Texas Standard Possession Order Over 100 Miles: Weekends and Summer

When Texas parents live more than 100 miles apart, the Standard Possession Order shifts to a long-distance schedule under Texas Family Code Section 153.313: the noncustodial parent loses Thursday evening visits, can choose to consolidate weekends into one trip per month, gets spring break every year instead of alternating, and receives 42 days of summer possession rather than 30.¹ These changes apply automatically unless the court orders something different, and several of them are gated by written-notice deadlines that are unforgiving when missed.

Weekends: Keep the Standard Schedule or Consolidate

The noncustodial parent (Texas law calls this parent the “possessory conservator”) has two weekend options once the 100-mile threshold applies. Option one is the same schedule used locally: the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month. Option two collapses that into one weekend per month, chosen by the noncustodial parent.¹

Each weekend, whichever option you use, begins at 6 p.m. on the day school lets out for the weekend and ends at 6 p.m. the day before school resumes. In practice that is usually Friday evening through Sunday evening, but the statute keys the timing to the school calendar, not the calendar week.

Two deadlines control this choice. To pick the one-weekend-per-month option, the noncustodial parent must make that election in writing within 90 days of the parents beginning to live more than 100 miles apart. Miss the 90 days and you default to first, third, and fifth weekends. Then, for each specific weekend the parent wants to exercise, at least 14 days of written or telephonic notice must reach the custodial parent. Without that notice, the custodial parent has no obligation to produce the child.

Thursday Evening Visits Are Gone

Parents living within 100 miles get a midweek visit every Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. during the school year under Texas Family Code Section 153.312.² That visit is not in the long-distance version of the order. A weeknight dinner is not workable across hours of driving, so the statute simply drops it. For a distant parent, that is roughly 50 evenings a year of contact that will not happen in person.

Spring Break Every Year

Under the local order, parents alternate spring break between even and odd years.² Under the over-100-mile order, the noncustodial parent gets spring break every year, from 6 p.m. on the day school dismisses through 6 p.m. the day before classes resume.¹ This annual allocation offsets some of what the schedule takes away elsewhere.

Thanksgiving and Winter Break

Holiday rules do not change with distance. Thanksgiving alternates: the noncustodial parent has the child in odd-numbered years, from 6 p.m. on the day school lets out until 6 p.m. the following Sunday. The custodial parent takes the same window in even years.³

Winter break splits at noon on December 28. In even years, the noncustodial parent has the first half, from dismissal through noon on December 28, which normally covers Christmas Day. In odd years, that parent takes the second half through the day before school resumes.³ The midday handoff on December 28 is often the hardest exchange of the year when parents live several hours apart, and it is worth planning for well in advance.

Summer: 42 Days for the Distant Parent

Summer is where the long-distance order tries hardest to balance the schedule. The noncustodial parent gets 42 days of summer possession, compared with 30 under the local order.¹ Those 42 days can be taken as one continuous block or split into two periods of at least seven consecutive days each. The full period must fall after school dismisses and must end at least seven days before school resumes.

The custodial parent gets a limited claim on that time. With written notice by April 15, the custodial parent can take one weekend, Friday 6 p.m. to Sunday 6 p.m., during the noncustodial parent’s summer possession. If the noncustodial parent’s summer block exceeds 30 days, the custodial parent may take two nonconsecutive weekends. The custodial parent handles transportation for those pickups.

The Notice Deadlines That Decide Your Summer

Two dates control whether you get the summer you want or the summer the statute picks for you.

April 1, noncustodial parent. Written notice specifying which 42 days you want, including whether you are splitting the period into two blocks.
April 15, custodial parent. Written notice claiming one or two weekends during the other parent’s summer period.

If the noncustodial parent misses April 1, the summer period defaults to 42 consecutive days starting at 6 p.m. on June 15 and ending at 6 p.m. on July 27.¹ That window is fixed by statute. You lose the ability to work around summer camps, family events, or your own vacation dates. The under-100-mile default, for comparison, is 30 consecutive days from July 1 through July 31.²

Send notices in a form that leaves a timestamped record: certified mail or a court-approved co-parenting communication platform. If a dispute lands in front of a judge, you will need to show what was sent and when.

Getting the Child Between Households

Transportation is typically spelled out in the decree itself, and the specifics vary. The most common arrangement asks each parent to pick up the child at the start of their possession period: the noncustodial parent drives to get the child when a visit begins, and the custodial parent drives to retrieve the child when it ends. Some decrees put all transportation on the parent who moved away; others split costs. If your order is silent, assume the parent whose period is beginning handles the pickup.

Air travel adds cost and paperwork. The parent exercising possession usually pays for flights. Airlines charge unaccompanied minor fees, with age rules that differ by carrier, and some decrees require a paid adult chaperone for younger children. Sharing flight details in advance is standard, and your decree may set a specific timeline.

Electronic Communication Between Visits

Texas Family Code Section 153.015 allows either parent to ask the court for scheduled electronic communication with the child, including phone calls, video chats, email, and instant messaging.⁴ This is not automatic. You have to request it, and the court will look at whether the technology is reasonably available in both homes and whether the arrangement is in the child’s best interest.

When the court grants it, both parents must share the child’s email address and other contact information and notify each other within 24 hours of any changes. The parent with the child at the scheduled time has to accommodate the call with the same respect and privacy given to an in-person visit.⁴ The statute is clear on one boundary: the court cannot use the availability of video calls as a reason to reduce child support or to substitute for physical possession when in-person time would otherwise be appropriate.

How the 100-Mile Threshold Gets Triggered

Most Texas custody orders include a geographic restriction requiring the child to live within a defined area, typically a county or a group of contiguous counties. That restriction exists to prevent the very distance that triggers the long-distance schedule. A custodial parent who wants to move outside the restricted area cannot simply relocate. Doing so can lead to contempt findings, enforcement actions, or a change in which parent has primary custody.

To move legally, the custodial parent needs the other parent’s written agreement filed with the court, or a modification of the order. The court will grant modification only if circumstances have materially and substantially changed since the original order and the change serves the child’s best interest.⁵ Job transfers, remarriage, and family support networks are common reasons courts accept. The parent seeking the move carries the burden of showing the child benefits, not just the parent.

Once a move pushes the distance past 100 miles, the over-100-mile provisions take effect and the noncustodial parent has 90 days to make the one-weekend-per-month election. If higher travel costs result from the move, the court can reallocate those expenses in a way it considers fair, taking into account which parent caused the move and what is best for the child.

Modifying the Long-Distance Order

The over-100-mile schedule is a starting point, not a permanent one. Either parent can petition for modification under Texas Family Code Section 156.101 by showing a material and substantial change in circumstances and that the change serves the child’s best interest.⁵

Common triggers in long-distance cases include a parent moving closer (making the long-distance restrictions unnecessary), the child starting school in a new district, or a work schedule that no longer fits the current arrangement. You file the petition in the court that issued the original order and serve the other parent. Filing fees typically run a few hundred dollars, but contested modifications can be expensive once attorneys are involved. If both parents agree on the terms, a mediated settlement filed with the court moves faster and costs less than a fight.

1
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.313 – Parents Who Reside Over 100 Miles Apart
2
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 153.312 – Parents Who Reside 100 Miles or Less Apart
3
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 153.314 – Holiday Possession
4
Texas Public Law. Texas Family Code Section 153.015 – Electronic Communication With Child by Conservator
5
Texas Legislature. Texas Family Code Chapter 156 – Modification