IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, custody has two parts. [PA-P1] Physical custody is who the child lives with and when; legal custody is who makes major decisions about school, health care and religion. [PA-P1, PA-P3] Each can be shared between parents or given to one parent. [PA-P3, PA-P9]
When parents disagree, there is no presumption that custody should go to either parent. [PA-P2] The judge decides based on the child's best interest and must weigh a list of factors set out in the law, giving extra weight to the ones about safety. [PA-P4] No single factor decides the case, and neither parent is preferred because of gender. [PA-P4]
Pennsylvania has no statewide standard schedule. [PA-P5, PA-P12] In a contested case, the judge may ask each parent to submit a parenting plan with a proposed schedule for regular time, holidays and vacations. [PA-P5] Each county runs its own custody process, so check your county court's procedures and forms. [PA-P12]
If a judge finds there is an ongoing risk that a parent will abuse the child, the law presumes that parent's time with the child should be supervised. [PA-P3]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Legal custody
- The right to make major decisions for your child, such as medical, religious and school decisions. Shared legal custody means both parents have that right. [PA-P1]
- Primary physical custody
- Your child lives with you more than half the time. [PA-P1]
- Partial physical custody
- Your child is with you less than half the time. Many other states call this visitation. [PA-P1, PA-P9]
- Shared physical custody
- Both parents have significant periods of time with the child. It does not have to mean exactly equal time. [PA-P1]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Pennsylvania ask first
Does Pennsylvania start from 50/50?
No. [PA-P2] Between two parents, there is no presumption that custody should go to one parent over the other. [PA-P2] The judge can order shared, primary, partial, sole or supervised physical custody, and shared or sole legal custody, based on what is best for your child. [PA-P3] The judge must explain the reasons for the decision. [PA-P3]
What does the judge look at?
Your child's best interest. [PA-P4] The law gives extra weight to safety: which parent is more likely to keep the child safe, any past or present abuse by a parent or someone in their home, involvement with child protective services, and violent behavior. [PA-P4] Judges also look at how well the parents cooperate and which parent supports the child's contact with the other parent; each parent's past and future care of the child; the need for stability in school and community; brothers, sisters and other family; the child's well-reasoned preference; how far apart the homes are; work schedules and child care; drug or alcohol abuse; and each person's mental and physical health. [PA-P4] A parent's reasonable efforts to protect the child from abuse cannot be held against them. [PA-P4] The court must give both parties a copy of these factors within 30 days after a case is filed. [PA-P4]
Is there a standard schedule?
No. [PA-P5] Pennsylvania law does not set a default schedule. [PA-P5] If parents cannot agree, the judge may require each to submit a parenting plan that lays out the schedule, including holidays and vacations, plus school, health care, child care and transportation. [PA-P5] Some counties publish their own guidelines or forms, so check with your county court. [PA-P12]
Does my child get to choose?
No age gives a child the final say. [PA-P4] The judge considers your child's well-reasoned preference, based on your child's developmental stage, maturity and judgment, as one factor among many. [PA-P4]
Can I move with my child?
Only if everyone with custody rights agrees or the court approves the move. [PA-P6] You must send notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 60 days before the move, or within 10 days of learning about it if you could not have known sooner. [PA-P6] The notice must include the new address, school, who will live there, the reasons, a proposed new schedule, a counter-affidavit form for objecting, and a warning that the other parent has 30 days to object or loses the right to object. [PA-P6] If the other parent objects, there is a hearing, and the parent who wants to move has the burden of showing the move is in the child's best interest. [PA-P6]
Can the order be changed later?
Yes. [PA-P7] A parent can file a petition, and the court may change a custody order to serve your child's best interest. [PA-P7] In Philadelphia, for example, a petition to modify custody starts with a required mediation orientation unless there has been recent abuse. [PA-P11]
We were never married. What do we need to do first?
A father who was not married to the mother is not the legal father until both parents sign an Acknowledgment of Paternity or a court enters an order naming him the father. [PA-P10] Hospitals give unmarried parents the acknowledgment form at birth, and either parent can later ask the court to decide paternity, including through genetic testing. [PA-P10] Once there is a legal parent, either parent can file for any form of custody, and the same best-interest factors apply. [PA-P9, PA-P4]
What if there is abuse or domestic violence?
Safety factors get extra weight in every custody decision. [PA-P4] If the judge finds an ongoing risk that a parent will abuse the child, the law presumes that parent should only have supervised time, and the judge must favor professional supervision. [PA-P3] A Protection From Abuse (PFA) order can include temporary custody, and a parent found to have abused the children cannot get unsupervised time under that order. [PA-P8] The court must also consider certain criminal convictions of a parent or household member before giving them custody. [PA-P9]
Free, official places to start
- Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: Custody Proceedings (Representing Yourself)
The state courts' self-help page with statewide custody forms, fee-waiver form, the procedural rules and links to every county court.
- Child Custody in Philadelphia County (PDF)
A plain-language brochure posted by Philadelphia Family Court that explains custody types, the factors, filing, hearings and relocation; most of it applies statewide.
- Pennsylvania Title 23, Chapter 53: Child Custody
The full custody law, including the factors, relocation rules and the parenting plan form.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT · PHILADELPHIA
Philadelphia County
Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Family Court (Domestic Relations Division)
Philadelphia does not publish its own parenting-time schedule; it follows the state law and adds its own process and forms. [PA-P11, PA-P9] A new custody case or a request to change an order goes to the Custody Unit, which schedules a conference with a Custody Hearing Officer; if there is no agreement, the case is set for a hearing before a Family Court judge. [PA-P11] A petition to modify an order also requires a short mediation orientation; the court's page says the only exception is if you or your child was abused by the other party in the past 24 months, and to call the Mediation Unit to confirm. [PA-P11] The court posts fill-in custody forms and plain-language brochures, and its Help Center and Intake Unit at 1501 Arch Street help people prepare papers; filing a custody complaint cost $107.13 as of July 2025, with a fee waiver available. [PA-P13, PA-P9]
- Philadelphia Family Court: Domestic Relations Division
Explains the Custody Unit conference, custody mediation, home investigations and the Family Court Help Center, with links to custody forms.
- Philadelphia court forms (Domestic Relations, Custody)
Fill-in forms with instructions, including the Complaint for Custody, Petition to Modify Custody and Petition for Contempt.
- Child Custody in Philadelphia County (PDF)
What to expect in a Philadelphia custody case, from filing fees and emergency petitions to hearings, exceptions and appeals.
- Paternity of Children in Philadelphia County (PDF)
For unmarried parents: how paternity is acknowledged or decided by the court, and genetic testing.
Other counties in Pennsylvania can have different local rules and forms. Check the court where your case is filed.
THE DETAILED GUIDE · WHAT KIND OF SCHEDULE THE LAW PROVIDES
Local schedules only
Research overview
No fixed statewide custody calendar identified in the reviewed sources; a genuine local model was found in McKean County. Classification local_only describes that limited schedule authority, not a Pennsylvania-wide default or a survey of all counties. [PA8][PA2][PA3][PA6][PA7]
Legal force and applicability
Local advisory model only. McKean’s document expressly says it is not intended to be mandatory rules, including within McKean County; incorporation into a court-approved plan/order and current law must be checked. It is not a statewide calendar.
Authority and geographic scope
Pennsylvania statewide custody law, plus McKean County Court of Common Pleas’ local advisory Parenting Plan Guidelines. The local document expressly disclaims mandatory-rule status; the actual case order controls. [PA2][PA3][PA6][PA7][PA8]
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
In parent-versus-parent cases§ 5327(a) establishes no presumption that custody should be awarded to a particular parent. Section 5328 requires best interests with substantial weighted consideration of specified safety factors; no statewide equal-time formula identified in the reviewed sources. [PA8][PA2]
Schedule & conditions
Read these topics together with your actual order. A model, form, or presumption does not automatically supply an enforceable calendar.
Regular school-year schedule
Statewide§ 5331 authorizes proposed plans with individualized schedule. McKean’s 2014 local guideline has age-tier weekday/weekend provisions, including an age 3+ alternate-weekend framework, but it cannot be applied statewide or assumed applicable to any case without checking its order and local authority. [PA3][PA6]
Holidays and school breaks
No statewide fixed table identified in the reviewed sources. The statutory plan calls for holiday/vacation detail; McKean has local holiday precedence and allocation rules. They remain local, and current statute and actual order govern. [PA3][PA6]
Summer and vacation time
No statewide week allotment identified in the reviewed sources. McKean’s local model distinguishes age 3–4 extended time, age 5+ summer time and distance-based plans; consult the entire local document rather than extracting a statewide rule. [PA6]
Safety & exceptions
Current§ 5328 safety weighting and abuse protections control. McKean guidelines expressly exclude family violence, substance abuse, flight risk and circumstances endangering safety or significantly impairing emotional development. Its 2014 text predates 2024/2025 safety-law amendments. [PA2][PA6]