Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines (IPTG): Schedules and Holidays

The Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines set a presumptive minimum schedule for the noncustodial parent in every Indiana custody and paternity case, covering regular weekdays and weekends, holidays, school breaks, and separate age-stepped rules for infants and toddlers.¹ A judge can order more time, less time, or a different structure, but only with a stated reason on the record. Everything below describes what applies by default when your order is silent or vague.

Authority of the Guidelines and When a Court Can Order Less

The Indiana Supreme Court adopted the guidelines through the Domestic Relations Committee of the Judicial Conference of Indiana, and they carry a rebuttable presumption in every case.¹ A specific court order in your case controls whenever it differs from the guidelines. Where the order is silent, courts fall back on the guidelines to fill gaps, and family law attorneys, mediators, and parenting coordinators treat them as the baseline for negotiation.

To restrict a noncustodial parent below the guideline minimum, a court must find after a hearing that the parenting time might endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair the child’s emotional development.² That standard is a high one. Disagreements about parenting style, diet, or screen time do not clear it.

The Standard Schedule for Children Three and Older

Once a child turns three, the regular schedule applies. The noncustodial parent has the child on alternating weekends from Friday at 6:00 p.m. until Sunday at 6:00 p.m.³ On top of that, the noncustodial parent has one midweek period each week, preferably mid-week, for up to four hours, with the child returned no later than 9:00 p.m. Where the distance between homes makes it workable, the midweek period can be extended to an overnight.

The guidelines set a floor. Parents who cooperate can build in more time without going back to court, and they can shift days by agreement around work schedules and activities.

Infants and Toddlers

The alternating-weekend structure does not apply to very young children. The guidelines break early childhood into stages, each with its own schedule, because infants and toddlers need shorter and more frequent contact.¹

Birth through four months: three non-consecutive visits per week, two hours each. Overnights only if the noncustodial parent has been exercising regular care, and no more than one 24-hour period per week.
Five through nine months: three non-consecutive visits per week, three hours each, with the child returned at least one hour before bedtime. Same overnight condition.
Ten through twelve months: three non-consecutive visits per week. One visit on a non-work day is eight hours; the other two are three hours each. Holiday time also increases to eight hours.
Thirteen through eighteen months: three non-consecutive visits per week, with the non-work day visit extending to ten hours. Overnights remain capped at one 24-hour period per week for parents already providing regular care.
Nineteen through thirty-six months: alternating weekends with Saturday and Sunday visits of ten hours each, plus one three-hour midweek visit. Holidays extend to ten hours.

A noncustodial parent in the 19-to-36-month stage who has consistently exercised scheduled parenting time for at least nine continuous months may transition to the full standard schedule before the child turns three. As a practical matter, that means the earliest possible transition is around 28 months. The commentary emphasizes that this should happen only when the child moves comfortably between homes.

Holidays

Holiday parenting time overrides the regular weekday and weekend schedule. The guidelines alternate major holidays between parents by year.¹ In even-numbered years, the noncustodial parent has a group of holidays that includes Thanksgiving, which runs from 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday through 6:00 p.m. on Sunday. In odd-numbered years, those holidays flip. Other alternating holidays include Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, July Fourth, and the child’s birthday.

Winter Break and the Christmas Day Rule

The Christmas vacation runs from the last day of school before winter break through the last day before school resumes. That period is split in half, and the halves alternate:

Even-numbered years: the custodial parent has the first half; the noncustodial parent has the second half.
Odd-numbered years: the noncustodial parent has the first half; the custodial parent has the second half.

Unless the parents agree otherwise, the first half begins at 6:00 p.m. the day school lets out, and the second half ends at 6:00 p.m. the day before school resumes. When Christmas Day falls during one parent’s half, the other parent still has the child from noon to 9:00 p.m. on Christmas Day. That Christmas Day carve-out applies automatically under the guidelines even if your order does not spell it out, and it catches parents off guard regularly.

Summer, Spring Break, and Fall Break

The noncustodial parent is entitled to one half of the summer vacation, which runs from the day after school lets out until the day before school resumes. The time can be taken as one consecutive block or split into two segments. The noncustodial parent must notify the custodial parent of preferred dates by April 1 each year. Miss April 1, and the custodial parent chooses the dates instead. Many parents assume summer defaults to a fixed half; it does not.

Spring break alternates annually on the same even/odd pattern as holidays. If the school has a fall break, that time is divided between the parents as well.

During any extended break, when a child travels out of the area with either parent, the traveling parent must provide the other parent with an itinerary of travel dates and destinations, or at a minimum the name and phone number of a third person who can reach the child. The guidelines do not specifically address passports or international travel; courts often add those provisions in individual orders when a parent raises the issue.

Right of First Refusal and Communication

When either parent needs child care from someone other than a parent or responsible household family member, that parent must first offer the other parent the chance to provide the care, so long as time and distance make it practical. The other parent is never required to accept, and providing care does not affect child support. The guidelines leave the triggering length of absence to the family, so parents should agree in advance on what qualifies.

Both parents have a right to reasonable phone access to the child at reasonable hours and for a reasonable duration, without interference.⁴ Texts, emails, video calls, and physical mail get the same protection. The guidelines specifically prohibit refusing to answer, blocking calls, recording conversations between the other parent and the child, or turning off the phone. A child is never to be used to spy on or report about the other parent.

Indiana law also gives the noncustodial parent equal access to the child’s health records, unless a court order specifically limits it. A provider that incurs extra cost to duplicate records may charge the requesting parent a fee.⁵

What Happens When a Parent Blocks Court-Ordered Time

A noncustodial parent who regularly pays child support and is being denied parenting time can file an application for an injunction against the custodial parent under Indiana Trial Rule 65.⁶

If a court finds that the custodial parent violated an injunction or restraining order without justifiable cause, the court must find the parent in contempt, must order make-up parenting time on a schedule compatible with the noncustodial parent and the child, and may order the violating parent to pay reasonable attorney fees and costs.⁷ The “must” language matters: once a violation without justification is proven, the judge has no discretion to deny contempt or make-up time.

Outside contempt, courts can award reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and litigation expenses in any action to enforce or modify parenting time. That fee-shifting is a real deterrent because a parent who wrongly blocks time can end up paying both sides’ legal bills.

When a Court Departs From the Standard

Supervised Parenting Time

A court can order supervision when it finds unsupervised contact might endanger the child’s physical health or significantly impair the child’s emotional development. In practice, supervision orders arise most often in cases involving substance abuse, domestic violence, or untreated mental health conditions.²

For a parent convicted of child molesting or child exploitation, Indiana law creates a rebuttable presumption that parenting time must be supervised. If the conviction occurred within the previous five years, supervision is mandatory and the court cannot waive it. For older convictions the presumption still applies, but the parent can present evidence to rebut it. Supervised visits typically happen at a professional facility or with a court-approved supervisor, and courts can assign the cost to one or both parents.

Parallel Parenting

When parents cannot communicate without chronic conflict that endangers the child, a court may order parallel parenting. This is a departure from the standard framework and requires a written explanation from the judge.⁸ “High conflict parents” show a pattern of ongoing litigation, chronic anger and distrust, inability to communicate about the child’s care, or other behavior placing the child at risk. Parallel parenting is designed to minimize direct contact between parents until the conflict is manageable, and it is not meant to be permanent.

Under a parallel parenting order, several defaults change:

Joint legal custody is normally inappropriate. Sole legal custody is the default, with the custodial parent making major decisions about education, health care, and religious upbringing.
Each parent makes routine day-to-day decisions while the child is in their care.
Midweek visits are usually eliminated because they require too much coordination.
Make-up time is not available unless both parents agree. Missed time is simply lost.
Communication is limited to writing except in emergencies, typically through a shared “communication book.”

A parallel parenting order must be reviewed at least every 180 days to determine whether it should continue, be modified, or end.

Modifying the Order, Moving, and Military Deployment

A court can modify a custody or parenting time order when the change is in the best interests of the child and there has been a substantial change in one or more of the factors the court considers.⁹ Those factors include the child’s age, each parent’s wishes, and the child’s relationships with each parent and with siblings. For a child at least 14 years old, the child’s own preferences carry greater weight.¹⁰ Minor scheduling inconveniences or general dissatisfaction will not meet the substantial change requirement.

A parent who intends to move must file a notice of intent to relocate with the clerk of the court that issued the order.¹¹ The notice must be filed and served on the non-relocating parent at least 30 days before the intended move, or within 14 days after the relocating parent becomes aware of the relocation, whichever is sooner. The non-relocating parent then has 60 days to file an objection.¹² If an objection is filed, the court weighs the child’s best interests, including the distance, the child’s ties to the current community, and whether a workable parenting schedule can survive the move. Missing the 60-day window significantly weakens the objecting parent’s position.

When a parent receives military deployment orders, the court can delegate that parent’s parenting time, in whole or in part, to someone with a close and substantial relationship to the child, such as a grandparent or step-parent, when doing so serves the child’s best interests.¹³ The delegation terminates automatically when the parent returns, and the court can also end it earlier if the arrangement no longer serves the child.

How Parenting Time Affects Child Support

Indiana’s child support guidelines include a parenting time credit tied to the number of annual overnights. The credit begins at 52 overnights per year, roughly alternating weekends with no midweek overnights.¹⁴ Below 52 overnights there is no credit at all. The credit grows with more overnights and is calculated using a Parenting Time Table and Parenting Time Credit Worksheet alongside the standard Child Support Obligation Worksheet.

“Controlled expenses” drive the formula. These are costs that stay with the custodial parent and are not duplicated when the child spends time at the other home: clothing, education costs like textbook rental and lab fees, ordinary uninsured health care, and personal care items. Elective activities such as sports and performing arts are handled under separate extraordinary expenses provisions, not the credit itself. For uninsured medical costs, the parent exercising parenting time pays for routine non-prescription personal care, and uninsured costs submitted to insurance are shared between parents in proportion to their incomes.¹⁵

1
Indiana Court Rules. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-4-1 – Parenting Time Rights
3
Indiana Court Rules. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines – Section II – Specific Parenting Time Provisions
4
Indiana Court Rules. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines – Section I – General Rules Applicable to Parenting Time
5
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-39-1-7 – Child’s Health Records Access to Custodial and Noncustodial Parents
6
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-4-4 – Permanent Injunction Against Custodial Parent
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-14-15-4 – Remedies for Contempt
8
IN.gov (Indiana Supreme Court). Order Amending Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
9
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2-21 – Modification of Child Custody Order
10
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2-8 – Custody Order
11
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2.2-1 – Notice of Intent to Move Residence
12
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2.2-3 – Notice and Information Requirements
13
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-14-13-6-1 – Delegation of Parenting Time During Deployment
14
Indiana Court Rules. Guideline 6 – Parenting Time Credit
15
Indiana Court Rules. Guideline 7 – Health Care and Medical Support