Travel, custody and relocation in Idaho

Idaho custody jurisdiction sits under Idaho Code tit. 32, ch. 11 (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act), Idaho Code sec. 32-11-101 et seq.. The practical point for travel is this: a child’s home state is where they lived for six consecutive months before a case started, and a temporary absence counts toward that period. A summer with grandparents in another state does not start a clock there, and it does not let the other parent file somewhere new.

Idaho has not enacted the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act. A judge here still has general power to impose travel conditions, but there is no dedicated statutory menu of abduction-prevention measures to point to. If risk is a live issue, the federal route on the main travel page — a valid, enforceable order prohibiting removal, routed to CBP — matters more here, not less.

Idaho governs parental relocation by CASE LAW, applied through the general custody statute. Idaho Code sec. 32-717(1) provides: ‘In an action for divorce the court may, before and after judgment, give such direction for the custody, care and education of the children of the marriage as may seem necessary or proper in the best interests of the children. The court shall consider all relevant factors which may include: (a) The wishes of the child’s parent or parents as to his or her custody; (b) The wishes of the child as to his or her custodian; (c) The interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her parent or parents, and his or her siblings; (d) The child’s adjustment to his or her home, school, and community; (e) The character and circumstances of all individuals involved; (f) The need to promote continuity and stability in the life of the child; and (g) Domestic violence as defined in section 39-6303, Idaho Code, whether or not in the presence of the child.’ Nothing in sec. 32-717 mentions relocation, notice or distance. The relocation-specific factors are judicial.

Governed by case law, not statute. Verified on the Idaho Supreme Court’s own opinions site (isc.idaho.gov). A recent Idaho Supreme Court opinion (Docket No. 52309) cites Bartosz v. Jones, 146 Idaho 449, 197 P.3d 310 (2008) for the standard of review in child custody cases, and quotes Danti v. Danti, 146 Idaho 929, 204 P.3d 1140 (2009) for the relocation factors themselves – ‘The parents’ motives for relocating or opposing relocation; the quality of relationship between both parents and the child; the child’s attachment to both parents …’. The opinion identifies no Idaho relocation statute and relies on Idaho Code sec. 32-717.

Relocation and vacation are different questions, and orders often treat them in the same paragraph. A trip is temporary; a move changes the child’s residence. Read your own order for which one your plan actually is before you assume the relocation rule does not apply.

Idaho publishes a statewide parenting form or guideline — Parenting Plan, form CAO FL 3 (Idaho Court Assistance Office, Idaho Supreme Court) – a statewide fill-in template, not a default schedule that applies by operation of law. That matters, because its default wording is what lands in a lot of orders unchanged, and it is where your travel terms probably came from.

CAO FL 3 paragraph 9, ‘VACATION’: ‘Each parent has the option for ______ days of vacation time with each child each calendar year with ____ days advance written or electronic notice to the other parent. Each parent shall provide the other with the details of the vacation plans with each child. If there is a conflict over vacation: Mother has priority for vacation in [ ] even-numbered [ ] odd-numbered years. Father has priority for vacation in [ ] even-numbered [ ] odd-numbered years. Holidays have priority over vacation time.’ Paragraph 10, ‘RELOCATION BY PARENT’: ‘A move by either parent of more than ____ miles from ____________ cannot be made without the parents’ mutual written agreement or a decision by the court that it is in a child’s best interest to move. In the event that the parents consent to such a move for a child, the cost of transporting each child between the two homes will be paid by the moving parent.’ Paragraph 1 requires: ‘The parents shall keep each other informed at all times of their current address and telephone number.’ BOTH the vacation notice period and the relocation mileage are BLANKS the parties fill in – Idaho supplies no statewide default number for either. The form contains no out-of-state travel clause, no out-of-country travel clause, no itinerary requirement and no passport clause; the only travel-information duty is the general ‘details of the vacation plans’.

Nothing in Idaho’s statutes or standard forms addresses who holds the child’s passport. That is not a gap you have to live with — it is a clause you can ask for, and the federal rules above are the reason to.

• Custody jurisdiction statute: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title32/T32CH11/
• Abduction Prevention Act: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title32/
• Relocation rule: https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title32/T32CH7/SECT32-717/
• Statewide parenting form: https://courtselfhelp.idaho.gov/docs/forms/CAO_FL_3.pdf

Sources we could not reach when this page was built, recorded so you know what is missing rather than assuming it was checked: https://www.uniformlaws.org – enactment tables render only via JavaScript; UCAPA status was determined from the Idaho Code Title 32 chapter index instead.

Every fact above is taken from the source linked beside it. Where a figure could not be confirmed from an official source, this page says so rather than printing a plausible number. Found an error? Tell us — it goes on the corrections page with the date.