Texas Custody Calendar: Standard Possession Order, Holidays, and Summer

A Texas custody calendar is the month-by-month map of which parent has the child on every weekend, weeknight, holiday, and summer day under a court-ordered possession schedule. For most families, the baseline is the Standard Possession Order in Chapter 153 of the Texas Family Code, which applies automatically unless the judge signs off on something different. To build the calendar, you need two things before you plot a single date: the academic calendar for the child’s school district, and the driving distance between the two parents’ homes.

Which Schedule Applies to Your Family

The 100-mile line decides everything. If the noncustodial parent (the “possessory conservator”) lives 100 miles or less from the child’s primary residence, Texas Family Code Section 153.312 controls.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart If the distance is more than 100 miles, Section 153.313 applies instead, with a looser weekend structure and more summer time.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.313 – Parents Who Reside Over 100 Miles Apart Most courts measure the distance by the most direct driving route rather than a straight line on a map, so if you are near the boundary, use whatever method your court accepts.

Weekends and Thursdays Under the Standard Schedule

For parents within 100 miles, the school-year rhythm is simple to describe and easy to miscount. The noncustodial parent gets:

The fifth weekend trips up a lot of parents. Whether a month has one depends on how many Fridays fall in that month. Five Fridays means a fifth weekend; four Fridays means no fifth-weekend visit. When you plot the calendar, count the Fridays in each month instead of assuming every other month has an extra weekend.

The Thursday visit is short on purpose. Two hours on a school night keeps the child’s routine intact. A court can remove even that brief visit if it finds the Thursday possession is not in the child’s best interest.

Expanded (School-Based) Pickup and Drop-Off Times

Either parent can ask the court to swap the fixed 6:00 p.m. clock times for school-based pickup and drop-off under Texas Family Code Section 153.317. Family lawyers usually call this the “expanded” standard possession order, and it adds meaningful time without changing the weekend rotation.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.317 – Alternative Beginning and Ending Possession Times

Under the expanded schedule, weekend possession begins when school lets out Friday afternoon and ends when school resumes Monday morning. That adds roughly 14 hours to each weekend. The Thursday visit becomes an overnight: pickup at Thursday dismissal, return at Friday morning drop-off. The same school-based times also extend to spring break, Christmas vacation, Thanksgiving, and the Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekends.

Once a parent elects these times, the court must order them unless it specifically finds the change would not serve the child’s best interest. If you want the expanded schedule, request it explicitly in your proposed order. It does not apply by default.

What Changes Past 100 Miles

When the noncustodial parent lives more than 100 miles from the child’s home, Section 153.313 reshapes the calendar. The noncustodial parent chooses one of two weekend arrangements: keep the first, third, and fifth weekend rotation, or switch to one weekend per month of their choosing. The one-weekend-per-month option runs from school dismissal for the weekend to 6:00 p.m. the day before school resumes, and the noncustodial parent must give 14 days’ written notice before each visit.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 153.313 – Parents Who Reside Over 100 Miles Apart

The Thursday evening visit disappears entirely at long distance. Two things offset the loss: the noncustodial parent gets every spring break (not just alternating years), and summer possession grows from 30 days to 42.

The one-weekend-per-month option has its own deadline. The noncustodial parent must elect it in writing within 90 days of the parents beginning to live more than 100 miles apart. Miss that window and the first, third, and fifth weekend schedule stays in place by default.

Holidays Override the Regular Schedule

Holiday possession under Texas Family Code Section 153.314 applies no matter how far apart the parents live, and holidays override whatever regular weekend or Thursday pattern would otherwise control.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.314 – Holiday Possession Unaffected by Distance Parents Reside Apart If Thanksgiving falls on what would be a fifth weekend, the holiday rotation wins. Plot holidays after you plot weekends so you can see the conflicts clearly.

Christmas Break (Split in Two Halves)

Winter break splits at noon on December 28.

  • First half: from 6:00 p.m. on the last day of school before winter break through noon on December 28. The noncustodial parent gets this half in even-numbered years; the custodial parent gets it in odd-numbered years.
  • Second half: from noon on December 28 through 6:00 p.m. the day before school resumes. The noncustodial parent gets this half in odd-numbered years; the custodial parent gets it in even-numbered years.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is not split. The noncustodial parent gets the full break in odd-numbered years, from 6:00 p.m. on the last school day before the holiday through 6:00 p.m. the following Sunday. The custodial parent gets the same block in even-numbered years.

Spring Break

Under the within-100-mile schedule, the noncustodial parent gets spring break in even-numbered years, from 6:00 p.m. on the last day of school before the vacation to 6:00 p.m. the day before school resumes. Parents who live more than 100 miles apart follow a different rule: the noncustodial parent gets every spring break, not just alternating years.

Birthdays, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day

  • Child’s birthday: whichever parent does not already have the child that day gets a two-hour visit from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., handling pickup and return.
  • Father’s Day weekend: the father has the child from 6:00 p.m. Friday through 6:00 p.m. Sunday.
  • Mother’s Day weekend: the mother has the child from 6:00 p.m. Friday through 6:00 p.m. Sunday.

Summer and the April 1 Deadline

Summer is the only time of year the noncustodial parent gets an extended, uninterrupted block of possession. For parents within 100 miles, the block is 30 days. For parents more than 100 miles apart, it is 42 days.

April 1 is the most commonly missed date on the entire custody calendar. If the noncustodial parent sends written notice to the custodial parent by April 1 specifying which dates they want, they can split the summer block into up to two separate periods of at least seven consecutive days each. If no notice goes out by April 1, the law assigns a default window:

  • Within 100 miles: July 1 through July 31.
  • Over 100 miles: June 15 through July 27.

The custodial parent has a deadline too. By April 15, they may claim one weekend during the noncustodial parent’s summer block by giving written notice. On that weekend, the custodial parent picks the child up Friday at 6:00 p.m. and returns the child Sunday at 6:00 p.m. The regular weekend and Thursday schedules do not apply during the noncustodial parent’s summer possession period.

Building the Calendar Month by Month

With the school calendar in hand and the distance measured, work through the year in this order:

  • Count the Fridays. Mark the first, third, and any fifth Friday of each month to plot weekend possession.
  • Lay in the Thursday visits during school terms (or Thursday overnights, if you have elected expanded times).
  • Overlay the Section 153.314 holiday schedule. Flag the odd-year/even-year rotation for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and (within 100 miles) spring break. Where holidays collide with a regular weekend, the holiday controls.
  • Block out the 30-day or 42-day summer window. Write the April 1 and April 15 deadlines on the calendar itself so neither parent forgets to send notice.
  • Mark the child’s birthday, Mother’s Day weekend, and Father’s Day weekend.
  • If either parent has elected expanded times under Section 153.317, replace every 6:00 p.m. pickup with the school dismissal time and every 6:00 p.m. Sunday return with the Monday school resumption time.

Write the finished schedule into the Possession and Access section of your Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship filing. Every date, time, and exchange location should be specific enough that a stranger reading the order would know exactly where the child belongs at any given moment. Vague phrases like “by agreement of the parties” weaken the order and make it harder to enforce later.

Getting the Calendar Signed

The order has to be filed with the District Clerk in the county where your case is pending. Texas requires electronic filing for civil and family cases through the statewide eFileTexas system, though self-represented parties can still file in person at the courthouse.5eFileTexas. Official E-Filing System for Texas Filing fees for a new family suit vary by county but commonly run around $300 to $350, with additional fees if the other parent needs to be formally served.

A judge must review and sign the order before any of the dates on your calendar become enforceable. If both parents agree to the schedule, the judge usually signs it without a hearing. If there is a dispute, the court will set a hearing and decide the possession terms based on the child’s best interest. Until the judge signs, the calendar is a proposal, not an order.