Child Arrangements Order Court Bundle Software UK

Practice Direction 27A in force from 2 March 2026 places child arrangements proceedings under Chapter 7 (all Family proceedings except financial remedy). Bundles use Bates numbering — A1, A2, B1, B2 restarting in each section — under PD27A paras 1.2 and 7.2(d). E-bundles are the default (para 4.2); typed pages must be OCR'd (para 11.2(e)); all significant documents and sections must be bookmarked (para 11.2(d)(ii)); wherever possible Arial or Times New Roman, no smaller than 12 point, 1.5 or double spacing (para 11.2(k)–(l)). BundleCreator's CAO templates are designed to apply this for you.

PD27A sets a default limit of 350 pages for an e-bundle (para 11.2(b)); a paper bundle is one A4 binder of no more than 350 sides (para 12.1); the limit can only be exceeded with the court's permission; the bundle must contain only documents the court needs (para 5.2). BundleCreator tracks live page count, warns at 350 pages, and supports bundles up to 1,000 pages where the court has granted permission.

PD27A para 5.2 says copies of emails, text and WhatsApp messages, social media posts, voice notes and photographs must not go in the bundle unless the court directs otherwise, and statements must not exhibit them (para 7.3(c)). If specific messages are necessary, for example at a fact-finding hearing, ask the court for a direction and include only those.

Under PD27A para 13.2 the bundle must be served and filed no later than five working days before the hearing (parties should try to agree contents seven working days before); the preliminary documents follow by 11am on the working day before. The court can set a different timetable. Late or non-compliant bundles can lead to the case being taken out of the list and to costs orders (para 3.1). BundleCreator's deadline calculator computes the exact date.

A child arrangements order is a court order under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 that determines who a child lives with and spends time with. It replaced the old terms 'residence order' and 'contact order'. You apply using the C100 form, and BundleCreator helps you prepare court bundles designed around PD27A for these proceedings.

A C100 child arrangements application typically requires the completed C100 form, a C1A supplemental form if there are safeguarding concerns or allegations of harm, and the MIAM section of the C100 completed (the mediator's confirmation or your exemption claim). Position statements are prepared for each hearing (PD27A para 7.10(d)) and should be no more than 3 pages (para 7.18(a)). The bundle sections follow PD27A para 7.3: applications and orders (para 7.3(b)), statements (7.3(c)), experts' and other reports (7.3(e)), medical records (7.3(f)) and other documents (7.3(i)). Include only what the court needs (para 5.2). BundleCreator organises every document into a family court bundle designed around PD27A.

The FHDRA (First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment) is usually the first court hearing in child arrangements cases. Expect the judge to review safeguarding checks, explore whether agreement is possible, and give directions. BundleCreator has FHDRA preparation templates with all required sections for this hearing.

A Section 7 report is prepared by Cafcass or local authority social workers to help the court understand a child's welfare needs. It assesses both parents and makes recommendations about child arrangements. BundleCreator templates include dedicated sections for Section 7 and Cafcass reports.

Yes. BundleCreator was built with litigants in person as a first-class audience alongside legal professionals. Templates carry yellow-highlighted prompts that explain what each section needs, what to write in a position statement, and which documents to include. Practice Direction 27A pagination, indexing, and bookmarking happen automatically. The neurodiversity toolbox supports users with dyslexia. McKenzie Friends use the software too. Specialist legal advice should still be sought for complex welfare matters.

BundleCreator stores documents with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit. Hosting is UK-region (Google Cloud London, europe-west2) for UK GDPR data residency. Authentication is gated by Clerk with optional multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, and PostgreSQL row-level security. The operator (Steleo Publishing Limited) is registered with the ICO under registration ZB969283. Documents touching children's welfare benefit from these layered controls; the platform does not train AI on customer data.