IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Virginia
In Virginia, the judge's first concern is your child's best interests. [VA-P1] The judge can order joint legal custody, joint physical custody or sole custody, and the law does not prefer any one of these. [VA-P1, VA-P3] It also does not favor either parent. [VA-P1] The law tells judges to make sure children have frequent and continuing contact with both parents when that is right for the child. [VA-P1]
Most custody and visitation cases start in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court (often called "J&DR court"). If you are getting divorced, the circuit court can decide custody as part of the divorce. [VA-P9] Virginia has no statewide standard visitation schedule. [VA-P1, VA-P14] The judge or the parents write the schedule for each family, and the court must tell you the reasons for its decision. [VA-P2]
If custody, visitation or support is contested, both parents must take an approved parent education class of at least four hours. [VA-P6] The court also tries mediation where it fits. [VA-P1] If there is already an order for your child, you ask the court that made it to change it. [VA-P5, VA-P9]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Joint legal custody
- Both parents share responsibility for the big decisions about your child, even if your child lives mostly with one parent. [VA-P3]
- Joint physical custody
- Both parents share the day-to-day care of your child. The law does not say the time must be equal. [VA-P3]
- Sole custody
- One person has responsibility for the care and control of your child and the main say in decisions about your child. [VA-P3]
- Visitation (parenting time)
- The time a parent spends with the child. Virginia judges may call it "parenting time" instead of visitation. [VA-P1]
- J&DR court
- The Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, where most Virginia custody, visitation and support cases begin. [VA-P9]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Virginia ask first
Does Virginia start from 50/50?
No. [VA-P1] The law says there is no presumption in favor of any form of custody, and no presumption in favor of either parent. [VA-P1] The judge decides based on what is best for your child. [VA-P1]
What does the judge look at?
The law lists factors the judge must weigh: your child's age, health and changing needs; each parent's age and health; each parent's relationship with your child and ability to meet your child's needs; your child's other important relationships, like brothers, sisters and grandparents; the role each parent has played in raising your child; whether each parent supports your child's relationship with the other parent; whether the parents can cooperate; your child's reasonable preference; any history of family abuse, sexual abuse or child abuse, and any act of violence, force or threat in the 10 years before the case was filed; and anything else the judge finds important. [VA-P2] Unless the parents agreed, the judge must explain the findings on these factors. [VA-P2]
Is there a standard schedule?
No. Virginia does not have a statewide standard visitation schedule. [VA-P1, VA-P14] The schedule comes from your own agreement or the judge's order, and the state's planning checklist suggests thinking about school days, weekends, holidays, special days and each child's school and activity schedules. [VA-P14] The court can also order exchanges to happen at a set meeting place if a parent asks. [VA-P2]
Does my child get to choose?
No age gives your child the final say. [VA-P2] The judge considers your child's reasonable preference if the judge finds your child has enough intelligence, understanding, age and experience to express one. [VA-P2] It is one factor among many. [VA-P2]
Can I move with my child?
Custody and visitation orders must require 30 days' advance written notice to the court and the other parent before a parent moves or changes address, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause. [VA-P4] Giving notice is not the same as permission; the other parent can ask the court to change the order. [VA-P4, VA-P5]
Can the order be changed later?
Yes. Either parent can ask the court to change custody or visitation. [VA-P5] The court looks for a material change of circumstances since the last order and then decides what is best for your child. [VA-P9] Keeping your child from the other parent's visitation on purpose, without a good reason, can itself be a reason to change custody. [VA-P5]
We were never married. What happens first?
Between parents, Virginia law does not favor the mother or the father. [VA-P1] If paternity (who the legal father is) is not already set, it can be established by both parents signing a sworn acknowledgment of paternity or by genetic testing, and either parent can cancel a signed acknowledgment within 60 days. [VA-P7] Unmarried parents usually file for custody or visitation in J&DR court. [VA-P9]
What if I am not safe?
A protective order can include temporary custody or visitation of your child, and it can usually last up to two years. [VA-P8] In a custody case, the judge must consider any history of family abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse or violence, and if there is such a history the judge may set aside the factor about supporting the other parent's relationship with the child. [VA-P2] If sharing your address would put you at risk, you can ask the court to seal it. [VA-P10]
Free, official places to start
- Virginia Courts Self-Help: Custody, Visitation and Support
The court system's plain-language overview: which court handles your case, the best-interest factors, changing an order and the parent education requirement.
- Virginia Courts Self-Help: Custody, Visitation and Child Support Forms
Links to the official district court forms used in custody, visitation and child support cases.
- Virginia Law Help: Custody and Visitation
Free legal-aid articles on how to file, what happens at a hearing, how judges decide, and how to change or enforce an order.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT · FAIRFAX
Fairfax County
Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
Fairfax County's J&DR court does not publish its own visitation schedule, but it has its own way to start a case. [VA-P10, VA-P11] You can make an appointment with the court's Domestic Relations intake office, where an intake officer can help you prepare the petition, or you can file directly with the clerk; you file a separate petition for each child. [VA-P10, VA-P11] The filing fee is $25 unless the court waives it, and the parent asking for custody may be charged a fee for the guardian ad litem (a lawyer appointed for the child). [VA-P10, VA-P11] For a custody petition handled by the intake office, the county says your child must live with you and have lived in Fairfax County for six months (unless child-protection services are involved), and you must live in Fairfax unless there is already a Fairfax order or case. [VA-P11] The state rules on best interests, parent education and 30-day moving notice still apply. [VA-P2, VA-P4, VA-P6]
- Fairfax County J&DR Court: Custody and Visitation (Clerk's Office)
Step-by-step filing instructions, the $25 fee, required forms and how to keep your address sealed if you are at risk.
- Fairfax County: Filing a custody petition through Domestic Relations
Who can file through the intake office, the six-month residence rule, the guardian ad litem fee and the intake phone number for an appointment.
- Fairfax County Court Services Unit: Custody, Visitation, Support
How the court's intake process works for new cases and for changing an existing order, plus where to find the Self-Help office.
Other counties in Virginia 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
No fixed statewide possession calendar identified. Statute expressly rejects a preference for a custody form, and Supreme Court resource is a planning checklist, not a time-allocation rule. [VA1][VA3]
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
Statewide law; case-specific court order controls
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
Section 20-124.2(B) provides no presumption in favor of any form of custody and no legal presumption/inference favoring either parent. Courts consider joint legal, joint physical or sole custody and appropriate frequent/continuing contact according to best interests. [VA1]
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
No required alternate-weekend or weekday pattern. Judiciary checklist asks family-specific schedules, needs and safety; each order must supply the actual routine. [VA1][VA3]
Holidays and school breaks
No mandatory statewide holiday/parity calendar. Special days, school breaks and traditions must be resolved in the case plan. [VA3]
Summer and vacation time
No mandatory statewide vacation-week allocation. Plan around child’s needs and family schedules, subject to order. [VA3]
Age and development
Age and physical/mental condition, changing developmental needs, and reasonable child preference with requisite understanding/intelligence/experience are statutory factors. No fixed age bands for calendar entitlement. [VA2]
Safety & exceptions
Section 20-124.3(9) requires consideration of family abuse, sexual abuse, child abuse, and specified violence/force/threat within its 10-year provision. Upon the statutory finding, the court may disregard subdivision 6’s contact-support factor; it does not automatically disregard all cooperation factors. Safe exchange sites or supervised contact may be appropriate. Section 20-124.2(B) also provides that lawful possession/consumption of authorized substances alone does not justify restricting custody/contact without other best-interest facts. [VA1][VA2][VA3]