whether you may need to give evidence.
The court will usually consider the local authority’s written evidence, the interim care plan and any information about current risks. It may also look at proposed placements, contact arrangements and whether a relative could care for your child.
If important facts or risks are disputed, the court may hear oral evidence. This means that parents, social workers or other witnesses may be asked questions about what has happened and what arrangements are being proposed.
You should give your solicitor full instructions and provide any relevant documents as early as possible. You should also identify relatives or family friends who may be able to care for your child.
An interim care order can be made by agreement, but you should only agree once you understand the effect of the order. If no agreement is reached, the court will hear the arguments and make the decision.
Yes. You can oppose the interim care order itself or challenge particular parts of the local authority’s proposed care plan.
The court’s focus is your child’s immediate safety and welfare. It is not there to punish you. Any challenge should therefore concentrate on the evidence, the level of risk and whether safer alternatives are available.
Depending on the circumstances, your legal team may argue that:
The right argument will depend on the facts of your case. Opposing the order does not simply mean disagreeing with the social worker. You will usually need a clear and realistic alternative proposal.
Useful evidence may include proof of changes you have made, records of appointments or support, information about your home and details of relatives who can offer safe care.
Possible family carers should be identified early so the local authority has time to assess them. Delaying this may reduce the options available at an urgent hearing.
Do not sign or agree to an order you do not understand. Speak to your solicitor first so they can explain the consequences and advise you on the strongest way to present your position.
Yes. An interim care order is not fixed for the rest of the proceedings. The court can vary it, discharge it or replace it if the circumstances change or new evidence becomes available.
The court may consider changing the order where the existing arrangements no longer reflect your child’s needs or the evidence.
This might happen if:
A change does not happen automatically. Your solicitor can advise whether there is enough new evidence to ask the court to reconsider the arrangements.
You can ask your solicitor whether an application to discharge the interim care order is appropriate. The court will consider whether the order is still necessary and what arrangement would protect your child’s welfare.
There usually needs to be a meaningful change in the evidence or circumstances. Repeated applications based on the same information may not help your case and could create further delay.
Discharging an interim care order during ongoing proceedings is different from applying to discharge a final care order after the case has ended. The legal position and evidence required are not the same.
Depending on the case, contact may be:
The local authority will usually propose the initial arrangements. If you believe the contact is too limited, unsuitable or not working well, your solicitor can raise the issue with the local authority or ask the court to consider it.
There is no automatic minimum amount of contact under an interim care order. The court will look at what is safe, practical and in your child’s best interests.
You should attend consistently, arrive on time and follow any agreed conditions. If problems arise, discuss them with your solicitor promptly rather than allowing the arrangements to break down.
|
Point of comparison |
Interim care order |
Final care order |
|
Timing |
Made while care proceedings are ongoing |
Made when the court reaches its final decision |
|
Legal test |
Based on reasonable grounds for believing the section 31 threshold circumstances exist |
The court must be satisfied that the section 31 threshold is met |
|
Purpose |
Protects the child and regulates temporary arrangements |
Provides a longer-term legal framework for the child’s care |
|
Duration |
Temporary and linked to the ongoing proceedings |
Continues until the child turns 18 unless discharged earlier |
|
Evidence available |
Based on the evidence available at the interim stage |
Made after assessments, statements and other evidence have been considered |
|
Final outcome |
Has not yet been decided |
The court has determined the case |
|
Review or discharge |
Can be varied, replaced or discharged during proceedings |
Requires a separate application to discharge the final order |
Both orders give the local authority parental responsibility alongside the parents. However, an interim care order does not mean that a final care order will inevitably follow.
The court may later make a different order, approve another care arrangement or decide that no final care order is required.
An interim care order is not the only temporary arrangement the court or local authority may use. The legal effect is different in each case, particularly around parental responsibility and consent.
An interim care order gives the local authority parental responsibility alongside the parents. An interim supervision order does not.
Under an interim supervision order, the local authority can advise, assist and support the child and family. The child may remain at home, and parents keep full parental responsibility.
An emergency protection order is a short-term emergency order used where a child may need immediate protection.
It has a different legal test and purpose from an interim care order. It is usually used in urgent situations before, or at the very start of, wider care proceedings.
Section 20 accommodation is based on parental agreement. It allows the local authority to provide accommodation for a child without obtaining a care order.
The local authority does not gain parental responsibility under section 20. Parents retain it and may be able to withdraw their agreement, subject to the individual circumstances and any safeguarding concerns.
If the local authority is seeking an interim care order, get specialist legal advice immediately. These applications can move quickly, and the first hearing may involve important decisions about where your child lives and what contact takes place.
You should:
Your solicitor can help you understand the evidence, prepare a safe alternative proposal and make sure your position is properly presented at the hearing.
If the local authority is seeking an interim care order, getting advice early can make a significant difference to how well prepared you are for the hearing.
TBI Law can review the local authority’s evidence, the interim care plan and the section 38 threshold. We can also advise you on:
If you are a parent, or another person with parental responsibility, and you are responding to issued care proceedings, you will generally be entitled to non-means, non-merits tested Legal Aid.
Your solicitor will deal with the funding application and explain how Legal Aid applies to your case. This automatic position does not extend to every relative or proposed carer, whose eligibility may depend on their role and circumstances.
Urgent representation may be needed before the first or interim hearing. If you have received court papers or been told that an interim care order will be sought, contact TBI Law as soon as possible so we can review the application and help you prepare.
Our care proceedings solicitors can represent you at urgent, first and contested interim hearings. We can also support you through the wider proceedings, including assessments, care planning and later court hearings.
TBI Law provides wider Family Law and Children support for parents dealing with children’s services across Teesside, Hartlepool, Sunderland and the wider North East.
