How to modify child custody and parenting time in Tennessee

Sources last checked 7 November 2026. Information only, not legal advice. This page rests on the text of Tennessee Code sections 36-6-101 (custody and modification), 36-6-106 (best interest of the child) and 36-6-108 (relocation), as reproduced by FindLaw with the note “Current as of January 02, 2024”. Read what we could not confirm below.

Tennessee divorce kit Child custody in Tennessee How to modify child support in Tennessee After your divorce: changing a support or custody order

The short version

Tennessee’s statute says a custody decree stays “within the control of the court” and is “subject to such changes or modification as the exigencies of the case may require”. To change custody, the person asking has a stated burden: section 36-6-101(a)(2)(B) says the petitioner “must prove by a preponderance of the evidence a material change in circumstance”. Changing only the residential parenting schedule uses a related test, set out below. Relocating more than fifty miles has its own notice process.

Changing custody: the material change test

The burden, 36-6-101(a)(2)(B)(i). The petitioner must prove a material change in circumstance by a preponderance of the evidence. The statute adds that this “does not require a showing of a substantial risk of harm to the child”.
What can count. The statute says a material change “may include, but is not limited to” failures to follow the parenting plan or order, or circumstances that make the parenting plan no longer in the child’s best interest. It is a non-exclusive list.
No presumption either way. At the start of a custody case, the statute says “neither a preference nor a presumption” exists for joint or sole custody. The court has “the widest discretion” to order what is in the child’s best interest.
One exception worth knowing. Where the parents agree to joint custody, the statute presumes joint custody is in the child’s best interest unless the court finds otherwise by clear and convincing evidence. Modifying a joint custody order later uses a preponderance standard.

Changing only the parenting schedule

The test, 36-6-101(a)(2)(C). For the residential parenting schedule, the petitioner must prove by a preponderance of the evidence “a material change of circumstance affecting the child’s best interest”. Again, no showing of a substantial risk of harm is required.
Examples the statute gives. Significant changes in the child’s needs over time, including age; significant changes in a parent’s living or working condition that significantly affect parenting; failure to follow the plan; or other circumstances making a change in the child’s best interest. These are examples, not a closed list.

When the parents agree

Agreed modifications, 36-6-101(a)(5). If the parties put an agreement on the record, or sign a parenting plan approved by an agreed order, the court “is not required to inquire further” into best interest.
The court can still look. The same subsection says the court is not required to accept the agreement and may check that it is in the child’s best interest and “entered into freely and voluntarily by both parents”.

How the court decides best interest

The standard, 36-6-106(a). The decision “shall be made on the basis of the best interest of the child”. The court looks at all relevant factors with the child’s best interest “always being paramount”.
Both parents involved. The court is to order an arrangement that permits both parents “the maximum participation possible” in the child’s life, consistent with the listed factors.
The first factor. The statute’s first listed factor is the strength, nature and stability of the child’s relationship with each parent, including whether one parent has performed the majority of parenting responsibilities for the child’s daily needs. We read only part of the full list of factors; see below.

If a parent wants to move

When the process applies, 36-6-108(a). It applies to a parent who is spending intervals of time with a child and wants to relocate outside the state or more than fifty miles from the other parent within the state.
Notice. The relocating parent sends notice by registered or certified mail, mailed not later than sixty days before the move unless the court excuses it for exigent circumstances. It must state the intent to move, the proposed new location and the reasons.
The thirty-day window. If the other parent does not object within thirty days, the notice says the relocating parent will be permitted to move. If the parents do not agree, or the other parent objects in time, the relocating parent must file a petition seeking approval, and the other parent has thirty days to oppose it.
How the court decides, 36-6-108(c). The court determines whether relocation is in the child’s best interest, using factors that include the child’s preference if twelve or older, whether either parent has a pattern of promoting or thwarting the other parent’s relationship, and whether the move enhances quality of life for the parent and child.
The outcome. If the move is approved, the court modifies the parenting plan to account for the distance. If it is not, the court denies the petition and enters a modified plan that takes effect only if the parent moves anyway.

Parenting seminar

36-6-101(e). In a post-judgment proceeding involving minor children, the court may order the parents to attend an educational seminar on the effects of dissolution on the children. The statute says the program may not exceed four hours in total.

What we could not confirm

Currency. The FindLaw copy is marked current as of 2 January 2024. We did not compare it with the Tennessee General Assembly’s or the Code Commission’s current text, and Tennessee amends these sections often. Check the current statute before relying on any number or time limit above.
The full list of best-interest factors. Section 36-6-106(a) lists factors numbered through (17). We quote only the opening standard and the first factor, and we did not read or summarize the rest.
Parts of 36-6-108. We read subsections (a) through (d) in part, but not the later subsections, including any rules for parents who share substantially equal time. If you share close to equal time, read the full section.
Forms, fees and court. We found no single statewide custody-modification form, filing fee or local rule in what we read. Which court hears a petition depends on the existing order and the county.
Case law. How courts apply a material change test comes from judicial decisions. We read no cases.
Child support. A change in custody or schedule may affect child support. The statute says nothing here requires a mandatory support modification. See our Tennessee support page.

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