Child custody and parenting time

Child custody in North Carolina

Custody is mostly decided by state law. This page covers what North Carolina sets: the words it uses, how judges decide, how to ask the court, moving with your child, relatives and free help.

Move-away notice tool Parenting plan worksheet

What North Carolina calls custody

North Carolina calls it: child custody and visitation
Time with each parent: visitation

legal custody: The right to make major decisions about your child, such as school and big medical choices. With joint legal custody, parents must talk and decide together. With sole legal custody, one parent decides.
physical custody: The right to have your child in your care. With joint physical custody, your child's time is split between the parents. One parent may have primary physical custody (the child lives there most of the time) and the other secondary physical custody (for example, every other weekend).
sole custody / joint custody: The judge can give custody to one person, to both parents together (joint custody), or to two or more people.
visitation: A form of custody: the right to spend time with your child at times set in the order, sometimes with conditions. It is often used for a parent whose time is fairly limited. Visits can include phone or video calls, but these cannot replace in-person time.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50-13.1(a), 50-13.2(b), (e)

How the judge decides in North Carolina

What the law tells the judge to look at

In the order the law lists them.

The judge gives custody to the person or agency that will best promote your child's interest and welfare. The judge must look at all relevant factors.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(a)
Acts of domestic violence between the parties.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(a)
Your child's safety.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(a)
The safety of either party from domestic violence by the other party. The order must include written findings on each of these factors.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(a)

Other things the judge considers

If a parent left home or moved, with or without the children, because of domestic violence, that cannot count against that parent.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(b)
A parent's past or possible future military deployment cannot be the only reason for a custody decision. The judge may look at how deployment really affects the child.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(f)
State policy encourages both parents to stay involved and share the rights and duties of raising the child when that is in the child's best interest, whether or not the parents were married, taking into account mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.01
Before denying a parent reasonable visitation, the judge must find in writing that the parent is unfit to visit or that visits are not in the child's best interest.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.5(i)
A person whose rape or sexual offense conviction led to the child's conception cannot claim custody of that child.N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.1(a)

What the judge may not consider

Between the parents, the law presumes neither parent is the better one (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(a)). Paying or not paying child support does not decide custody, though the judge may consider a refusal to pay (NC Judicial Branch, Child Custody).

Joint custody

No presumption. The law has no presumption for either parent. If either parent asks for joint custody, the judge must consider it.

Domestic violence

The judge must consider domestic violence, your child's safety, and each party's safety, and write findings about them. If the judge finds domestic violence happened, the order must protect the children and the parent who was the victim. For example, it can require supervised visits, exchanges in a safe place, an abuser treatment program, or no overnight visits. There is no presumption against custody for a parent who committed domestic violence.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50-13.01, 50-13.1(a), 50-13.2(a), (b), (f), 50-13.5(i), 50B-3(a1)

If the parents are not married in North Carolina

Who has custody before a court order

If there is no custody order, both legal parents have equal rights to the child. Legal parents are the people listed on the birth certificate, named in a court order (such as a child support or adoption order), or who signed an Affidavit of Parentage.

To ask for custody, you must first be a legal parent of the child.

Establishing paternity

How: Both parents can sign an Affidavit of Parentage at the hospital, or later at your local child support office or through NC Vital Records. It becomes a legal finding of paternity, and the father's name goes on the birth certificate. Do not sign if you are not sure who the father is; either parent can ask for a genetic test. Either signer can cancel it only by asking the district court within 60 days of signing, or before a paternity or child support order, whichever comes first. A court can also decide paternity in a civil or criminal paternity case.
Form: Affidavit of Parentage
Cancellation form: No form. You ask the district court to order the rescission (within 60 days or before a paternity or support order).
Agency: NC Department of Health and Human Services, Child Support Services (with county CSS offices) and NC Vital Records
https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/social-services/child-support-services/frequently-asked-questions-about-child-support-services
1-800-992-9457

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 110-132

How to ask the court in North Carolina

Court: District Court in the county where your child lives or is now, or where a parent lives. If a divorce case is already open, custody is handled in that case.
Court self-help center: https://www.nccourts.gov/help-topics/family-and-children/child-custody
Court forms: https://www.nccourts.gov/documents/forms
Self-help center in Spanish: https://www.nccourts.gov/languages/informacion-en-espanol/programa-de-mediacion-de-custodia-infantil-y-visitas

Key forms

What it costs

$150 — Filing a civil case (such as a custody complaint) in District Court: $130 General Court of Justice fee + $16 facilities fee + $4 technology fee. Add $30 for each paper the sheriff serves.

Fee schedule: NC Judicial Branch Civil Costs Chart, January 2026 (final 04.09.2026) (Source)

Other fees

$30 — Sheriff's fee for each paper servedN.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-311(a)(1)
$20 — Notice of hearing on a motion (for example, a motion to modify or a motion for contempt in a custody case)N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-305(f)
$0 — Domestic violence protective order (Chapter 50B): no court costsN.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-305(a); NC Courts, How to get a protection order

Fee waiver: Petition to Proceed as an Indigent (form AOC-G-106). If Legal Aid of North Carolina represents you, you do not have to pay costs in advance.

After you file

Time to respond: 30 calendar days after you are served with the summons and complaint to file an Answer. A motion for custody in an existing case needs at least 10 days' notice to the other party.
Mediation: Yes. If custody or visitation is contested, the case goes to the court's Child Custody and Visitation Mediation Program before the judge decides. First you go to an orientation class, then a mediation session of up to two hours. The courts provide this mediation free of charge. A judge can waive mediation for good cause, for example if you live more than 50 miles from the court, there is abuse, domestic violence, alcoholism or drug abuse, or severe mental health problems. Use the Motion and Order to Waive Custody Mediation (AOC-CV-632). Mediation is private. An agreement becomes a court order (a Parenting Agreement) when the judge signs it.
Parenting class: There is no single statewide rule. Family court districts offer parent education under local rules: a free online handbook and 45-minute presentation, a one-hour session after mediation orientation, or a four-hour class. Ask the court in your county.
Emergency orders: A judge can give a short-term emergency (ex parte) custody order without hearing from the other parent only if your child faces a substantial risk of bodily injury or sexual abuse, or a substantial risk of being taken out of North Carolina to avoid the courts. A hearing must then be set so both sides can be heard. Police can help get the child back under an emergency order. If you need protection from abuse, you can also ask for a domestic violence protective order.

Which state's court decides: North Carolina has adopted the UCCJEA, the uniform law on this (N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 50A, Article 2 (§§ 50A-101 et seq.), enacted by S.L. 1999-223). How the home-state rule works →

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 1A-1, Rule 12(a)(1), 7A-305, 7A-494, 50-13.1(b)-(g), 50-13.5(d), (f), (h)

Changing or enforcing an order in North Carolina

Changing an order

You file a Motion to Modify in the case that made the order. For a permanent order, you must show a substantial change in circumstances since the order that affects your child, and that changing the order is in your child's best interest. A temporary order is easier to change: you can usually just ask for another hearing. Changes in custody also go to mediation unless the judge waives it.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50-13.1(b), 50-13.7(a)

If the other parent does not follow the order

If the other parent does not follow the custody order, you can file a Motion for Order to Show Cause or a Motion for Contempt. If the judge finds a violation, penalties can include a warning, a fine, jail, or paying your attorney's fees. The judge can also order the parent to stop (an injunction), or issue a warrant to take physical custody of the child. Custody issues in contempt motions may be sent to mediation.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50-13.1(b), 50-13.3

Moving with your child from North Carolina

North Carolina has no statute that sets a notice period or a distance for moving with a child. A custody order can allow you to take the child out of the state. If the order expects the child to come back, the judge can require a bond to make sure the child returns. A move can be a reason to ask to change custody. Check your own order: it may have its own rules about moving.

Notice required by: Only if your court order says so

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50-13.2(c), (e), 50-13.7

Move-away notice tool

Grandparents and other relatives in North Carolina

Grandparent visitation

Grandparents can get visitation only in certain cases.

When there is a custody case, the custody order can include visits for a grandparent.
After custody has been decided, a grandparent can file a motion in that case and show changed circumstances.
A biological grandparent can file a case for visits with a grandchild adopted by a stepparent or a relative, if there is a substantial relationship.

A grandparent of a child adopted by unrelated people after both parents' rights ended cannot get visits. The judge decides based on the child's best interest.

Custody by someone who is not a parent

Any relative or other person can file for custody. To get custody over a parent, the non-parent must prove the parent is unfit or has acted against the parent's role, for example by leaving the child to be raised by someone else. A non-relative must show a substantial relationship with the child. A non-parent must state in the papers that nothing of value was paid or promised in exchange for the child.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 50-13.1(a), (a2), 50-13.2(b1), 50-13.2A, 50-13.5(j)

Protective orders in North Carolina

What North Carolina calls it: Domestic Violence Protective Order (DVPO, also called a 50B order)

Custody and visitation in the order

Yes. If there is no custody order yet, the judge can give temporary custody and set visits, including joint custody, in an ex parte order or after the hearing. The judge must give special weight to the child's safety and can order supervised visits, safe exchanges, an abuser treatment program, no alcohol or drugs around visits, or no overnight visits. Temporary custody in a DVPO lasts at most one year and cannot be renewed past that year. Either party can still ask for a full custody hearing under the custody law (Chapter 50). There are no court costs for a DVPO.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50B-3(a)(4), (a1), (b)

Safety, hotline and protective orders in every state →

If you are in danger

If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7, in English and Spanish: call 1-800-799-7233, text START to 88788, or chat at thehotline.org.

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Military parents and abduction prevention in North Carolina

Military parents

A parent's past or possible future deployment cannot be the only reason for a custody decision. If you are on active duty and cannot come to court, you can ask the court to put the case on hold.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(f); NC Judicial Branch, Child Custody ("I am currently in the military")

Free help in North Carolina

Court self-help

NC Judicial Branch: Child Custody help topic

https://www.nccourts.gov/help-topics/family-and-children/child-custody

Legal aid directory

Legal Services Corporation: find LSC-funded legal aid

https://www.lsc.gov/about-lsc/what-legal-aid/i-need-legal-help

Legal aid

Legal Aid of North Carolina (LSC-funded): Helpline and free Child Custody and Visitation clinics

1-866-219-5262

https://legalaidnc.org/clinic/child-custody-and-visitation-clinic/

Domestic violence help

NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence: county directory of local domestic violence programs and crisis lines

https://nccadv.org/get-help/

Links you to local programs

Lawyer referral

NC Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service (listed by the NC Judicial Branch; first 30-minute consultation no more than $50)

1-800-662-7660

https://www.ncbar.org/public-resources/find-an-nc-lawyer/

More free help across the country →

Good to know in North Carolina

Contested custody cases go to free court mediation (an orientation class plus a session of up to two hours) before a judge decides, unless the judge waives it (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.1(b), (c); NC Courts, Custody Mediation).
Every custody order must include written findings about domestic violence and the safety of the child and of each party (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(a)).
A judge can order a parent not to drink alcohol as a condition of custody or visits and require a continuous alcohol monitor (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.2(b2)).

Recent changes

In effect December 1, 2024A person filing for custody, including ex parte custody, must disclose any conviction for a sexually violent offense, a human trafficking, involuntary servitude or sexual servitude offense, or sexual exploitation of a minor. A non-parent seeking custody, or getting custody in a consent order, must state that nothing of value was paid or promised in exchange for the child.S.L. 2024-26 (H.B. 971), § 6 · N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.1(a1), (a2)

More RobinClaim guides for North Carolina → · All states

Sources

Last checked: November 2026