Child custody in Pennsylvania

What the law tells the judge to look at

In the order the law lists them.

1. Which party is more likely to keep your child safe. (Safety factors get extra weight.)23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(1)
2. Present and past abuse by a party or someone in that party's home, which can include past or current protection orders where abuse was found. (Extra weight.)23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(2)
3. Child abuse reports and any child protective or general protective services involving a party or someone in the home. (Extra weight.)23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(2.1)
4. Violent or assaultive behavior by a party. (Extra weight.)23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(2.2)
5. The level of cooperation and conflict between the parties, including which party is more likely to encourage frequent contact with the other party if that is safe, and any attempts to turn the child against the other party. Reasonable, good-faith efforts to protect the child or yourself do not count against you, and a child's poor relationship with a parent is not presumed to be the other parent's fault.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(2.3)
6. Each party's willingness and ability to put the child's needs first by giving proper care, stability, and continuity, looking at the parenting each has done and will do, and the child's daily physical, emotional, developmental, educational, and special needs.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(3)
7. Your child's need for stability and continuity in school, family life, and community, unless changes are needed for safety.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(4)
8. Your child's relationships with brothers, sisters, and other family members.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(6)
9. Your child's well-reasoned preference, based on the child's development, maturity, and judgment.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(7)
10. How close the parties live to each other.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(11)
11. Each party's work schedule and ability to care for the child or arrange child care.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(12)
12. Any history of drug or alcohol abuse by a party or someone in the home.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(14)
13. The mental and physical condition of a party or someone in the home.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(15)
14. Any other relevant factor.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a)(16)

Other things the judge considers

• No single factor decides the case. The judge looks at all the circumstances and gives extra weight to safety factors.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(a.2)
• Before giving any custody to a party, the judge must consider whether that party or someone in the home was convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, certain crimes (such as assault, stalking, strangulation, kidnapping, interference with custody, sexual offenses, DUI, drug offenses) and decide that the party is not a threat to the child.23 Pa.C.S. § 5329(a), (a.1)
• A party with information about a pending criminal charge for one of those offenses can ask for a quick hearing for a temporary custody order or a change.23 Pa.C.S. § 5330
• The judge must give all parties a copy of the custody factors within 30 days after a custody complaint or petition is received.23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(d)

What the judge may not consider

No party may get a preference because of gender (23 Pa.C.S. § 5328(b)). A factor may not be held against a party if it was a response to abuse or needed to protect the child or the abused party, and temporary housing instability caused by abuse may not be counted against the party alleging abuse (§ 5328(a.1)).

Joint custody

No presumption. In a case between parents, there is no presumption that custody should go to a particular parent. In a case between a parent and a non-parent, there is a presumption in favor of the parent, which can be overcome only by clear and convincing evidence.

The child's wishes

The judge considers your child's well-reasoned preference based on the child's developmental stage, maturity, and judgment. Pennsylvania law does not set an age.

Domestic violence

Safety factors, including abuse and violent behavior, get extra weight. If the judge finds by a preponderance of the evidence that there is an ongoing risk of abuse of the child, there is a rebuttable presumption that the party who poses the risk may have only supervised physical custody, preferably professionally supervised. If the judge finds a history of abuse or a present risk of harm and still gives custody to that party, the order must include safety conditions and the reasons, and explain why any unsupervised custody is in the child's best interest. In abuse cases, the judge may not order the parties to joint counseling. A parent convicted of murdering the other parent cannot get custody unless the child is of suitable age and consents.

Establishing paternity

How

The birth mother and the father can sign an Acknowledgment of Paternity (form PA-CS 611), each with a witness. Hospitals must offer it at birth; county Domestic Relations Sections also accept it. It becomes a legal finding of paternity. Either signer can cancel it in writing, sent to the DHS AOP Program, within 60 days or before a court or administrative proceeding about the child (such as a support conference), whichever is sooner. After that, it can be challenged in court only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, proven by clear and convincing evidence. A married woman cannot use this form. If the mother will not sign, the form can be filed as a Claim of Paternity, which only gives the right to notice of any case to end parental rights. You can also ask the county Domestic Relations Section or court to establish paternity, including by genetic testing.

Form

Acknowledgment of Paternity (For a Child Born to an Unmarried Woman) (PA-CS 611)

Cancelling it

Written rescission statement mailed to the DHS AOP Program, P.O. Box 8018, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8018, within 60 days or before the first proceeding about the child (no separate form number found)

Agency

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, AOP Program
https://www.humanservices.dhs.pa.gov/csws/csws/forms/PA-CS-611%20Form.pdf
1-800-932-0211

Changing an order

You can file a Petition for Modification of a Custody Order. The court can change the order to serve your child's best interest, using the same custody factors. The law does not require a set waiting time.

Law: 23 Pa.C.S. § 5338

If the other parent does not follow the order

If a party willfully disobeys a custody order, you can file a Petition for Civil Contempt. If the judge finds contempt, the judge can order up to 6 months in jail (with a way to be released by following the order), a fine of up to $500, up to 6 months' probation, suspension or denial of a driver's license, and payment of attorney's fees and costs. Custody orders must be detailed enough for police to enforce.

Law: 23 Pa.C.S. § 5323(f), (g)

Grandparent visitation

Yes, in several situations. Grandparents and great-grandparents can ask for partial or supervised physical custody:

• If a parent has died (the parent's parents or grandparents)
• If the relationship began with a parent's consent or a court order and the parents are in a custody case and disagree about the grandparents
• If the child lived with them for at least 12 months in a row and the parents removed the child, filing within 6 months.

The judge looks at prior contact, whether it interferes with the parent-child relationship, and the child's best interest. A grandparent can ask for any form of custody if the relationship began with a parent's consent or a court order, the grandparent will take responsibility, and the child is dependent, at substantial risk from a parent's abuse, neglect, substance abuse, or incapacity, or lived with the grandparent 12 months and was removed (file within 6 months). These rights end if the child is adopted by someone other than a stepparent, grandparent, or great-grandparent.

Custody by someone who is not a parent

A person who stands in loco parentis (has acted as a parent) can ask for any form of custody. Another adult can ask if they prove by clear and convincing evidence that they will take responsibility, have a sustained and sincere interest in the child, and neither parent has any care and control of the child (not if a dependency case is open). In a case between a parent and a non-parent, the parent is presumed to get custody unless clear and convincing evidence shows otherwise.

Custody and visitation in the order

Yes. A PFA order can award temporary custody or set temporary visitation. The judge must consider any risk the defendant poses to the children and the plaintiff, and in certain cases the defendant may not get custody, partial custody, or unsupervised visits.

Military parents

Pennsylvania has its own Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act. A deploying parent must tell the other parent about a pending deployment within 72 hours of getting notice, if possible, and each parent must share a plan for custody during deployment within 120 hours. A court may not use a parent's past or possible future deployment by itself to decide best interest, but may consider its significant impact. Parents can make a deployment agreement, and the court can hold expedited hearings and grant temporary caretaking authority to a non-parent.

Law: 51 Pa.C.S. ch. 46, §§ 4601-4652 (Act 40 of 2025)