C15 form: apply for contact with a child in care (supplement to C1)
Form C15 is a short supplement for an application for contact with a child who is in the care of a local authority. It asks how you are related to the child and what order you are asking for, and why.
Fill in the C15 form with Wren
How Wren helps with the C15
Official forms are written for lawyers. With Wren you do not have to decode this one on your own, and you still follow the court’s procedure.
- Plain questions, one at a timeEach part of the C15 becomes short questions in everyday words. Answer at your own pace and come back to it.
- Help beside each questionWhat the question is asking and what the official guidance says about it, in plain English.
- The official form, filled inYour answers go into the official C15. You check it, sign it and send it yourself. Nothing goes to the court for you.
- What comes next, kept with your caseWhat usually happens after you send it, with the dates worked out from the published rules.
Time and money
- On your own
- A day or more
- With Wren
- About an hour for most forms
- Solicitor for this form
- £740 to £1,2403 to 5 hours
A solicitor’s time for the C15 can run to £1,240. With Wren it is part of £19.99 a month, and it takes about an hour for most forms rather than a day or more.
Times and hours are Wren’s estimates for a typical case, not quotes. Solicitor costs are those hours at £247 an hour, the courts’ guideline rate for a solicitor with over four years’ experience, outside London (GOV.UK, Solicitors' guideline hourly rates (in effect from 1 January 2026)). The guideline runs from £200 to £295 an hour outside London depending on experience, firms set their own rates, and VAT is added on top.
Key facts
- Official title
- Supplement for an application for contact with a child in care: Form C15
- Edition
- 9.99 (1 page). It is still the current GOV.UK version.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- The law
- Children Act 1989, section 34 (contact with children in care)Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Evidence
- If you rely on a report or other document, state its date and author and enclose a copySource: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
Who uses the C15
A parent or guardian of a child in care, or someone who held a residence order or had care of the child through an order in force immediately before the care order was made.
When it is used
When you apply to the court about contact with a child who is subject to a care order, under section 34(2) and (3) of the Children Act 1989.
Before you start
- The full names of the children.
- How you are related to them: parent, guardian, or holder of an order in force before the care order.
- Any report or document you will rely on, with its date and author.
How to fill in the C15
Open each part for what it asks and how to answer it. In Wren, each part is a few plain questions, and your answers fill in the form.
Your relationship to the children
You state whether you are a parent or guardian, held a residence order in force immediately before the care order, or had care of the children through an order in force immediately before it.
The order applied for and your reasons
You say what contact order you are asking for and why. If you rely on a report or other document, give its date and author and enclose a copy.
Signing
You sign and date the form on paper.
Prepare your C15 with Wren Family
Wren Family turns official forms into short, plain-English questions you can answer at your own pace. You check everything before you send it: nothing goes to the court for you.
Get startedFree for 14 days, no card. Then £19.99 a month, with your money back within 14 days if it’s not right.
What happens after you send it
The court considers the application with the local authority that has the child in its care. It may list a hearing and ask the parties for statements.
Common mistakes
- Leaving out a copy of a report you refer to. The form asks you to enclose it.
- Writing a long statement. The boxes are for a summary.
Common questions
Is this the main application?
C15 is a supplement. The main application form is the C1, which says not to complete its own reasons section when a supplement is sent with it.
Where these facts come from
These are the official rules and pages this page is based on. They are listed so you can check a detail for yourself; you do not need them to use Wren. They are outside Wren and open in a new tab.