FP2 form: general application notice in family proceedings (Part 18)
Form FP2 is the general application notice for the Part 18 procedure of the Family Procedure Rules. It asks the court for an order within existing family proceedings, or in connection with proceedings that have ended, where no more specific form applies.
Fill in the FP2 form with Wren
How Wren helps with the FP2
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 FP2 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 FP2. 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 FP2 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
- Make an application to court within family proceedings: Form FP2
- Edition
- 11.14 (4 pages, including notes on completion). A Welsh-language edition is also published.Source: official page (external source, opens in a new tab)
- What it must say
- What order you are asking for and briefly why, with a draft of the order attached.Source: r 18.7(1),(2) (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Hearing or no hearing
- The notice must be signed and include either a request for a hearing or a request that the application be dealt with without one.Source: para 3.2 (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Serving it
- Serve a copy on each respondent as soon as practicable after filing and at least 7 days before the court deals with it (14 days for an interim order under rule 9.7).Source: r 18.8(1) (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Fee on notice
- £195 for an application on notice where no other fee is specified (fees order 5.3), from 13 July 2026.Source: Applications within proceedings (fees order 5.3) (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Fee by consent or without notice
- £62 for an application by consent or without notice where no other fee is specified (fees order 5.1), from 13 July 2026.Source: Applications within proceedings (fees order 5.1) (external source, opens in a new tab)
Who uses the FP2
A party, or a person who wants the court's permission to do something, making a Part 18 application that C2 or D11 does not cover. In children proceedings under the Children Act 1989 the usual form is C2; in divorce, dissolution and financial remedy proceedings it is D11. The form's own notes give adoption examples, such as permission to apply for contact with a child placed for adoption.
When it is used
When you need an order or permission from the court during a case, before one starts (where no other rule sets the procedure) or after it has ended. Practice Direction 18A says every application should be made as soon as it becomes apparent that it is necessary or desirable.
Before you start
- Check whether C2 (children proceedings) or D11 (divorce, dissolution and financial remedy proceedings) is the right form instead.
- The name of the court and the case number, from any order or letter from the court.
- A draft of the order you want the court to make.
- Any witness statement or affidavit you want to rely on, or the evidence you will set out in Part C.
- Your serial number, if you are a prospective adopter and the court has already given you one.
- Your Help with Fees reference, if you have applied for help with the fee.
How to fill in the FP2
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.
The first page box: court and case
You give the name of the court, the case number or serial number and, if the application concerns a child, the child's name. The date issued is left for the court.
Part A: who is applying and for what
You give your full name (and a second applicant's, if two of you apply), your address, the order you want and, briefly, why. The form's notes explain how to keep your address confidential instead of writing it here.
Part B: evidence, serial numbers and a hearing
You tick whether you rely on an attached witness statement or affidavit, or on evidence in Part C. Prospective adopters can ask for a serial number. A printed line asks for the application to be dealt with without a hearing; you delete it by hand if you want a hearing.
Solicitor and signatures
Page 2 takes your solicitor's details, if you have one, and a signature for each applicant.
Part C: evidence and statement of truth
If you chose Part C, you set out your evidence there. Each applicant signs a statement of truth beneath it. The contents can be used as evidence only if verified by a statement of truth.
Prepare your FP2 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 decides whether the application needs a hearing. If it does, the court officer tells the parties the time, date and place; the court may also give directions for evidence. A copy of the notice must be served on each respondent, usually the other parties to the proceedings. If the court makes an order on an application it allowed without notice, a person not served beforehand can apply to set it aside or vary it within 7 days of being served with the order.
Common mistakes
- Using FP2 where C2 or D11 is the form for that kind of application.
- Not attaching a draft of the order you are asking for.
- Leaving the printed request to deal with the application without a hearing in place when you want a hearing.
- Writing your address or identity into the reasons or evidence after asking for it to be kept confidential.
Common questions
What is the difference between FP2, C2 and D11?
All three are application notices under Part 18 of the Family Procedure Rules. C2 is the usual form in children proceedings and D11 in divorce, dissolution and financial remedy proceedings. FP2 is the general form for other Part 18 applications.
How much does an FP2 application cost?
Where no other fee is specified, £195 on notice or £62 by consent or without notice. Some applications have their own fee. Help with Fees may be available.
Can the court decide without a hearing?
Yes, in some cases, for example where the court does not think a hearing is appropriate or the parties agree the order. The form includes a printed request for no hearing that you delete if you want one.
What is a serial number?
The form's notes say a prospective adopter who does not want their identity known to the child's parents or guardians is given a serial number by the court, and documents sent to the parents show that number instead of their details.
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.
- GOV.UK: Form FP2 (external source, opens in a new tab)
- FPR 2010 Part 18 (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Practice Direction 18A (external source, opens in a new tab)
- GOV.UK: Family court fees (EX50) (external source, opens in a new tab)
- Pinned template FP2 (11.14) (external source, opens in a new tab)