The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2026

• Citation: S.I. 2026/699
• Sections: 6

Section 1 Citation, extent and commencement

(1) These Rules may be cited as the Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2026.

(2) These Rules extend to England and Wales.

(3) These Rules come into force on 20th July 2026.

Section 2 Amendment of the Family Procedure Rules 2010

The Family Procedure Rules 2010 are amended in accordance with rules 3 to 5 of these Rules.

Section 3 Insertion of new rule 9.47

After rule 9.46 (communication of information: Practice Direction 9B) insert—

Communication of information with the permission of the court

(947) A practice direction may make provision in relation to the court giving permission to communicate information from proceedings.

Section 4 Amendment of rule 25.2

In rule 25.2 (interpretation)—

(a) after the definition of “expert” insert—

“ regulated expert ” means an expert who is—

regulated by a UK statutory body;

on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care; or

regulated by an approved regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007 ;

(b) after the definition of “single joint expert” insert—

“ technical expert ” means an expert who provides evidence on—

digital forensics;

DNA testing;

handwriting analysis; or

toxicology testing.

Section 5 Insertion of new rule 25.5A

After rule 25.5 (further provisions about the court’s power to restrict expert evidence) insert—

Requirement for experts to be regulated in children proceedings

(25.5A)

(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the court may only give permission under section 13(1), (3) or (5) of the 2014 Act if the expert evidence is from a regulated expert.

(2) The requirement set out in paragraph (1) does not apply to expert evidence from an international social worker, a technical expert or an expert instructed in proceedings under Schedule 1 to the 1989 Act .

(3) The court may give permission under section 13(1), (3) or (5) of the 2014 Act to instruct any expert where there is no regulated expert available.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3), no regulated expert is available where—

(a) the issue to which the expert evidence relates may only be resolved with the expertise of an expert who is not a regulated expert; or

(b) the instruction of a regulated expert would cause significant delay in the proceedings which would not be in the best interests of the child.

(5) If permission is given under paragraph (3), the court must give reasons for its decision, including—

(a) the steps taken by the parties to identify a regulated expert, and

(b) the reasons why the expert instructed meets the standards set out in the annex to Practice Direction 25B.

Section 6 Saving provision

The amendments made by rules 4 and 5 do not apply to proceedings that were issued before 20th July 2026.