California Form FL-311, the Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Application Attachment, is the Judicial Council form you attach to a Request for Order (FL-300) or another lead filing to tell the court exactly what custody and parenting-time arrangement you want. It is not a standalone petition. You cannot file it alone, and a judge will not act on it without the lead document it rides with. The form itself covers 13 numbered items, and you complete only the ones that fit your situation.
Download the current version (revised January 1, 2026) from the California Courts website.1California Courts | Self Help Guide. Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Application Attachment (FL-311) It is fillable on screen. Type your entries. Clerks and judges read dozens of these a week, and legibility is part of making your proposal easy to adopt.
Decide the Custody Type Before You Check Any Boxes
Item 2 forces you to commit to specific labels, so get clear on them first. Legal custody is the authority to make major decisions about your child’s health, education, and welfare. Joint legal custody shares that authority; sole legal custody puts it with one parent.2California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3003 – Joint Legal Custody Physical custody is about where the child lives. Joint physical custody gives each parent significant time with the child; sole physical custody means the child lives primarily with one parent, usually with visitation for the other.3California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 3004 – Joint Physical Custody
When both parents agree to joint custody, California law presumes that arrangement serves the child’s best interest.4California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3080 When parents disagree, the judge weighs the child’s health, safety, and welfare, any history of abuse, the nature of each parent’s contact with the child, and any habitual substance abuse.5California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 3011 Pick your position before you start marking boxes. Changing your proposal mid-case costs credibility.
Working Through the Form
At the top of the form, check the box showing which lead document the attachment goes with (Petition, Response, Request for Order, or Responsive Declaration) and fill in the case number if you have one.6Judicial Council of California. Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Application Attachment Then move through items 1 through 13.
Item 1: The Children
List each child’s full legal name, date of birth, and age. In multi-child families where different arrangements may apply to different children, errors here cause real confusion later.
Item 2: Custody Designations
Check whether you are requesting physical custody, legal custody, or both, and indicate which parent gets each. Mark joint or sole for each category. If you want joint legal custody with specific rules about which decisions require both parents’ agreement (changing schools, picking a new pediatrician), the form directs you to complete a separate Joint Legal Custody Attachment (FL-341(E)). If there are allegations of abuse or substance abuse, check Item 2(c), which triggers Item 5.6Judicial Council of California. Child Custody and Visitation (Parenting Time) Application Attachment
Items 3 and 4: Visitation Type and Schedule
Item 3 asks what kind of visitation you want. The choices are a reasonable right of visitation (no fixed schedule), a schedule described in a separate attachment, the specific schedule you lay out in Item 4, supervised visitation (which requires Item 6), or no visitation at all. Most parents choose Item 4, because a concrete schedule works better for courts and co-parents alike.
In Item 4, list exact days and times for in-person parenting time, including start and end times and which weeks the schedule applies to. If you want virtual visitation, check the box and describe the frequency and platform. The form notes that a holiday schedule in Item 11 overrides regular parenting time unless the court orders otherwise.
Item 5: Abuse or Substance Abuse Allegations
If you checked Item 2(c), Item 5 is required, not optional. Identify the type of allegations and explain, in writing, why your proposed custody and visitation orders serve the child’s best interest in light of them. Any proposed orders must be detailed as to time, day, place, and manner of exchange. The stakes here are substantial. Under Family Code section 3044, if a parent has committed domestic violence within the previous five years, there is a presumption that awarding that parent sole or joint custody would harm the child, which the parent can overcome only by completing a batterer’s treatment program, any required substance abuse counseling, and a parenting class, among other factors.7California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 3044 When section 3044 applies, judges typically award sole legal and physical custody to the non-abusive parent with supervised or limited visitation for the other.8California Courts. Domestic Violence and Child Custody
Item 6: Supervised Visitation
If you asked for supervised visits in Item 3, explain here why unsupervised visits would not be in the child’s best interest. Use specific facts: incidents, dates, police reports, protective orders. Identify who should supervise — a professional provider, who must sign form FL-324(P) confirming they meet Judicial Council requirements, or a nonprofessional provider such as a trusted family member, who signs FL-324(NP). Specify the location and proposed schedule.
Item 7: Transportation and Exchange
Spell out who drives the child to and from visits, the exact exchange location (a school, a police station lobby, a neutral public spot), and any requirements for the driver or vehicle. In domestic violence cases, the court needs enough detail to order exchanges that are specific as to time, day, place, and manner of transfer. Nailing this down in advance heads off the parking-lot disputes that generate contempt motions.
Item 8: Travel Restrictions
Use Item 8 to require written permission or a court order before either parent takes the child out of state or out of specific counties. You can also address passport custody and international travel. A common provision requires the traveling parent to supply a full itinerary and contact information two to four weeks before departure.
Item 9: Abduction Prevention
If you believe the other parent is a flight risk with the child, Item 9 directs you to complete the separate Child Abduction Prevention Order Attachment (FL-312). This matters most when a parent has ties to another country, has threatened to take the child, or has no strong local roots.
Item 10: Mediation
Here you can ask the court to order both parents into custody mediation or recommending counseling. California already requires mediation in contested cases, so this item is often checked as a formality. It also lets you propose a specific date, time, and location.
Item 11: Holidays
Assign specific holidays and school vacations to each parent, typically alternating by even and odd years. Cover Thanksgiving, winter break, spring break, the child’s birthday, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and any culturally significant dates. The holiday schedule overrides the regular parenting plan unless the judge orders otherwise.
Items 12 and 13: Additional Provisions
Item 12 catches custody provisions that do not fit elsewhere: a right of first refusal (requiring the custodial parent to offer parenting time to the other parent before calling a babysitter), restrictions on introducing the child to new romantic partners, communication protocols between parents. Item 13 is a general catch-all. Be precise. Vague requests like “both parents will cooperate” are unenforceable.
Filing the Package
Staple the completed FL-311 to your lead document, which is almost always the FL-300 Request for Order in an existing case. File the entire package at the clerk’s office in your local superior court. Expect a filing fee of $435 to $450 for a new petition, plus another $60 to $85 if you are also requesting temporary (emergency) orders. If you cannot afford the fee, file a Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001) at the same time. You qualify if you receive public benefits, your income falls below a set threshold, or paying would prevent you from meeting basic needs.9California Courts. File Your Petition and Summons for Child Custody and Support
The clerk stamps your documents with a filing date and assigns a hearing date. Keep at least two extra copies of everything: one for your records, one to serve on the other parent.
Serving the Other Parent
California requires that the other parent receive a copy of your filed papers through formal service. The person delivering them must be at least 18 and not a party to the case.10California Courts. Serving Court Papers A friend, a relative, or a professional process server works. You cannot serve the papers yourself.
For personal service, the server hands the papers directly to the other parent and completes a Proof of Personal Service (FL-330).11Judicial Council of California. FL-330 Proof of Personal Service When service by mail is permitted, the server mails the documents to the other parent’s last known address and completes a Proof of Service by Mail (FL-335).12Judicial Council of California. FL-335 Proof of Service by Mail Either way, file the completed proof of service with the court before your hearing.
Timing matters. Unless the court orders otherwise, the other parent must be served at least 16 court days before the hearing date.13California Courts. Serve Your Request for Order in Person Court days exclude weekends and court holidays, so count carefully. Miss the deadline and the judge may have to continue your hearing.
Mandatory Mediation Comes First
If custody or visitation is contested, California requires mediation before a judge will hear the case.14California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code FAM 3170 There is no workaround for a standard custody dispute. Family Court Services at your courthouse runs the session, and a neutral mediator helps you and the other parent try to agree on a plan. The mediator covers legal custody, physical custody, and visitation only. Child support and spousal support are off the table. Do not bring your children. If domestic violence is an issue, tell the mediator immediately and request separate rooms or staggered appointment times.15California Courts. What to Expect From Family Court Mediation
If you reach an agreement, the judge reviews it and, if satisfied it serves the child’s best interest, signs it into an order. You may walk out with your parenting plan the same day. If mediation fails, the case goes back to the judge for decision at the hearing.
At the Hearing
The judge calls your case by name and number. Both parents go to the front of the courtroom. You may be asked to swear to tell the truth. The parent who filed the Request for Order typically speaks first, but both sides get a turn. The judge may ask follow-up questions about what you wrote in your papers or why the other parent’s proposal does not work. Bring any supporting evidence — school records, communications, police reports — and give the other side a copy.16California Courts. What to Expect at a Request for Order Hearing
Other cases are usually calendared the same day, so expect to wait. The hearing itself is often brief; 15 to 30 minutes is common for a contested Request for Order. The judge usually decides that day. If the court needs more, you may be ordered back for a longer evidentiary hearing.
Changing an Order Later
If a custody order already exists and circumstances have shifted significantly — a parent’s relocation, a change in the child’s needs, a new safety concern — you can ask the court to modify the order by filing a new Request for Order (FL-300) with an updated FL-311 showing your proposed changes. The legal standard runs in two steps. First, you show a significant change in circumstances since the last order. Second, the court takes a fresh look at the child’s best interests under Family Code section 3011. If both parents agree, you can submit a written stipulation for the judge to approve and skip a contested hearing. In emergencies involving immediate danger to a child, a parent can seek an ex parte order (a same-day or next-day temporary order made without the other parent present), with a full hearing scheduled shortly after.