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Child custody and parenting time

Which state decides custody

If the parents or the child live in different states, one state's court usually goes first. These rules are the same in nearly every state.

Which state decides custody

  • Usually the court in the child's "home state" decides custody first. The home state is where the child lived with a parent for at least 6 months in a row right before the case started. For a baby under 6 months, it is the state where the baby has lived since birth.
  • If the child moved away less than 6 months ago, the old home state can still hear the case if one parent still lives there.
  • Being in a state, or the other parent being served there, is not enough by itself for that state to decide custody.
  • In an emergency, a court in the state where the child is now can make a temporary order. This is allowed if the child was abandoned, or if the child, a brother or sister, or a parent is abused or threatened with abuse. The order is temporary. The home state still makes the long-term decision.
  • The state that made the first custody order keeps the power to change it. This lasts as long as the child or a parent still lives there and the state still has a real connection to the child. Another state usually cannot change that order.
  • You can register a custody order from another state with a court in your new state. You send a request, two copies of the order (one certified), and a sworn statement that the order has not been changed. The other parent gets notice and has 20 days to ask for a hearing to fight the registration.
  • A federal law, the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, says every state must enforce a custody or visitation order from another state if it was made under these rules. Other states may not change it except in limited cases.
  • The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) is the law in 49 states and Washington, D.C. Massachusetts is the only state that has not adopted it. Massachusetts uses its own older law, the Massachusetts Child Custody Jurisdiction Act.
  • As of November 6, 2026, a Massachusetts bill to adopt the UCCJEA (S.2550) passed the Senate on July 17, 2025, 39 to 0. It has been in the House Committee on Ways and Means since July 21, 2025. It is not law yet.

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Last checked: November 2026