IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Tennessee
In Tennessee, the judge decides custody based on your child's best interest. [TN-P1] The law tells the judge to choose an arrangement that lets both parents take the biggest part possible in your child's life, while also weighing where each parent lives, your child's need for stability, and a list of other factors. [TN-P1] Since July 1, 2026, the law says the child's best interest is always the most important thing, and it adds a factor about whether a schedule gives each parent real chances to be part of the child's life, while saying plainly that this does not create any presumption about parenting time. [TN-P2]
Instead of the words "custody" and "visitation," Tennessee cases end with a Permanent Parenting Plan. [TN-P3, TN-P4] The plan names a "primary residential parent" (the parent the child lives with most of the time), sets a day-to-day schedule, splits holidays and school breaks, and says who makes major decisions about school, health care, religion and activities. [TN-P3] The state form is blank: there is no default number of days, and each family's schedule is filled in by the parents or set by the judge. [TN-P3]
If abuse or other serious problems are found, the judge must apply the law's limits on that parent's time first, and only then weigh the general best-interest factors. [TN-P5] Divorcing parents must also take a parent education class. [TN-P3, TN-P7] Since July 1, 2026, never-married parents in juvenile-court custody cases must take one too. [TN-P14] Tennessee's custody laws were amended in 2024, 2025 and 2026, so ask the court clerk or a legal aid office whether newer changes apply to your case. [TN-P2, TN-P5, TN-P6, TN-P12, TN-P13, TN-P14]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Permanent Parenting Plan
- The court order that sets your child's schedule with each parent, holidays, decision-making and child support. Tennessee uses a standard statewide form. [TN-P3, TN-P4]
- Primary residential parent
- The parent your child is scheduled to live with most of the time. The form says this label does not change either parent's rights under the plan. [TN-P3]
- Parenting time / residential schedule
- The days and times your child spends with each parent, written into the parenting plan. [TN-P3]
- Major decisions
- Big choices about your child's education, non-emergency health care, religion and activities. The plan says whether the mother, the father or both decide each one. [TN-P3]
- Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAoP)
- A notarized form unmarried parents can sign to make the father the child's legal father without going to court. [TN-P8]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Tennessee ask first
Does Tennessee start from 50/50?
No. [TN-P1, TN-P2] The law asks the judge to give both parents the most participation possible that fits your child's best interest, but a 2026 change says plainly that it does not create a presumption about parenting time. [TN-P1, TN-P2] The state parenting plan form lets parents agree to equal time, but it does not require it. [TN-P3]
What does the judge look at?
Your child's best interest, using a list of factors. [TN-P1] They include the strength of your child's relationship with each parent and who has done most of the daily parenting; each parent's willingness to support your child's relationship with the other parent and follow court orders; each parent's ability to provide food, clothing, medical care and schooling; love and emotional ties; each parent's fitness; your child's ties to brothers, sisters, school and activities; stability and continuity; any abuse; the people living in or visiting each home; your child's preference if old enough; and each parent's work schedule. [TN-P1, TN-P6] Newer changes added whether a parent has had time restricted before (for cases filed on or after July 1, 2025), widened the unpaid-child-support factor (it used to require three years of nonpayment; since May 2, 2025, any failure to pay counts), and added whether a schedule gives each parent meaningful time. [TN-P2, TN-P5, TN-P12] Since April 27, 2026, the law also says a judge may not count it against a parent for raising a child consistent with the child's biological sex. [TN-P13]
Is there a standard schedule?
No. [TN-P3] Tennessee has one statewide Permanent Parenting Plan form, but the schedule on it is blank. [TN-P3] Parents fill in the day-to-day schedule, holidays (by odd or even years, or every year), fall, winter, spring and summer breaks, and how exchanges will work, or the judge decides. [TN-P3] Unless the plan says otherwise, a holiday runs from 6:00 p.m. the night before to 6:00 p.m. on the holiday, and holidays override the regular schedule. [TN-P3]
Does my child get to choose?
No, but it matters. [TN-P1] The judge must consider the reasonable preference of a child who is 12 or older, and may hear a younger child's preference if asked. [TN-P1] Older children's preferences usually get more weight than younger children's. [TN-P1] It is one factor among many. [TN-P1]
Can I move with my child?
Tennessee has a relocation law with strict notice steps, and the state parenting plan form prints them. [TN-P3, TN-P16] A parent who wants to move out of state or more than 50 miles from the other parent must mail notice by registered or certified mail at least 60 days before the move, with the new address and the reasons. [TN-P16] If the parents don't agree on a new schedule within 30 days, or the other parent objects in time, the moving parent must ask the court to approve the move. The other parent then has 30 days to file a response opposing it; if no response is filed, the move is allowed, and if one is filed, the court decides whether the move is in the child's best interest. [TN-P16] This matches the statute's current text (last changed in 2018). [TN-P16] Check your own order, and talk to the court clerk, a lawyer or legal aid before relying on these steps. [TN-P4, TN-P7]
Can the order be changed later?
Yes, a court can modify a parenting plan, but you usually cannot skip straight to court. [TN-P3, TN-P5] To change a plan, the parent asking must show a material change in circumstances; for the schedule, one that affects the child's best interest, such as not following the plan or the child's changing needs. It does not have to show a risk of harm. [TN-P15] The state plan form makes parents first make a good-faith try at the method they picked, such as mediation or arbitration, before going back to court. [TN-P3] Money issues like child support, insurance and medical bills are not covered by that step, and the form lets parents pick the court itself as the method when there is an order of protection or other restrictions. [TN-P3] Ask the court clerk, a lawyer or a legal aid office how this applies to your plan. [TN-P4, TN-P7]
We were never married. What happens first?
If you were not married when your child was born, your child does not automatically have a legal father, and the mother is presumed to have custody. [TN-P8] Paternity can be set by both parents signing a notarized Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity, or by a court order, which can include DNA testing. [TN-P8] Once a father acknowledges paternity he gains the right to a relationship with his child, but if the parents cannot agree on custody or visits, they need a court order. [TN-P8] Either parent has 60 days to cancel a signed acknowledgment in writing. [TN-P8]
What if I am not safe?
If you are being abused, you can ask for an Order of Protection, which orders the other person to stay away from you and not contact or threaten you. [TN-P7] In cases filed on or after July 1, 2025, the judge must write down findings on whether the law's limits for abuse and similar problems apply, and since April 16, 2026 that includes temporary orders. [TN-P5, TN-P18] For cases filed on or after July 1, 2025, when a judge orders supervised visits because of those findings, the parent being supervised is presumed to pay the supervision costs. [TN-P5] The state parenting plan form lets parents name the court, instead of mediation, as the way to settle disagreements when there is an order of protection or other restrictions. [TN-P3]
Free, official places to start
- Tennessee Courts: Permanent Parenting Plan Order form
The statewide parenting plan form used in every Tennessee custody case, including the parents' rights and the relocation notice it prints. The form's printed list of parents' rights predates a 2024 change that adds video calls to the twice-weekly phone right.
- Tennessee Courts: Parenting Plan program
The Administrative Office of the Courts' overview of Tennessee's parenting plan law.
- Tennessee DHS: Establishing Paternity brochure
Plain-language guide for unmarried parents on paternity, custody presumptions and how to sign an acknowledgment.
- Legal Aid Society: Getting a Divorce? booklet
A free legal aid booklet explaining parenting plans, the required parenting class and orders of protection.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT · MEMPHIS
Shelby County
Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County
In Memphis, parents who were never married usually go to the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County, which publishes its own fill-in forms for custody, visitation and parentage. [TN-P9, TN-P10, TN-P11] Its Petition to Establish Parentage covers a child born to unmarried parents and asks the court to set parentage, custody and support in one case. [TN-P11] Filing a petition for custody, visitation, contempt or a change of custody or visitation costs $100, paid by money order to the Juvenile Court Clerk; the petition must be notarized and filed with a client information sheet at 616 Adams Avenue, by mail or in person. [TN-P9] These local forms start a case; the judge still decides using the state best-interest law. [TN-P1, TN-P10]
- Shelby County Juvenile Court: Filing Pro Se Petition Instructions (PDF)
Step-by-step filing instructions for parents without lawyers: which forms, the $100 fee, notarizing, and where to file.
- JC-21 A&B: Petition for Custody and/or Visitation (PDF)
The court's fill-in petition to ask for custody or visitation of a child in Shelby County.
- JC-34: Petition to Establish Parentage (PDF)
The court's fill-in petition for unmarried parents to establish parentage and ask for custody and support.
Other counties in Tennessee 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
No fixed statewide schedule identified
Research overview
Statewide permanent-parenting-plan form and statutory content requirements; no fixed statewide possession calendar identified in the reviewed sources.
Legal force and applicability
Case-specific calendar; no fixed statewide calendar identified in reviewed sources. Any custody/allocation presumption is separate.
Authority and geographic scope
Title 36 best-interest/plan statutes and uniform AOC form statewide. [TN-5,TN-2,TN-9,TN-10,TN-18]
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
Best interests/maximum feasible participation, not equal-time presumption. §36-6-101 establishes neither a preference nor a presumption for or against joint or sole custody (joint-custody presumption only where the parents agree). 2026 PC 683 adds meaningful opportunities for each parent expressly WITHOUT creating a parenting-time presumption. [TN-2,TN-9,TN-10]
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
Day-to-day residential schedule filled in; statewide blank form is not an automatic weekend order. [TN-5]
Holidays and school breaks
Holiday and break allocations filled in on plan; no statewide parity identified in the reviewed sources. [TN-5]
Summer and vacation time
Summer residential plan filled in individually. [TN-5]
Age and development
Child development/maturity considered; no statewide fixed age-band possession calendar identified in the reviewed sources. [TN-4]
Distance, travel, and relocation
Residences/stability considered; no statewide mileage-tier possession calendar identified in the reviewed sources. [TN-4]
Safety & exceptions
Apply §36-6-406 restrictions before general best-interest factors when dispositive. 2024 PC799 adds factor (a)(11)'s sibling language and new §36-6-703 reunification/restoration findings (no cutting off contact with a nonabusive parent); 2024 PC711 adds video-conference contact to the §36-6-101(a)(3)(B)(i) parental right. 2025 PC265, for actions filed on/after July 1 2025, requires safety/decision-making findings and presumptively charges supervised-visitation fees to the offending parent, subject to review including ability to pay. 2025 PC321 (eff. May 2, 2025) removes the three-year minimum from the unpaid-support factor and adds unpaid support to §36-6-406(d)(1). 2026 PC758 (eff. April 16, 2026) extends the §36-6-406 findings requirement to temporary and permanent custody orders. 2026 PC846 (eff. April 27, 2026) bars treating biological-sex-consistent parenting as a negative best-interest factor. 2026 PC683 keeps best interests paramount without an equal-time presumption. [TN-2,TN-8,TN-7,TN-10,TN-12,TN-13,TN-14,TN-15]