How to modify child custody and parenting time in Texas

Sources last checked 3 November 2026. Information only, not legal advice.

Texas divorce kit Modifying child support and spousal maintenance in Texas After your divorce: changing a support or custody order

The short version

Texas law calls custody “conservatorship” and parenting time “possession of or access to” the child. A court with “continuing, exclusive jurisdiction” may modify an order about conservatorship, support, or possession and access (Texas Family Code section 156.001). To change conservatorship or possession and access, section 156.101(a) requires that the change would be in the best interest of the child and that one of three things is true, listed below. We did not find a statewide court-issued form for this kind of petition, so this page does not name one (see “What we could not confirm”). For changing child support or spousal maintenance instead, see modifying child support and spousal maintenance in Texas.

What must be shown

Section 156.101(a) says the court may modify an order about conservatorship, its terms and conditions, or possession of or access to a child “if modification would be in the best interest of the child” and one of these applies:

Changed circumstances. The circumstances of the child, a conservator, or another party affected by the order have “materially and substantially changed” since the earlier of the date the order was rendered or the date a mediated or collaborative law settlement agreement the order is based on was signed.
A child aged 12 or older. The child is at least 12 years old and has told the court in chambers, as section 153.009 provides, the name of the person the child prefers to have the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence.
The primary-residence parent has handed over care. The conservator who has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence has “voluntarily relinquished the primary care and possession of the child” to another person “for at least six months”. Subsection (b) says this ground does not apply where the conservator temporarily handed the child over during military deployment, mobilization or temporary duty.

Extra step if the order is under a year old

Section 156.102 applies if the suit asks to change who has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence and is filed not later than one year after the order was rendered (or the settlement agreement it is based on was signed). The person filing must sign and attach an affidavit with supporting facts that states at least one of these allegations:

the child’s present environment may endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair the child’s emotional development;
the person who has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence is the one seeking or consenting to the change, and the change is in the child’s best interest; or
that person has voluntarily relinquished primary care and possession of the child for at least six months, and the change is in the child’s best interest.

The statute says the court shall deny the relief and “refuse to schedule a hearing for modification” unless the affidavit states facts adequate to support one of those allegations.

Where, who and notice

Where: section 156.002(a) says a party affected by an order may file a suit for modification in the court with continuing, exclusive jurisdiction. Section 156.002(b) lets a person or entity with standing under Chapter 102 file as well.
Notice: section 156.003 says a party whose rights and duties may be affected is “entitled to receive notice by service of citation”.
Procedure: section 156.004 says the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure that apply to filing an original lawsuit apply to a suit for modification.
Temporary orders: section 156.006 lets the court render a temporary order in a suit for modification. While the suit is pending, the court may not use a temporary order to create or change who has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence, or the geographic area for the child’s residence, unless the order is in the child’s best interest and one of three conditions in that section is met. Those conditions are that the order is necessary because the child’s present circumstances would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development, that the designated person has voluntarily relinquished primary care and possession for more than six months, or that the child is 12 or older and has told the court in chambers whom the child prefers.
Not an admission: section 156.007 says a party who files a motion to modify based on a material and substantial change of circumstances is not, on that basis alone, treated as admitting a change on any other matter.

Before you file

This page does not state a filing fee, a hearing date or a deadline for a hearing. None of the sources we read gives one.
Court staff cannot tell you which ground fits your facts. See the Texas divorce kit for the wider process and for free or low-cost help.
Changing child support or spousal maintenance uses different rules. See modifying child support and spousal maintenance in Texas.

What we could not confirm

An official form. The Texas Judicial Branch forms page we read lists protective order forms and other non-custody forms, and we did not see a form for modifying conservatorship or possession and access. We did not find a statewide court-issued petition, so we name no form and no revision date. Ask the district clerk of the court that made your order which form it accepts.
Filing fees and service fees. No source we read states an amount.
Other sections of Chapter 156. The chapter has separate modification sections for a conviction for child abuse (156.104), a conviction for family violence (156.1045), military duty (156.105), the death of a conservator (156.106) and contempt for denial of possession and access (156.107). We saw only their titles and did not read their text.
Suits between a parent and a nonparent. Section 156.008 adds requirements for those suits. We did not read it.
The best-interest standard. We did not read Chapter 153 or case law on how courts decide what is in a child’s best interest or what counts as a material and substantial change.
Court-specific rules. We did not read the Rules of Civil Procedure, county local rules or standing orders.

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