Last updated: September 2026
by Jess Knauf, Director of Client Strategy at Mediate UK. Reviewed by Belinda Atkins, Managing Director, Family Legal Ltd. Information reflects current family law and court procedure in England and Wales as of 9 September 2026.
Key Points
- There is no official worked example published by HMCTS. The example below is written by us to show the level of detail a court expects.
- Every name and detail here is invented. It is an illustration, not a real case, and it should not be copied word for word.
- Short, factual, dated answers work best. The most common problem is not too little writing but too much of the wrong kind.
- Section 4 is signed by a mediator, not by you, unless you are claiming an exemption.
- Section 10 decides whether you also need a C1A. Tick yes there and the C1A goes with the application.
- Do not argue your case on the form. The C100 opens the application. Your evidence comes later.
Quick Answer
There is no official example of a completed C100 form, so this page shows a worked example written by our team using an invented case. It walks through the sections a judge actually reads, with the kind of answers that work and the kind that cause queries. Use it as a guide to level of detail, never as wording to copy.
[ez-toc]
Looking for an example of a completed C100 form is one of the most sensible things you can do before you start. The blank form tells you what it asks. It does not tell you how much to write, how specific to be, or which answers raise questions.
What follows is a worked example based on an entirely invented family, section by section, with a note on why each answer is written that way.
The invented case used below
Alex Warren and Jordan Warren separated in March 2026 after eleven years together. They have two children, Ivy (aged 9) and Noah (aged 6), who live with Jordan. Alex saw the children every other weekend until June, when the arrangement broke down after a disagreement about a summer holiday. Alex attended a MIAM in August 2026. Jordan declined to attend mediation. Alex is applying for a child arrangements order. All of these people and events are invented for this illustration.
The worked example, section by section
| Section | Example answer | Why it is written this way |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Order applied for | Child arrangements order, ticked. Prohibited steps and specific issue left blank. | Only tick what you actually need. Ticking all three because they sound useful invites the court to ask what the other two are for. |
| 2. Urgency | No. No request for an urgent or without notice hearing. | Urgency has a specific meaning: a risk of immediate harm or removal. A long wait for contact is distressing but is not urgency in this sense. |
| 3. The children | Ivy Warren, born 4 February 2017. Noah Warren, born 22 November 2019. Both living with Jordan Warren. | Full legal names exactly as on the birth certificate, and exact dates of birth. A shortened name here causes problems at every later stage. |
| 4. MIAM | MIAM attended 12 August 2026. Signed and dated by the authorised family mediator, with their FMC registration details. | You do not sign this part. The mediator does. An unsigned section 4 with no exemption ticked stops the application. |
| 5. Existing cases | None. | If there were previous proceedings, give the case number and court even if the case is long finished. The court will find them anyway. |
| 6. Applicant details | Alex Warren, full address, date of birth, relationship to the children: father. | If your address must stay confidential, leave it off here and file a Form C8 instead. Do not simply write “withheld”. |
| 7. Respondent details | Jordan Warren, full current address, relationship to the children: mother. | The court has to be able to serve the papers. An out of date address is one of the most common causes of a first hearing being wasted. |
| 8. Parental responsibility | Both parents. Applicant named on both birth certificates, registered after December 2003. | Say how parental responsibility arises, not just that it exists. Being on the birth certificate after 1 December 2003 is the usual route for an unmarried father. |
| 9. Living arrangements | Both children live with the respondent. They spent alternate weekends with the applicant from March to June 2026. There has been no contact since 20 June 2026. | Three short factual sentences with dates. A judge can see the whole history in ten seconds. This is the standard to aim for throughout. |
| 10. Harm and safety | No concerns about harm. No C1A filed. | Answer this honestly. Ticking yes without a C1A, or raising serious matters only later, both cause real difficulty. |
| 11. Social services | No current or previous involvement. | If there has been involvement, name the local authority. Cafcass will find out during safeguarding checks regardless. |
| 12. What you are asking for | “An order that the children spend time with the applicant on alternate weekends from Friday after school until Sunday at 6pm, half of each school holiday, and alternate Christmases.” | Specific, workable and about the children. Not “reasonable contact”, which means nothing, and not a paragraph about the other parent’s conduct. |
| 13. Statement of truth | Signed and dated by the applicant. | An unsigned form is not an application. Check this last, every time. |
“The forms we see that work best read like a timeline, not a letter. Dates, facts, short sentences, nothing about how the other parent behaved unless it goes to safety. We tell people to imagine a judge reading forty of these in a morning, because that is roughly what happens.”
Jess Knauf, Director of Client Strategy, Mediate UK
Good answers and weak answers, side by side
| The question | Weak answer | Better answer |
|---|---|---|
| What order do you want? | “Reasonable contact with my children.” | “Alternate weekends, Friday after school to Sunday 6pm, and half of each school holiday.” |
| Why are you applying? | “She has turned the children against me and lies constantly.” | “Contact stopped on 20 June 2026. Attempts to agree a new arrangement in July and August were unsuccessful.” |
| Current arrangements | “I hardly see them any more.” | “No contact since 20 June 2026. Before that, alternate weekends since March 2026.” |
| Harm question | Ticked yes with no C1A and no detail. | Either a clear no, or yes with a C1A setting out dates and specifics. |
| Children’s details | “Ivy, 9, and Noah, 6.” | Full names as registered, with exact dates of birth. |
Would you rather someone did this with you?
Our C100 completion service goes through the form with you, checks every section, and makes sure the application is complete before it is submitted. £240.
Why you should not copy an example
Courts see the same phrases repeatedly, and a form that reads as though it was assembled from a template rather than from a real family is not persuasive. More practically, an answer copied from someone else’s situation will not match your own, and the mismatch is what generates queries.
Use the example above for the shape of an answer: how long, how specific, how factual. Then write your own. The welfare of your children is what the court is deciding, under the welfare principle in section 1 of the Children Act 1989, and the checklist there is a better guide to what matters than anyone’s sample wording. Our guide to the welfare checklist covers it in full.
What happens after you file
The court issues the application, Cafcass carries out safeguarding checks including police and local authority enquiries, and a first hearing is listed. That hearing is the FHDRA, and it is much more about whether an agreement is possible than about deciding the case. Our guides cover what happens after you submit a C100 and the FHDRA in detail. Cafcass publishes its own guidance for parents too.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an official example of a completed C100 form?
No. HM Courts and Tribunals Service publishes the blank form and guidance notes, but not a filled-in example. Any worked example you find, including this one, has been written by a firm or a website.
Can I copy a sample C100 form?
Use it for structure and level of detail, not for wording. Your answers have to describe your children and your situation. Copied wording rarely fits and usually produces questions from the court.
How much should I write on the C100?
Less than most people expect. Short, dated, factual sentences. The C100 opens the application, it does not carry your evidence. If a judge needs more, you will be directed to file a statement.
Should I explain what the other parent has done wrong?
Only where it relates to harm or risk, and then in the C1A rather than the C100. The court’s focus is the welfare of the children, not the conduct of the adults, and a form that reads as a complaint about the other parent tends not to help.
What if I make a mistake on the form?
Most errors are correctable. The court will normally query it or return the application with a note. It costs time rather than the application itself, though it can add weeks.
Do I have to fill in every section?
Every section that applies to you. Some sections only apply in particular circumstances, for example international elements. Where a section does not apply, mark it clearly rather than leaving it blank.
Who signs section 4 of the C100?
An authorised family mediator, after you have attended a MIAM. You do not sign it yourself. If you are claiming an exemption instead, you tick the relevant exemption and may need to provide evidence.
How long does the C100 take to complete?
Around an hour once you have everything to hand: the children’s full names and dates of birth, the other parent’s current address, your MIAM certificate, and any previous case numbers. Gathering those takes longer than the form.
In Summary
Write like a timeline. Give full names and exact dates. Ask for something specific and workable. Keep the other parent’s conduct out of it unless it goes to safety, and put that in the C1A. Get section 4 signed by your mediator, sign the statement of truth, and check the respondent’s address is current before you send it.
Related Guides
| How to Complete a C100 FormRead the guide » |
| C100 Form Mistakes That Cause DelayRead the guide » |
| C100 Form DownloadRead the guide » |
| Form C100 vs Form C1ARead the guide » |
Three ways we can help
Get the form, get your MIAM certificate, or hand the whole thing over.
| Download the C100 Free, from GOV.UK |
Book a MIAM £138, most popular |
C100 Completion £240, done for you |
About The Author
