Temporary Custody in Texas: Filing, Hearings, and Enforcement

To file for temporary custody in Texas, you open a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (a SAPCR) in the county where the child lives, have the other parent formally served, and ask the court for temporary orders. A judge then holds a short hearing and decides, on an interim basis, who the child lives with, who makes decisions, how visitation runs, and who pays support. The orders stay in force until the court replaces them or signs a final decree.¹

Make Sure You Can File in the First Place

Before a Texas court will look at your request, you have to show you have standing. Texas Family Code Section 102.003 sets out who qualifies.²

Either parent can file at any time. A man who believes he is the child’s father can also file under Chapter 160, though establishing paternity may be a prerequisite.

A non-parent who is not a foster parent, relative, or DFPS-designated caregiver can file after having exclusive care, control, and possession of the child for at least six months, with that period ending no more than 90 days before filing. The six months need not be continuous; the court looks at where the child primarily lived. For cases filed before September 1, 2025, the standard was “actual” care; cases filed on or after that date must meet the stricter “exclusive” standard. Foster parents, relatives, and DFPS-designated caregivers need at least 12 months of care ending within 90 days of filing, unless they have been approved to adopt the child.²

A relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity, which covers grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins, can file for custody if both parents are deceased.²

File in a Court That Has Jurisdiction

Texas follows the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. The main test is the “home state” rule: Texas qualifies if the child has lived here with a parent or a person acting as a parent for at least six consecutive months immediately before filing.³

If the child recently left Texas but a parent still lives here, Texas can retain home-state jurisdiction for up to six months after the child’s departure. For an infant born in Texas who is not yet six months old, Texas is the home state from birth. If no state meets the home-state test, the court considers whether the child and at least one parent have a significant connection with Texas and whether substantial evidence about the child’s welfare is available here.³

If any party lives outside Texas, you must file an Out-of-State Party Declaration. The sworn form requires every address where the child has lived for the past five years, the adults the child lived with at each one, and any other court cases involving the child in any state or country.⁴ Skipping it can delay your case or hand the other side a jurisdictional challenge.

Prepare and File the Petition

The case begins when you file a Petition in a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship with the district clerk in the county where the child lives. The petition should include the full names and addresses of all parties, the child’s name and date of birth, the specific relief you are requesting (temporary conservatorship, a possession schedule, child support, and so on), the facts supporting your request, and why the arrangement serves the child’s best interest.

Attorneys in Texas have been required to e-file since 2014 through eFileTexas.gov, and self-represented filers in district and county courts must use the same system.⁵

Filing fees for a standalone SAPCR start at $350 and run to roughly $401 or more in counties with a domestic relations office, which add separate operations and child support service fees.⁶ If you cannot afford the fee, submit a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs.⁷ If the court approves it, filing fees, service costs, and other litigation expenses are waived.

Serve the Other Parent

Once the petition is filed and assigned a cause number, the other parties must be formally served. A county constable, sheriff, or licensed private process server has to hand-deliver the petition and citation. You cannot deliver the papers yourself. Service through a constable’s office typically runs $90 to $100, with variation by county and higher costs for more complex writs.

The process server then files a return of service proving delivery. No hearing can go forward until that proof is on file. If you cannot locate the other parent, Texas allows service by publication as a last resort, which takes longer and adds the cost of newspaper notice.

Know What to Ask the Court For

Under Section 105.001, the court can issue any temporary order it considers necessary for the child’s safety and welfare.¹ A well-drafted petition typically asks for some combination of the following:

Temporary conservatorship, meaning which party has the right to make decisions about the child’s education, medical care, and residence.
Possession and access, meaning a specific visitation schedule covering weekdays, weekends, holidays, and summer.
Child support, calculated using Texas guideline percentages, which the court presumes are appropriate even on an interim basis.
Health insurance, including who maintains coverage and how uncovered medical costs are divided.
A geographic restriction, usually a county or group of adjacent counties, that neither party can take the child beyond.
Restraining provisions barring harassment, hiding assets, or disrupting the child’s routine.
Interim attorney’s fees when one party cannot litigate on equal footing.

Standard possession and child support guidelines apply at the temporary stage as rebuttable presumptions: the judge starts from those baselines unless someone shows good reason to deviate. In a divorce, temporary orders can also address use of the family home, payment of debts, and temporary spousal support.

What Happens at the Temporary Orders Hearing

After service is complete, the court sets a temporary orders hearing. It runs shorter than a full trial, often a few hours. Both sides present evidence, call witnesses, and argue to the judge. There is no jury.

The controlling standard is the child’s best interest, which Texas Family Code Section 153.002 makes the primary consideration in every conservatorship, possession, and access decision.⁸ Judges weigh factors drawn from the Texas Supreme Court’s Holley v. Adams decision, including the child’s wishes when old enough to express them, emotional and physical needs, any danger to the child, each party’s parenting ability and plans, the stability of the proposed home, and any past conduct suggesting harm. No single factor controls. At the temporary stage the evidence is limited, so judges tend to focus on stability and immediate safety; if your household has been the child’s primary home and there is no evidence of harm, that carries real weight.

Judges often rule the same day. Temporary orders are not subject to interlocutory appeal, so the losing party cannot immediately challenge the decision in a higher court.¹ The orders remain in place until the court modifies them or signs a final decree. If circumstances change significantly before trial, either party can file a motion to modify.

When the Court Can Act Before the Other Parent Is Heard

As a rule, the court cannot grant temporary conservatorship, child support, or attorney’s fees without notice to the other side and an opportunity to be heard. The main exception is an emergency order sought by the Department of Family and Protective Services under Chapter 262, where a judge can place a child in temporary conservatorship without advance notice when the child faces immediate danger.¹

Temporary restraining orders are different. A private party can obtain a TRO without proving immediate and irreparable harm, a lower threshold than in most other civil cases. A TRO might prohibit a parent from taking the child out of state, hiding marital property, or contacting the other party in a threatening manner. These orders are short-lived and typically last only until the temporary orders hearing.

Mediation Along the Way

Texas courts have broad authority to send any SAPCR case to mediation, either on their own or by agreement.⁹ Many judges require it before contested temporary orders hearings. If the court refers the case to mediation before the first hearing, it cannot postpone that hearing by more than 30 days.¹

A mediated settlement agreement becomes binding and essentially unbreakable when it includes a prominent statement that it is irrevocable, is signed by both parties, and is signed by each attorney who is present.⁹ A narrow exception lets the court refuse judgment on the agreement if one party was a victim of family violence that impaired their ability to negotiate, or if the agreement would allow a registered sex offender to live with or have unsupervised access to the child.

A party who has experienced family violence from the other parent can object to mediation in writing at any time. The court can still order it if the evidence does not support the claim, but the parties must be kept in separate rooms with no face-to-face contact.⁹

If the Other Parent Ignores the Order

Temporary orders carry the full force of law. If a parent violates the possession schedule, withholds the child, skips court-ordered support, or breaks any other provision, you can file an enforcement action under Chapter 157. Violations are punishable by contempt of court.¹ Civil contempt is designed to compel compliance and can include jail until the party complies; criminal contempt punishes past violations with a fine, jail, or both. The court also has wage garnishment, property liens, and license suspension (including driver’s and professional licenses) available. Judges tend to notice when a party flouts temporary orders during the case, and that impression can carry into the final custody decision.

If One Parent Is on Active-Duty Military

Federal law gives service members specific protections during a custody case. Under 50 U.S.C. Section 3932, a service member who receives notice can request a stay of at least 90 days, supported by a statement explaining how military duties prevent appearance and a letter from the commanding officer confirming that leave is not authorized. If the court denies an additional stay, it must appoint counsel for the service member.¹⁰

Section 3938 adds custody-specific protections. A temporary order based solely on deployment must expire no later than the period justified by that deployment, so the arrangement unwinds when the deployment ends rather than becoming a new baseline. A court considering a permanent change cannot treat deployment or the possibility of future deployment as the sole factor in the best-interest analysis. If Texas law offers stronger protections than the federal statute, the court applies the state standard.¹¹

1
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 105.001 – Temporary Orders Before Final Order
2
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 102.003 – General Standing to File Suit
3
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 152.201 – Initial Child Custody Jurisdiction
4
TexasLawHelp. Texas Family Code 152.209 – Exhibit: Out-of-State Party Declaration
5
eFileTexas.Gov. Official E-Filing System for Texas
6
Texas Judicial Branch. County-Level Court Civil Cases and Actions
7
Texas Courts. Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs or an Appeal Bond
8
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.002
9
Texas Public Law. Texas Family Code 153.0071 – Alternate Dispute Resolution
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3932 – Stay of Proceedings When Servicemember Has Notice
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3938 – Child Custody Protection