Moving With a Child After Separation: Relocation Rules

Moving with a child after separation can affect school days, exchanges and the time each parent can realistically spend with the child. The legal question is separate: what does the controlling custody order allow, and what process does the state require?

This guide compares three researched states, not all 51 jurisdictions. California, Illinois and Texas use different approaches. A notice deadline is not approval, and a route planner cannot decide whether a move is lawful. Protective orders and address-confidentiality rules may also change the process.

California Courts explains that a move which interferes with the current custody and visitation order may require a court order before the child moves. Whether the existing physical-custody order is sole or joint, and permanent or temporary, affects the court’s analysis. There is no permission result on this page.

The official guide lists 45 days’ written notice as an example of a term a judgment or custody order may contain. It is not a universal 45-day permission rule. The actual order can also restrict distance or require an agreement approved by the court.

For a proposed interstate move, the official guide flags another issue: which state court will have authority to change the custody order later. Moving does not by itself answer that question. Current undated court guidance was reviewed October 2, 2026.

Under 750 ILCS 5/600(g), an in-state move counts as relocation when it exceeds 25 miles from a child’s primary residence in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry or Will County. From another Illinois county, the in-state threshold is more than 50 miles. A move outside Illinois uses more than 25 miles from the current primary residence.

The statute measures these distances using an Internet mapping service and surface roads. Where alternative routes are offered, it uses the shortest route. Straight-line distance is not the statutory measurement. A move below the definition can still raise issues under the existing parenting plan; the number is not unrestricted permission. The current section 600 amendment took effect January 1, 2025.

Section 609.2 addresses a parent allocated a majority of parenting time, or either parent with equal parenting time, seeking to relocate with the child. Written notice normally must be given at least 60 days before relocation, unless impracticable or otherwise ordered. The statute specifies proposed date, new address if known, and duration if the move is not permanent.

The notice is also filed with the circuit clerk. Signed and filed notice permits relocation without further court action; the court modifies the plan as agreed when consistent with the child’s best interests. Objection, non-signature or disagreement on the plan requires a relocation petition. Section 609.2 took effect January 1, 2016; current text was reviewed October 2, 2026.

Texas Family Code §§ 153.133 and 153.134 address which conservator has the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence and whether that residence is restricted to a geographic area. The order may instead allow residence without a geographic restriction. “Joint managing conservator” alone does not answer where the child may live.

This guide does not assign Texas a statewide permitted mileage or universal move-notice deadline. Those details require the actual order and current legal process. The official Family Code compilation was reviewed October 2, 2026.

A useful planning sheet can distinguish the current court-ordered schedule from a proposed schedule. It can show school-night travel, exchange locations, flight availability, holiday blocks and who would handle transport costs. These are planning details, not evidence that a court will approve the move.

Our calendar tools can illustrate a proposed rotation and count its overnights. They do not authorize relocation, amend the order or decide custody jurisdiction. If distance makes an alternating-week schedule unrealistic, the calendar can still make the tradeoffs visible.