The transfer of foster carers between fostering services is governed by a protocol which has been agreed with the main fostering organisations and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS).

The most recent version of the protocol was published in 2014 and reissued in 2015 alongside the newly developed guiding principles. The principles of the transfer protocol recognise that all foster carers have the right to freedom of movement between fostering services and that  fostering services should not coerce or entice foster carers to transfer to a new service in order to ensure the continuation of a child’s placement with them.

The transfer protocol 2014 is supported by the ADCS and is compliant with the requirements of The Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 (as amended) taking into account the legislative changes which came into force on 1 July 2013. The Transfer Protocol recommends that good practice guidelines are followed when an approved foster carer wishes to transfer from one fostering service to another.  The guiding principles seek to reinforce the ethos of child-centred care planning and child-centred decision making in fostering and that financial factors alone should not determine a placement move.


The protocol and guiding principles should be read and used together and are designed to inform decision making and practice across the fostering sector,

A full copy of the Transfer Protocol is available to do download here although they are not mandatory.

The Guiding Principles are available to download here

Key points to note:

For full details please refer to the Transfer Protocol link above