Indiana’s visitation guidelines, formally called the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines, set the minimum contact a noncustodial parent should have with a child after separation or divorce. Published by the Indiana Supreme Court, they act as the default schedule whenever parents can’t agree on their own arrangement or a judge needs a starting point.1Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines The schedules change with the child’s age, holidays rotate on a two-year cycle, and separate rules cover long distances, shared custody, and supervised visits.
Every parenting time decision starts with the child’s best interests. Under Indiana Code 31-17-4-1, a noncustodial parent has the right to reasonable parenting time unless a court finds, after a hearing, that contact might endanger the child physically or significantly impair the child’s emotional development.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-4-1 – Parenting Time Rights That endangerment finding is the only basis for denying parenting time altogether.
The Regular Schedule by Age
The guidelines assume a six-month-old and a ten-year-old need very different things, so the regular schedule is tiered by age.
Birth Through Age Three
Section II.C emphasizes frequent, shorter visits over long overnights. For babies from birth through four months, the noncustodial parent gets three non-consecutive days each week for two hours per session, plus holiday time of the same length. If that parent has already been actively involved in day-to-day care, the schedule can include one overnight of up to 24 hours per week.1Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
Visits and overnights expand as the child grows. The guidelines divide this stage into early infancy (birth through nine months) and later infancy (ten months through 36 months), each sub-stage adding time to match the child’s ability to be away from the primary caregiver.3Indiana Supreme Court. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines – Section II For very young children, regularity matters more than length.
Age Three and Older
Once a child turns three, Section II.D applies a single schedule that stays consistent through the school years. The noncustodial parent receives:
- Alternating weekends from Friday at 6:00 p.m. until Sunday at 6:00 p.m.
- One midweek evening, preferably mid-week, of up to four hours, with the child returned by 9:00 p.m.
- All scheduled holidays under the rotation described below
Where distance makes it practical, the midweek period can extend into an overnight.1Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
Adolescents
Section II.E keeps the Section II.D schedule as the baseline for teenagers but expects parents to build in flexibility around school events, extracurriculars, and social lives. Rigid enforcement against a teenager who wants to attend a school function tends to backfire, and the guidelines expect parents to involve older children in scheduling.
Summer, Spring, and Winter Break
Extended time during school breaks depends on the child’s age. For children three and four, the noncustodial parent may pick individual weeks of summer time but must give at least 60 days’ notice for each week. For children five and older, the noncustodial parent gets seven weeks of summer vacation, seven days of winter vacation, and the entire spring break.1Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
Summer selections must be given to the custodial parent by April 1 each year. Miss that deadline and the custodial parent picks instead.
Holiday Rotation
Section II.F rotates holidays so each parent gets roughly equal access over two years. Holiday time overrides the regular weekend and midweek schedule when they overlap.1Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
In even-numbered years, the noncustodial parent has the child for:
- Martin Luther King Day weekend (if the school observes it)
- Presidents’ Day weekend (if the school observes it)
- Memorial Day weekend, Friday 6:00 p.m. through Monday 6:00 p.m.
- Labor Day weekend, Friday 6:00 p.m. through Monday 6:00 p.m.
- Thanksgiving, Wednesday 6:00 p.m. through Sunday 6:00 p.m.
In odd-numbered years, the noncustodial parent has the child for:
- Spring break
- Easter weekend, Friday 6:00 p.m. through Sunday 6:00 p.m.
- Fourth of July, July 3 at 6:00 p.m. through July 5 at 6:00 p.m.
- Fall break
- Halloween evening, 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. or the community’s scheduled trick-or-treat time
Christmas vacation splits in half. In even-numbered years the custodial parent takes the first half and the noncustodial parent the second half; in odd-numbered years, they swap.
Birthdays rotate too, but both parents get time each year. In even-numbered years the noncustodial parent has the child on the actual birthday (9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., or 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on a school day) while the custodial parent gets the day before. Odd years reverse. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day always go to the respective parent.
Long-Distance Situations
Section III applies when “significant geographical distance” between parents makes alternating weekends impractical. The guidelines set no specific mileage. Courts look at drive time, travel cost, work schedules, and the child’s school obligations.4Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines – Section III
Long-distance schedules consolidate time into fewer, longer blocks. For school-age children five and older, the noncustodial parent gets seven weeks of summer vacation, seven days of winter break, and the entire spring break including adjacent weekends where they apply. Summer selections are due to the custodial parent by April 1.
Shared Parenting as an Alternative
Section IV describes an alternative model where both homes serve as the child’s base rather than one being primary and the other a visiting destination. The guidelines are direct that shared parenting isn’t for every family: it requires a high level of cooperation across two households on routines, discipline, and daily logistics. A judge must independently assess whether the family fits before approving it.1Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
When Parenting Time Is Supervised or Denied
Courts can require that visits happen only with an approved third party present. The general standard for supervision matches the standard for restricting parenting time: a finding that unsupervised contact might endanger the child physically or significantly impair the child’s emotional development.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-4-1 – Parenting Time Rights
Two convictions carry special weight. If a parent has been convicted of child molesting or child exploitation, there is a rebuttable presumption that parenting time must be supervised. If the conviction occurred within the previous five years, supervision is mandatory and the court has no discretion to waive it. Outside those convictions, judges have broad discretion, and substantiated abuse or neglect, substance abuse, or the absence of any established relationship with the child can all lead to supervised visits.
Communication, Childcare, and Records
Both parents are expected to support regular phone, video, or messaging contact between the child and the other parent at reasonable times, without interference or monitoring. When a parent needs childcare and will be away from the child, the guidelines call for offering the other parent the chance to step in before turning to a babysitter or relative. The threshold triggering that offer varies by family, and the guidelines expect parents to agree on one that fits their situation.1Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines
Both parents have equal access to the child’s health records unless a court order says otherwise.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 16-39-1-7 – Child Health Records The same rule covers school records: custodial and noncustodial parents get identical access unless a court order restricts one of them.6Justia. Indiana Code 20-33-7 – Parental Access to Student Records You don’t need the other parent’s permission to request report cards, attendance records, or medical files from the provider.
Enforcing the Order
A parenting time order is a court order. If a custodial parent intentionally and without justification prevents the noncustodial parent from exercising their time, the court must find that parent in contempt and must order makeup parenting time on a schedule that works for the noncustodial parent and the child. The court can also order the violating parent to pay attorney fees and litigation costs, and can impose community service.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-4 – Parenting Time Rights of Noncustodial Parent
The word “shall” in the statute matters. Both the contempt finding and the makeup time are mandatory when an intentional, unjustified violation is proven, not left to a judge’s discretion. Additional tools include fines, jail time, and suspension of the violating parent’s driver’s license, professional license, or recreational licenses. Courts also weigh bad faith and whether a filing was frivolous when deciding who pays fees.
Modifying the Schedule
Circumstances change, and Indiana Code 31-17-4-2 lets a court modify any parenting time order whenever the change would serve the child’s best interests.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-4 – Parenting Time Rights of Noncustodial Parent A court cannot restrict a parent’s time, though, unless it finds the same endangerment described earlier.
Changing full custody is a higher bar. Under Indiana Code 31-17-2-21, a custody modification requires both that the change serves the child’s best interests and that there has been a substantial change in one or more of the best-interest factors.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2-21 Simply disliking the current arrangement isn’t enough. You have to show something genuinely different about the child, the other parent, or the living situation compared to when the last order was entered.
Notice Before Moving
If you plan to move and there is a custody or parenting time order in place, Indiana law may require a notice of intent to relocate filed with the court that issued the order.9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 31-17-2.2-1 – Notice of Intent to Move Residence You are exempt only if the move increases the distance between the two homes by no more than 20 miles and the child can stay in the same school. If either condition isn’t met, the notice is mandatory.
Once the non-relocating parent receives the notice, they have 60 days to file a motion objecting. No objection within that window, and the relocating parent can proceed. If an objection is filed, the court holds a hearing and decides whether the move serves the child’s best interests. Skipping the notice or moving before the process plays out can damage your credibility with the court and may result in an order to return the child.