Statutory Instrument 2025/1242 updates the Family Procedure Rules 2010. Made on 20 November 2025 and laid before Parliament on 27 November 2025, it introduces targeted changes to the children’s guardian appointment rule, confidentiality of parties’ contact details, and the route and forum for seeking permission to appeal. The Rules are made by the Family Procedure Rule Committee under sections 75 and 76(8) of the Courts Act 2003 and apply in England and Wales.
Commencement is staged: rules 1 to 3 take effect on 5 January 2026; rule 5 on 2 March 2026; and rule 4 on 1 June 2026. Case management, templates and filing practices should be aligned to these dates.
Rule 16.4 is corrected to remove the residual cross‑reference to rule 8.42 in the provision on appointing a children’s guardian in non‑specified proceedings. Rule 8.42 was omitted by the Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023; this amendment brings the text into line with current law without changing the underlying duty to appoint a guardian where required.
Rule 29.1 is clarified on confidentiality of personal details. The text will confirm that the specified contact details need not be revealed to anyone other than the court, and that a party may give notice to keep either their own, or another party’s, details confidential. Judicial discretion to direct otherwise is preserved.
Rule 30.3 is recast on permission to appeal. Where the decision was made by a lay justice or a bench of lay justices, or is of a type identified in Practice Direction 30A, permission is required. In such cases the application for permission must be made to the appeal court in an appeal notice, not to the court that made the decision.
In practice, advocates should not seek permission to appeal from lay magistrates at the end of a hearing on or after 2 March 2026. The correct step is to file an appeal notice with the appeal court and ask for permission there, following PD30A and the existing Part 30 timelines.
Centralising permission at the appellate tier reflects existing guidance that most permission applications are determined on the papers by the appeal court. The change should improve consistency of appellate case management across circuits while keeping first‑instance hearings focused on disposal.
For confidentiality, practitioners should adjust forms and service statements that currently include residential addresses by default. From 1 June 2026, requests to withhold addresses and other contact details should be directed to the court, and can be framed to protect another party where safeguarding concerns arise.
The instrument extends to England and Wales only and modifies procedure rather than substantive family law. Routes of appeal and confidentiality handling are updated, but no jurisdictional expansion or change to remedies is introduced.
The Explanatory Note confirms that no full impact assessment has been produced, with no significant impact anticipated across the public, private or voluntary sectors.