Standard Visitation in Texas: Schedule, Holidays, and Distance Rules

The standard visitation schedule in Texas, called “possession and access” under the Family Code, gives the noncustodial parent the child on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month, a Thursday evening during the school year, alternating holidays, and either 30 or 42 days each summer depending on how far apart the parents live. The details shift with distance and with whether the expanded schedule applies, but that is the skeleton every Texas order is built on.

Weekends and Thursday Evenings When Parents Live Within 100 Miles

If the parents live 100 miles or less apart, the possessory conservator gets the child on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month, from 6:00 p.m. Friday to 6:00 p.m. Sunday.¹ The schedule tracks the calendar, not a strict every-other-weekend rotation, so months with five Fridays produce three weekends in a row for the same parent.

During the regular school term, the possessory conservator also gets a midweek visit every Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.¹ Two hours is short. The point is to keep the noncustodial parent in the child’s weekly routine rather than making the child wait from one Friday to the next. A court can drop the Thursday visit if it finds midweek contact is not in the child’s best interest.

Pickup and Drop-Off

Under the default schedule, the noncustodial parent picks up and drops off the child at the other parent’s home unless the order specifies a different location.² When the expanded times apply, most exchanges shift to the child’s school at dismissal or arrival.

The Expanded Possession Order

For cases filed on or after September 1, 2021, the expanded schedule is the automatic default when parents live within 50 miles of each other. Under Section 153.3171, the court must apply the expanded times unless the possessory conservator declines them in writing, the court is restricting access for safety reasons, or the court finds the expanded times are not in the child’s best interest.³

The practical difference is real. Instead of a 6:00 p.m. Friday pickup, the possessory conservator picks the child up when school lets out Thursday and returns the child at school drop-off Monday morning. The Thursday midweek visit extends the same way: pickup at school dismissal Thursday, return to school Friday morning. The noncustodial parent handles homework, bedtime, and the morning routine, not just an evening window. Exchanges happen at school, which cuts down the friction of front-door handoffs.

Parents living between 50 and 100 miles apart do not receive the expanded times automatically, but the possessory conservator can still request them under Section 153.317.⁴

Spring Break and Summer for Parents Within 100 Miles

Spring break alternates. The possessory conservator has the child during spring break in even-numbered years, from 6:00 p.m. the day school lets out through 6:00 p.m. the day before school resumes. The managing conservator gets the same block in odd-numbered years.¹

Summer possession runs 30 days. If the possessory conservator sends written notice by April 1, those 30 days can be split into two blocks of at least seven consecutive days each, scheduled anywhere between the day after school ends and seven days before school starts again.¹ Without that notice, the default is a straight 30 days from 6:00 p.m. on July 1 through 6:00 p.m. on July 31.

The managing conservator has a corresponding option. With notice by April 15, the managing conservator can claim one weekend during the possessory conservator’s summer block, picking the child up Friday at 6:00 p.m. and returning the child Sunday at 6:00 p.m.¹

When Parents Live More Than 100 Miles Apart

The schedule adjusts for longer travel. The possessory conservator can either keep the regular first, third, and fifth Friday rotation or switch to one weekend per month of their choosing.⁵ To use the one-weekend option, the possessory conservator must give at least 14 days’ written or telephonic notice before the chosen weekend and must make the election within 90 days of the parents beginning to live more than 100 miles apart.

There is no Thursday midweek visit for a long-distance parent. The statute makes that up with extended time.

Spring Break Every Year

Spring break stops alternating. The possessory conservator gets spring break every year, from 6:00 p.m. the day school lets out through 6:00 p.m. the day before school resumes.⁵

Forty-Two Days of Summer

Summer expands to 42 days. With written notice by April 1, the 42 days can be split into two blocks of at least seven consecutive days each, scheduled between the day after school ends and seven days before it resumes.⁵ Without that notice, the default is 42 consecutive days from 6:00 p.m. on June 15 through 6:00 p.m. on July 27.

The managing conservator can carve out time inside that block. With notice by April 15, the managing conservator can take one weekend, or two nonconsecutive weekends if the possessory conservator’s block exceeds 30 days, provided the managing conservator handles all pickup and drop-off.⁵

Holidays Override the Regular Schedule

Holiday possession under Section 153.314 overrides the regular weekend and Thursday schedule regardless of distance.⁶ If a holiday lands on a weekend that would otherwise belong to the other parent, the holiday controls.

Christmas and winter break split at noon on December 28. In even-numbered years, the possessory conservator has the child from 6:00 p.m. the day school lets out through noon on December 28, and the managing conservator has the rest of the break. Odd-numbered years reverse.⁶
Thanksgiving goes to the possessory conservator in odd-numbered years and the managing conservator in even-numbered years, from 6:00 p.m. the day school lets out through 6:00 p.m. the following Sunday.⁶
Father’s Day and Mother’s Day go to the corresponding parent every year, from 6:00 p.m. the Friday before through 6:00 p.m. on the holiday. A parent not otherwise entitled to that weekend handles all pickup and return.⁶
On the child’s birthday, the parent who does not have possession that day gets a two-hour visit from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., with pickup and return at the other parent’s residence.⁶

Keep track of the even/odd rotation. A missed holiday cannot simply be tacked onto the next regular weekend.

Children Under Three

The standard schedule does not automatically apply to a child younger than three. Under Section 153.254, the court crafts an age-appropriate schedule using factors like who provided primary care before the case, how separation from either parent would affect the child, each parent’s availability, and the proximity of the parents’ homes.⁷

The court must also issue a “prospective order” that takes effect on the child’s third birthday, and that prospective order is presumed to be the standard possession order.⁷ Many judges use a graduated schedule that starts with shorter daytime visits and adds overnights over time, ramping to the full standard order by age three.

The Standard Order Is a Presumption, Not a Ceiling

Texas law creates a rebuttable presumption that the standard possession order gives the noncustodial parent reasonable minimum time and serves the child’s best interest.⁸ A parent can argue for something different, but they carry the burden of showing why the standard schedule does not fit. Most Texas custody cases start from this template, and most stay close to it. Judges deviate when the facts require it, such as a history of family violence, substance abuse, or prolonged absence, but the standard order is where every schedule begins.

1
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart
2
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Pickup and Drop-off
3
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.3171 – Alternative Beginning and Ending Possession Times
4
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.317 – Alternative Beginning and Ending Possession Times
5
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.313 – Parents Who Reside Over 100 Miles Apart
6
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.314 – Holiday Possession Unaffected by Distance Parents Reside Apart
7
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.254 – Possession of Child Under Three
8
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.252 – Rebuttable Presumption