How to modify child custody and parenting time in Connecticut

Sources last checked 4 November 2026. Information only, not legal advice.

Connecticut divorce kitModifying support and alimony in ConnecticutAfter your divorce: changing a support or custody order

The short version

In Connecticut the Superior Court can “make or modify any proper order regarding the custody, care, education, visitation” and support of the children, if it has jurisdiction. You ask for a change with the same Motion for Modification (form JD-FM-174) used for support and alimony, which lets you ask the court to change custody or visitation (parenting time). Whatever you ask for, the statute says the orders must “serve the best interests of the child” and give the child active and consistent involvement of both parents, in line with their abilities and interests. An Appellate Court decision says a court must also find a material change in circumstance since the prior custody order, but that the ultimate test is the child’s best interests. For changing child support or alimony instead, see modifying support and alimony in Connecticut.

What must be shown

  • The standard, C.G.S. 46b-56(a) to (c). The same best-interests standard applies “in making or modifying” a custody order. The statute’s text does not set out a separate changed-circumstances test for modification.
  • Case law: a material change, then best interests. In Hibbard v. Hibbard, 139 Conn. App. 10 (2012), the Appellate Court said a court must find a material change in circumstance since the prior custody order before modifying it, but that “the ultimate test is the best interests of the child”. Review is for abuse of discretion. The trial court in that case had not expressly found changed circumstances. The Appellate Court upheld the modification anyway: the trial court had said the original joint custody order was unworkable, and its decision described evidence of the parents’ inability to communicate. It transferred sole custody to the father after finding the mother’s conduct was designed to alienate the child from him.
  • Best-interests factors, 46b-56(c). The court “may consider, but shall not be limited to” seventeen factors. They include the child’s physical and emotional safety, the child’s informed preferences, each parent’s relationship with the child, each parent’s willingness to support the child’s relationship with the other parent, any manipulation or coercive behavior involving the child, the child’s adjustment to home, school and community, the stability of each home, the effect of domestic violence, and whether a parent completed a parenting education program. The court is “not required to assign any weight to any of the factors” but “shall articulate the basis for its decision”. A 2021 amendment (Public Act 21-78) added a new first factor on the child’s safety and renumbered the rest, so factor numbers in older opinions do not match today’s list.
  • Joint custody, 46b-56a. There is a “presumption, affecting the burden of proof, that joint custody is in the best interests” of the child where the parents have agreed to joint custody or agree in open court. If the court declines to order it, it must state its reasons. If only one parent seeks joint custody, the court may order both to try conciliation at their own expense.
  • Changing an existing joint order. The court “may modify any orders made under this section in accordance with section 46b-56”. If both parents consent to a parental responsibility plan, the court approves it unless it finds the plan is not in the child’s best interests.

What the form asks for

Our Connecticut support page describes the Judicial Branch’s Motion for Modification, form JD-FM-174 (Rev. 1-26), which covers child support, alimony, custody, visitation (parenting time) or another order. For each order you give the date, what it says, and what you want changed. For custody and visitation requests you also file an Affidavit Concerning Children (JD-FM-164), and the page says a Financial Affidavit (JD-FM-6) and a Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines Worksheet (CCSG-1) go with custody requests too. If the court has ordered you to attach a request for leave to a motion to modify a final custody or visitation order, you must also complete a Request for Leave (JD-FM-202).

What the court can order along the way

  • Therapy for the child, 46b-56(h). When a motion to modify custody or visitation is pending or decided, and the court’s investigation recommends psychiatric or psychological therapy for the child, the court may order the therapy and reserve judgment on the motion.
  • Counseling and screening, 46b-56(i). As part of a custody or visitation decision, the court may order either parent or both, and any child of the parents, to take part in counseling and drug or alcohol screening, if that is in the child’s best interests.
  • Records access, 46b-56(g). A parent who was not granted custody keeps the right to the child’s academic, medical, hospital and other health records, unless the court orders otherwise “for good cause shown”.

Notice, service and hearing

  • Order to Give Notice: the court issues one. Our support page, written from form JD-FM-174, says a copy of the motion and the order must be served on the other side by a proper officer at least 12 days before the court event, with proof of service filed at least 6 days before.
  • Remote attendance: to take part remotely, file an Appearance (JD-CL-12) with a current e-mail address at least 5 days before the event.

Before you file

What we could not confirm

  • Case law. We read one case, Hibbard v. Hibbard (2012), and only the parts of earlier cases that it quotes. We did not read later decisions, any Connecticut Supreme Court decision on modifying custody, or cases on what counts as a material change, so the test may have been refined since.
  • Court forms and rules. We read form JD-FM-174 for our support page, but we did not read JD-FM-164, JD-FM-202 or the Practice Book rules on custody motions.
  • Other statute sections. We read C.G.S. 46b-56 and 46b-56a. We did not read the jurisdiction chapter (815p), section 46b-6 on the court’s investigations, 46b-84 on support, or the provisions on relocation.
  • Filing fee and mediation. No fee or required mediation step is stated on this page.

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