The Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2026 will come into force on 20 July 2026.
Rules 4 and 5 insert new rule 25.5A to the Family Procedure Rules. Under 25.5A, subject to limited exceptions, an expert providing evidence in children proceedings issued on or after 20 July 2026 must be a regulated expert.
This change has arisen after controversy and concern raised over the use of unregulated experts and specifically the recent case of an unregulated psychologist. Following the then President’s decision in that case, the Family Procedure Rules Committee put proposals out for consultation from March to June 2025.
This is the first time that there has been a requirement in any of the procedural rules that an expert witness must be regulated.
What is a regulated expert?
A regulated expert is one who is:
- regulated by a UK statutory body
- on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care
- regulated by an approved regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007.
(Amended rule 25.2)
Are there limited exceptions to 25.5A?
Yes. This requirement does not apply to evidence from an international social worker or a technical expert (for example a forensic scientist) or in financial provision proceedings (New rule 25.5A(2)).
In addition, allowance is made for exceptions, for example, where:
- the issue to which the expert evidence relates may only be resolved with the expertise of an expert who is not a regulated expert
- the instruction of a regulated expert would cause significant delay in the proceedings which would not be in the best interests of the child.
(New rule 25.5A(3) and (4))
What happens if an unregulated expert is instructed?
If the court gives permission for an unregulated expert to be appointed, it must give reasons for its decision, including:
- the steps taken by the parties to identify a regulated expert
- the reasons why the expert instructed meets the standards set out in the annex to Practice Direction 25B.
(New rule 25.5A(5)
These issues were discussed during the Legal Update of the 2025 Bond Solon Expert Witness Conference. View the discussion here.