Relocation rules, state by state
Whether your move counts as a “relocation” at all, how much warning you owe, and where the rule is written down. The standards courts apply — who proves what — are on the main relocation page.
States with a relocation statute37 of 50
In the other 13 it is governed by case law, or by nothing but the terms of
your own order — which makes the order the whole ballgame.
States using a mileage trigger13 of 50
And the number ranges from 20 miles in Indiana to 150 in Iowa and Utah.
There is no national fifty-mile rule.
Everyone elseA line, not a radius
A state border, a school district, a number of days, or a functional test of whether
the move impairs the other parent’s relationship.
All fifty
“Notice” is a statutory advance-warning period. A dash usually means the state requires permission rather than notice, which is stricter, not looser. Each state name links to its full page.
| State | Relocation statute | Notice | Triggered by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama Parent-Child Relationship… | 45 days | 60 miles |
| Alaska | no statute | — | None. Alaska has no relocation statute, so… |
| Arizona | A.R.S. § 25-408 (“Rights of each parent | 45 days | More than 100 miles within Arizona, or any… |
| Arkansas | no statute | — | None. Arkansas has no relocation statute, so… |
| California | Cal. Fam. Code § 7501 (parent’s right to… | 45 days | None. California’s notice provision is… |
| Colorado | C.R.S. § 14-10-129(1)(a)(II) (within… | — | None. Colorado’s trigger is qualitative |
| Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. sec. 46b-56d (P.A.… | — | None. The trigger is qualitative, not… |
| Delaware | 13 Del. C. sec. 734, ‘Relocation.’ | — | Dual trigger, and neither part is a mileage… |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. § 61.13001 (“Parental relocation… | — | 50 miles, combined with a 60-consecutive-day… |
| Georgia | O.C.G.A. sec. 19-9-3 carries Georgia’s… | 30 days | None identified. Georgia’s notice is tied to… |
| Hawaii | no statute | — | — |
| Idaho | no statute | — | None. Idaho has no relocation statute, so… |
| Illinois | 750 ILCS 5/609.2 (“Parent’s relocation”),… | 60 days | Tiered, and it is the county the child… |
| Indiana | Ind. Code § 31-17-2.2 (relocation notice) | 30 days | No mileage threshold triggers the duty to… |
| Iowa | Iowa Code § 598.21D | — | 150 miles or more from the child’s residence… |
| Kansas | K.S.A. 23-3222 | 30 days | None. Any change of the child’s residence… |
| Kentucky | no statute | — | — |
| Louisiana | La. R.S. 9:355.1 et seq | 60 days | Out of Louisiana (any distance), OR more than… |
| Maine | 19-A M.R.S. § 1653(14) | 30 days | None. Any intended relocation of the child… |
| Maryland | Md. Code Ann., Fam. Law § 9-106 | 90 days | None. The notice covers an intent to relocate… |
| Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, sec. 30 (titled… | — | Out of the Commonwealth. Section 30 is… |
| Michigan | MCL 722.31 (Child Custody Act of 1970, sec.… | — | More than 100 miles from the child’s legal… |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. sec. 518.175, subd. 3 (‘Move to… | — | Out of state. The statute is triggered by… |
| Mississippi | no statute | — | — |
| Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 452.377 (Relocation of… | 60 days | None. There is no mileage threshold and no… |
| Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 40-4-217 (Notice of… | 30 days | None |
| Nebraska | no statute | — | — |
| Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 125C.006 (primary… | — | Out of state, OR a move within Nevada ‘to a… |
| New Hampshire | RSA 461-A:12 (Relocation of a Residence of… | 60 days | No mileage figure. New Hampshire uses two… |
| New Jersey | N.J.S.A. 9:2-2 (R.S. 9:2-2), the removal… | — | Out of the jurisdiction of New Jersey |
| New Mexico | NMSA 1978, § 40-4-9.1(J)(4)(a) | 30 days | A change of ‘home city or state of… |
| New York | no statute | — | — |
| North Carolina | no statute | — | — |
| North Dakota | N.D.C.C. § 14-09-07 | — | out of state |
| Ohio | R.C. 3109.051(G) | — | none |
| Oklahoma | 43 O.S. § 112.3 | 60 days | over 75 miles from the child’s principal… |
| Oregon | ORS 107.159 | — | more than 60 miles further distant from the… |
| Pennsylvania | 23 Pa.C.S. § 5337 (with the definition of… | 60 days | none |
| Rhode Island | no statute | — | none |
| South Carolina | no statute | — | none |
| South Dakota | SDCL §§ 25-4A-17 (notice), 25-4A-18… | 45 days | none |
| Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-108 (parental… | — | more than 50 miles from the other parent, or… |
| Texas | no statute | — | none |
| Utah | Utah Code § 81-9-209, “Notice of relocation… | 60 days | 150 miles or more from the residence of the… |
| Vermont | no statute | — | none |
| Virginia | Va. Code § 20-124.5, “Notification of… | 30 days | none |
| Washington | The Child Relocation Act, RCW 26.09.405… | 60 days | school district, not miles. The 60-day formal… |
| West Virginia | W. Va. Code § 48-9-403 (“Relocation of a… | 90 days | none |
| Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. § 767.481, “Relocating a child’s… | — | 100 driving miles or more from the other… |
| Wyoming | None. Wyoming has no relocation statute… | 30 days | change of home city or state of residence |
Read on each legislature’s own site, 30 August 2026. Where we could not verify a figure from a primary source we show a dash rather than a plausible number.
Keep reading
- How relocation is actually decided — burdens, presumptions, and the reasons that are named in the statutes
- Taking your children abroad
- Child custody by state
Sources last checked30 August 2026
Page published30 August 2026
What this means. This is when the sources on this page were last read against their originals — statutes, court rules, official schedules — taken from the date this page was built from its sources. It is not the date the page was last edited. Adding a link or fixing a typo does not move it; re-reading the statute does. Law changes without notice, so treat anything time-sensitive as needing a fresh check. Where we get something wrong we publish it at thecusp.app/corrections with the date, what changed, and how long the error was live.