Court forms · C8
Form C8: confidential contact details
Form C8 is how you ask the family court to keep your contact details, and your children's, private from the other people in the case[1]. The details are used only by the court and Cafcass, Cafcass Cymru or a local authority involved in the case, and are not revealed to anyone else unless the court orders it[2]. The current edition is 06.26[1].
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01/ At a glance
Form C8 at a glance
Give the court contact details you do not want the other people in the case to see: your own, a child's, or another person's. It goes in with your main application or response; it is not an application for an order.
- Current edition
- Form C8 (06.26)[1]
Always take the form from its GOV.UK page: an old edition can be returned.
02/ What it is for
What the C8 form is for
HMCTS publishes Form C8 as the way to ask the court to keep your and your children's contact details private from other parties in family court proceedings[1]. The form says you can use it if you do not want to reveal your contact details, for example because you believe someone involved in the case could harm you or a child, and also if you do not want to reveal the contact details of another person in the case[2].
"Contact details" on the C8 means an address, phone number and email address, and the name of anyone a child lives with if that person is not already part of the case[2]. The C8 is not a free-standing application: GOV.UK says you include it with your main family court application and follow that application's guidance on where to send your forms[1].
03/ The rule behind it
Rule 29.1: what the law says
The C8 is headed "Family Procedure Rules 2010 Rule 29.1"[2]. Rule 29.1 says that, unless the court directs otherwise, a party does not have to reveal to anyone other than the court their own or another party's home address or contact details, a child's address or contact details, or the name of a person the child lives with if that person is not the applicant[7].
A party who wants to keep any of those details back must give notice of them to the court, and the court will not reveal them to anyone unless it directs otherwise[7]. The C8 is the form for giving that notice[2]. Since 1 June 2026, an amendment to the rule lets one party indicate that another party's contact details should be kept confidential to the court, which the rule-makers say improves safeguarding where there are several parties[3].
Rule 29.1 also says that if you change your home address during the proceedings, you must tell the court[7].
The words "unless the court directs otherwise" matter: the court, not either party, has the final say on whether details stay confidential[7].
05/ Question by question
What the C8 asks
The 06.26 form has five numbered questions, a section for the details themselves, and a statement of truth[15].
| Part | What it asks |
|---|---|
| Question 1 | The name of the court |
| Question 2 | The case number |
| Question 3 | The full names of the children |
| Question 4 | The name of the person whose details are to be kept confidential |
| Question 5 | Whether that person is currently resident in a refuge (yes, no or do not know) |
| The omitted contact details | The details to keep confidential: only ones the other people in the case do not already know |
| Statement of truth | Signed by the applicant or respondent, or their legal representative |
Read off the 06.26 form[15]. One form per person whose details are to be kept confidential[15].
Only what they do not already know
The form asks you to list only contact details you believe the other people in the case do not already know[15]. If you want another person's details kept confidential, for example someone the children live with, you complete a separate C8 for each person[15].
The statement of truth
The statement of truth warns that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth[15].
07/ Keeping it confidential
Where details slip through
The C8 protects the details written on it; you are responsible for keeping them out of everything else you file[2]. Court staff cannot check the documents you submit for unintended sharing of confidential contact details[2]. Form A and the C100 give the same warning about documents sent with the form or later[9][8].
08/ Refuges
If you are living in a refuge
Question 5 of the C8 asks whether the person whose details are confidential is currently resident in a refuge[15]. HMCTS added that question in January 2025[1].
Where there are reasonable grounds to believe a person is residing in a refuge, the court must give directions on how documents are served on them, may direct personal service only in exceptional and urgent circumstances, and must not disclose the refuge's address, name or other identifying details to the party serving the documents or their solicitor[17].
Since January 2026, where the court is considering interim contact and there are reasonable grounds to believe the child is living in a refuge, Practice Direction 12J says it should also consider the risks to the child and parent there, and to the refuge, its residents and staff[18].
09/ Who decides
The court decides
Details given on a C8 are not revealed to anyone unless the court orders it[2]. Rule 29.1 is framed the same way: the protection applies "unless the court directs otherwise"[7]. If you have concerns about safety, Form C1A is how you tell the court about harm or the risk of it[19], and the court must consider domestic abuse at every stage of a child arrangements case[20]. See domestic abuse support.
10/ Applying online
The C8 online
When HMCTS launched its online child arrangements service in February 2020, it said the service covered Forms C100, C1A and C8[21]. Under the online pilot, references to Forms C100, C7 and C1A include the versions the online system generates, and anyone without a lawyer who does not have access to it, or chooses not to use it, can apply or respond on paper[22].
The current guidance still tells you to use a C8: GOV.UK says to include your completed C8 with your main application[1], and since 1 June 2026 the C100 directs you to leave confidential details blank and complete a C8[23]. If you apply online and are not sure how the service takes your confidential details, contact the court before you submit: the online service says you can contact the relevant court to discuss your case[23].
11/ Questions
Frequently asked questions
What is a C8 form?
Will the other parent see my C8?
Can the court still reveal my address?
Do I need a separate C8 for my new partner or a relative?
What happens if I move during the case?
Can I use Form C8 in a financial case?
How do I email a C8 to the court?
12/ Sources
Sources we checked
- Form C8: apply to keep your contact details confidential — HMCTS, GOV.UK · Form C8 (06.26), PDF — HMCTS
- Form C8 (06.26), page 1 — HMCTS
- Family Procedure Rules: updates (The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2025) — justice.gov.uk
- FMC MIAM Standards (Aug 2022) PDF
- GOV.UK — mediation · FPR r3.9
- FPR Part 3, r3.8(1)(d)
- Family Procedure Rules, Part 29, rule 29.1 — justice.gov.uk
- Form C100 (06.26), sections 1, 6, 15 and 16 — HMCTS
- Form A (05.26), service details — HMCTS
- Form C7 (10.23), instructions — HMCTS
- Form C1A (06.26), opening page and section 1 — HMCTS
- Form C1A (06.26), section 6, attending court, checklist and notes — HMCTS
- Form C2 (06.26), sections 1 to 8 — HMCTS
- Get an injunction if you've been the victim of domestic abuse: how to apply — GOV.UK · Apply for a domestic abuse protection order in a family court — HMCTS, GOV.UK
- Form C8 (06.26), pages 2 and 3 — HMCTS
- Practice Direction 5B: communication and filing of documents by email — justice.gov.uk
- Family Procedure Rules, rule 6.23A — legislation.gov.uk
- Practice Direction Update No. 6 of 2025 (Practice Direction 12J, paras 27A and 27B) — justice.gov.uk
- Form C1A: allegations of harm and domestic violence — HMCTS, GOV.UK · Form C1A (06.26), PDF — HMCTS
- Practice Direction 12J, paras 5, 9 and 10 — justice.gov.uk
- Digital form quicker and easier for separated parents applying to see children — Ministry of Justice and HMCTS, GOV.UK
- Practice Direction 36ZD: pilot scheme, online system for private law proceedings — justice.gov.uk
- Apply to court about child arrangements: start or continue an application — HMCTS online service · Form C100 — HMCTS, GOV.UK · Form C100 (06.26), PDF — HMCTS · CB1 Making an application: children and the family courts — HMCTS, GOV.UK
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14/ Safety first