I need to change a custody, visitation, or support order (Modification).

Fill out the following starting forms: Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship

This form (called the Petition) asks the judge to change the current order. (The Articles and Frequently Asked Questions included in this toolkit will help you understand your options. Talk to a lawyer if you have questions or need advice.)

Write the cause number and court number on the first page of the Petition just as it is written on the order you want to change. (Write these numbers at the top of any document you file in your modification case.)

Print your answers using blue or black ink. Do not leave blanks.

Who is the petitioner? You are the petitioner—the person asking the court to change the current court order. This is true even if you are listed as the respondent in the current order.

Who must be listed as a respondent? Any person listed as a party in the current order must be listed as a respondent. If the Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division is listed as a party in the current order you must also list it as a respondent.

Note: The Petition asks for your address. Each respondent will get a copy of your Petition. If you are concerned about a respondent knowing your address, call the Family Violence Legal Line at 800-374-4673 for free advice.

Fill out these additional starting forms and attach them to your Petition if required for your case:

• Declaration in Support of Changing Primary Custody within One Year (required only if you are asking to change custody within one year of the current order) Read this article to learn more: Child Custody Modification within a Year of Current Order
• Exhibit: Out-of-State Party Declaration (required only if you or a respondent lives outside of Texas)

Fill out this additional starting form: Civil Case Information Sheet  

(NOTE: the Texas Supreme Court has repealed the rule requiring the civil case information sheet, so you may not need this form. If you are filing paper documents in person at the clerk's office, you should complete it and bring it anyway, however.).

Fill out this additional starting form if you cannot afford to pay the filing fee for your case. Call the district clerk’s office in the county where your child lives to learn the filing fee for your modification case.

• Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs

Fill out the following ending forms:

• Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship 

Fill out this order form completely (except for the judge’s signature). When it’s time to finish your case, you will ask a judge to sign this Order Modifying the Parent Child Relationship form with one or more of the specific order forms below attached.

Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship

If child support will be changed fill out and attach this order form:

• Child Support Order

If medical and dental support will be changed, fill out and attach this order form:

• Medical and Dental Support Order.

If custody will be changed fill out and attach one of these order forms:

• Conservatorship Order: Parents Appointed Conservators
• Conservatorship Order: Non-Parent(s) Appointed Conservator

If possession (visitation) will be changed fill out and attach one of these possession order forms or use one of the sample modified possession order forms included with this article: Child Visitation & Possession Orders. Or hire a lawyer to help you write a possession order that meets the specific needs of your family.

• Standard Possession Order
• Supervised Possession Order
• Modified Possession Order (Non-Parent is Managing Conservator)

Use this form if a non-parent will be the managing conservator of the children.

• Find other sample Modified Possession Orders here: Child Visitation & Possession Orders

Fill out the following additional ending form if child support will be ordered, changed or stopped.

• Income Withholding Order for Support
•  

Some counties require your documents to be reviewed by an attorney, while others do not. You should speak with the district clerk's office or court coordinator in your county about local requirements. Even if it's not required, it’s a good idea to have a family law lawyer review your completed forms. Family law lawyers specialize in cases involving families, such as custody and support modification cases.

You can hire a lawyer just to review your forms. Hiring a lawyer for a limited purpose is called limited scope representation. You can then finish your case yourself. Use our Legal Help Directory to search for a lawyer referral organization in your county.

If you have a low income, you may be able to have your forms reviewed for free at a legal clinic. Use our Legal Events and Clinics page to search for free legal clinics in your area.

Make enough copies of your completed Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship to have one copy for you and one copy for each respondent.

Make copies of your completed Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Courts only if you are asking the court to waive court costs.

You do not need copies of the Civil Case Information Sheet or the Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship.

File (turn in) your completed Petition and other starting forms with the court in the county where the current order was made.

You need to find out if your county has standing orders. If it does, you will need to attach a copy of the standing orders to your petition. 

• To file your forms online, go to E-File Texas and follow the instructions.
• To file your forms in person, take your Petition and additional starting forms (and copies) to the district clerk’s office in the county where the current order was made.

At the clerk’s office:

• Turn in your Petition and other starting forms (and copies).
• Pay the filing fee (or file your completed Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs if you cannot afford the fee).
• Ask the clerk if there are local rules or procedures you need to know about for your case.
• The clerk will “file-stamp” your copies with the date and time. The clerk will keep the original and give you back your copies. There should be a copy for you and a copy for each respondent.

Note: If the child has lived in another Texas county for at least 6 months, you have the option of asking the court to transfer the case to the child’s new home county. You must file a Motion to Transfer at the same time you file your Petition. File your Petition and Motion to Transfer with the court in the county where the current order was made. Talk to a lawyer about whether a transfer makes sense for your case.

Note: If the child has lived in another state for at least the past 6 months, it is important to talk with a lawyer about where to file your case.

Give the other parent:

• a file-stamped copy of your Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship - and -
• a blank Respondent’s Original Answer form OR a blank Waiver of Service Only form, and
• a completed Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship form with completed order forms regarding the issues you want changed attached.

WARNING! Do not hand-deliver any papers to the other parent if there has been violence during your relationship, especially if a judge has signed a Protective Order ordering you or the other parent to stay away. You can have the other parent served instead. If you decide to have the other parent served, use the instructions in the checklist below for a default modification.

Ask the other parent to complete these 3 steps:

1. FILL OUT and SIGN the Respondent’s Original Answer form - OR - the Waiver of Service Only form.
   • The other parent can fill out and sign either form. The Waiver of Service Only form must be signed in front of a notary. If the other parent plans to sign the Waiver of Service Only form, tell the other parent to sign it in front of a notary at least one day after you filed the Petition. Otherwise the other parent will have to redo it. The Respondent’s Original Answer form does not have to be signed in front of a notary.
   • Note: If the other parent will not fill out and sign a Respondent’s Original Answer form or Waiver of Service Only form, you must have the other parent served by a constable, sheriff, or private process server. Use the instructions and forms for a default modification.
2. SIGN the completed Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship form with completed order forms regarding the issues you want changed attached.
   • The Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship form must be completely filled out and the specific order forms regarding the issues you want changed must be attached when the other parent signs the order. You CANNOT make changes to the order forms after the order has been signed by a respondent, unless the respondent initials each change.
3. RETURN the signed forms to you.

You should also:

• sign the Order in Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship form, - and -
• make a copy of the Respondent’s Original Answer form or Waiver of Service Only form that was filled out and signed by the other parent.

IMPORTANT: If anyone else was named as a respondent in your Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship, you must follow these same steps for each respondent.

If the other parent or other respondent will not sign an Answer or Waiver of Service Only form, you must have him or her served. 

If the other parent or other respondent signs and files an Answer or Waiver of Service Only form but will not sign the Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship form, your case is contested. To finish a contested case, you must set a contested final hearing. You must give each respondent at least 45 days’ notice of the final hearing. Read this article to learn more: How to Set a Contested Final Hearing (Family Law). It’s always best to have a lawyer if your case is contested. 

Once a party to a family law case (like a custody modification case) files an answer, both sides will be obligated to exchange certain information and documents within 30 days. See Required Initial Disclosures in SAPCRs and Modifications.

If the other parent and anyone else named as a respondent has filled out and signed a Respondent’s Original Answer form or Waiver of Service Only form and signed your completed Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship form, you can go to court to finish your agreed modification case.

• Call the clerk’s office to learn when and where the court hears uncontested cases.
• Bring these papers with you to the courthouse on the day you plan to finish your case.

• A file-stamped copy of your Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship, 
• The Answer or Waiver of Service Only form signed by each Respondent,
• A completed Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship signed by you and each Respondent, and
• A completed Income Withholding Order for Support if child support will be changed or stopped.

• Read the article Tips for the Courtroom for more information about going to Court.
• When you get to the courthouse, go to the clerk’s office. Ask if you need the court file or docket sheet (list of what has been filed in your case).
• When you get to the courtroom, tell the clerk you are there and give the clerk your paperwork. Sit down until the judge calls your case.
• When the judge calls your case, walk to the front of the courtroom and stand in front of the judge’s bench. The judge will have you raise your right hand and swear to tell the truth. Be prepared to quickly tell the judge what orders you are asking the judge to change and why the change or changes you are asking for would be in your child’s best interest. It’s a good idea to write down everything you want to say so you can read it to the judge if you get nervous.
• The judge will listen to what you say and review your papers. If everything is in order the judge will sign your Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship.

After the judge signs your Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship, go back to the clerk’s office.

• File (turn in) the signed Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship and any other orders signed by the judge. Your modification case is NOT final until you do so.
• Get a certified copy of your Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship and any other orders signed by the judge from the clerk while you are there. The clerk may charge a fee for the certified copies.
• If child support was ordered, ask the clerk what you need to do to set up a child support account. If child support was changed or terminated, ask the clerk to send a copy of the income withholding order for support to the employer of the person who is or was ordered to pay child support.
• Complete and submit the Record of Support Order to the county’s clerk of the court to set up the child support account.

Send a file-stamped copy of the Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship to each respondent.

Follow these additional steps if they apply:

• If you were ordered to pay child support, cash medical support, or dental support, learn about payment options here: Texas Attorney General - Child Support Payment Options. If you have any questions, call the Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division at 800-252-8014. Do not send child support payments directly to the other parent.
• If the other parent was ordered to pay child support, medical support, or dental support to you and doesn’t pay, you can contact the Texas Attorney General Child Support Division for help enforcing your order.

Fill out the following form:

• Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship

This form (called the Petition) asks the judge to change the current order.

Write the cause number and court number on the first page of the Petition just as it is written on the order you want to change. Write these numbers at the top of any document you file in your modification case.)

Print your answers using blue or black ink. Do not leave blanks.

Who is the petitioner? You are the petitioner—the person asking the court to change the current court order. This is true even if you are listed as the respondent in the current order.

Who must be listed as a respondent? Any person listed as a party in the current order must be listed as a respondent. If the Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division is listed as a party in the current order you must also list it as a respondent.

In some cases the only respondent is the other parent. In other cases, there are additional respondents. If anyone else is named as a respondent in your Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship:

1. that respondent must also be served and default (not file an answer with the court), or
2. that respondent must sign the necessary court forms showing he or she agrees to the changes.

If a respondent will agree to sign the necessary court forms, follow the steps for that respondent in the Instructions and Forms for an Agreed Modification checklist.

Note: The Petition asks for your address. Each respondent will get a copy of your Petition. If you are concerned about a respondent knowing your address, call the Family Violence Legal Line at 800-374-4673 for free advice.

Fill out these additional starting forms and attach them to your Petition if required for your case:

• Declaration in Support of Changing Primary Custody within One Year (required only if you are asking to change custody within one year of the current order) Read this article to learn more: Child Custody Modification within One Year of Current Order.
• Exhibit: Out-of-State Party Declaration (required only if you or a respondent lives outside of Texas)

Fill out these additional starting forms:

• Civil Case Information Sheet (NOTE: the Texas Supreme Court has repealed the rule requiring the civil case information sheet, so you may not need this form. If you are filing paper documents in person at the clerk's office, you should complete it and bring it anyway, however.). 
• Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship

Fill out this additional form if you cannot afford to pay the filing fee for your case. Call the clerk’s office in the county where the current order was made to learn the filing fee for your case.

• Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs

Make copies:

• Make enough copies of your completed Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship to have one copy for you and one copy for each respondent.
• Make one copy of the Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Courts if you are asking the court to waive court costs.
• You do not need copies of the Civil Case Information Sheet or the Information on Suit Affecting the Family Relationship.

Note: Some counties require your documents to be reviewed by an attorney, while others do not. You should speak with the district clerk's office or court coordinator in your county about local requirements. Even if it's not required, it’s a good idea to have a family law lawyer review your completed forms. Family law lawyers specialize in cases involving families, such as custody and support modification cases.

File (turn in) your completed Petition and other starting forms with the court in the county where the current order was made.

You need to find out if your county has standing orders. If it does, you will need to attach a copy of the standing orders to your petition. 

Note: If the child has lived in another Texas county for at least 6 months, you have the option of asking the court to transfer the case to the child’s new home county. You must file a Motion to Transfer at the same time you file your Petition. File your Petition and Motion to Transfer with the court in the county where the current order was made. Talk to a lawyer about whether a transfer makes sense for your case.

Note: If the child has lived in another state for at least the past 6 months, it is important to talk with a lawyer about where to file your case.

• To file your forms online, go to E-File Texas and follow the instructions. Read How to E-File for an explanation about how to e-file.
• To file your forms in person, take your Petition and additional starting forms (and copies) to the district clerk’s office in the county where the current order was made.

At the clerk’s office:

• Turn in your Petition and other starting forms (and copies).
• Tell the clerk you want to have one or more of the respondents named in your Petition served in person. This means a sheriff, constable or private process server will deliver the initial court papers to the respondent in person.
• Pay the filing fee and issuance fee (or file your completed Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs if you cannot afford the court costs).
• Ask the clerk if there is a local standing order that you need to follow or attach to any of your documents.
• Ask the clerk if there are local rules or you need to know about for your modification case.
• The clerk will “file-stamp” your copies with the date and time. The clerk will keep the original and give one copy back to you.
• The clerk will print a form called a “citation.” The citation tells the respondent that you have filed a modification case. The citation also tells the respondent that unless he or she files an answer with the court you will be able to finish your case by default. The clerk will attach the other copy of your Petition to the citation. The citation with a copy of your Petition attached are the “initial court papers” that must be served on the respondent by a constable, sheriff or private process server. Read Step 3 for further instructions.

It is your responsibility to arrange for the respondent to be served with the initial court papers by a constable, sheriff or private process server. You CANNOT serve the initial court papers yourself.

What are the initial court papers? The initial court papers include the citation you got at the clerk’s office with a copy of your Petition attached.

What do I need to do? Send the initial court papers to a constable, sheriff or private process server in the county where the respondent can be served. Include the service fee or a file-stamped copy of your Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. (Call first to learn the fee.) Also include a self-addressed and stamped envelope.

The constable, sheriff or private process server will deliver the initial court papers to the respondent in person. The constable, sheriff or private process server will fill out a form called a “Return of Service.” It tells the court when and where the respondent was served. The completed Return of Service is proof the respondent was served. The respondent will not have to sign anything.

The Return of Service must be filed with the court. The constable, sheriff or private process server may file it themselves or they may give the completed Return of Service form to you. If they give it to you, make a copy and file the original at the courthouse. It must be on file for at least 10 days before you can finish your case, not counting the day it is filed or the day you go to court to finish your case.

What if I’m having trouble serving the other parent or other respondent? For more information read this article: How to Serve Initial Court Papers (Family Law). You can also use Ask a Question to chat with a law student or lawyer online.

What if I can’t find a respondent? If you cannot find a respondent (after looking really hard), you must have the respondent served by publication in a local newspaper, on the state's service by publication web site, or both. You must also have to hire a lawyer to serve as an attorney ad litem for the respondent. For more information read this article: Service by Publication (when you can't find the other parent).

You will ask the judge to sign a new order to change the current order. The new order must be completely filled out before going to court. The new order will be the Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship form with specific order forms attached regarding the issues you want to be changed. You and the other parent may want to fill out the order forms together

Fill out the following order form for all cases:

• Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship 

Fill out the Order completely (except for the judge’s signature). When it’s time to finish your case, you will ask a judge to sign this Order Modifying the Parent Child Relationship form with one or more of the specific order forms below attached.

If child support will be changed fill out and attach this order form:

• Child Support Order

If medical and dental support will be changed fill out and attach the order form below:

• Medical and Dental Support Order 

If custody will be changed fill out and attach one of these order forms:

• Conservatorship Order: Parents Appointed Conservators
• Conservatorship Order: Non-Parent(s) Appointed Conservator

If possession (visitation) will be changed fill out and attach one of these order forms or hire a lawyer to help you write a possession order that meets the specific needs of your family.

• Standard Possession Order
• Supervised Possession Order
• Modified Possession Order (Non-Parent is Managing Conservator)

Use this form if a non-parent will be the managing conservator of the children. You can find other sample modified possession orders here: Child Visitation & Possession Orders

Fill out the following additional order form if child support will be ordered, changed or stopped.

• Income Withholding Order for Support

TIP: Read these short articles to learn about child support, medical support, dental support, custody and visitation:

• Child Support, Medical, and Dental Support
• Child Custody and Conservatorship
• Child Visitation and Possession Orders (Sample possession order forms are included with the article.)

TIP: It’s a good idea to have a lawyer review your order forms after you fill them out. You can hire a lawyer just to review your forms. This is called “limited scope representation.” Use our Legal Help Finder tool to search for legal help in your area. Or, if your income is low, you may be able to have your completed forms reviewed at a free legal clinic. Use our Legal Events and Clinics tool to search for a free legal clinic in your area.

• 20 + day waiting period – From the day the respondent is served, the respondent must have at least 20 days plus the next Monday at 10 a.m. to file an answer. Find the day the respondent was served on a calendar, count out 20 more days, then go to the next Monday. This is the last day of the respondent’s answer period. However, if the respondent files an answer at any time before you finish your modification case it will still count.
• 10 + day waiting period – The constable, sheriff, private process server should have completed a Return of Service form stating when the respondent was served. The Return of Service form must be on file with the court for at least 10 days before you can finish your case. Important: When counting the 10 day waiting period, do not count the day the Return of Service is filed with the court and do not count the day you go to court to finish your case.

Call the clerk’s office to find out if the respondent filed an answer.

• If the respondent filed an answer, you CANNOT finish your modification case by default.
  • If the respondent filed an answer and will now agree to sign your completed Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship form you can finish your case by agreement.
  • If the respondent filed an answer and will not agree to sign your completed Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship form your case is contested. To finish a contested modification case, you must set a contested final hearing. You must give the respondent at least 45 days’ notice of the final hearing. Read this article to learn more: How to Set a Contested Final Hearing (Family Law). Remember: It’s always best to have a lawyer if your case is contested.

• If the respondent has NOT filed an answer, you CAN finish your modification case by default as long as all of the following are true.
  • The respondent was successfully served by a constable, sheriff, or private process server; 
  • A Return of Service form (stating when and where the respondent was served) has been on file with the clerk’s office for at least 10 days (not counting the day it was filed or the day you go to court); 
  • The 20 + day waiting period for the respondent to file an answer has passed;
  • If the respondent was served by publication, you hired a lawyer to be the “attorney ad litem” for the respondent and the lawyer has not been able to find the respondent; and
  • The respondent has not filed an answer and does not file an answer before you finish your modification case. (Remember, the respondent can file an answer up until the time you finish your modification case, even if the 20 + day waiting period has already passed.)
  • If anyone else was named as a respondent in your Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship:

• that respondent was also served and defaulted (did not file an answer with the court), or
• that respondent signed the necessary court forms showing he or she agrees to the changes.

If you CAN finish your modification case by default, fill out these additional forms and make 1 copy of each form:

• Certificate of Last Known Mailing Address
• Military Status Declaration (If your case is filed in Harris County, fill out a Military Status Affidavit instead. Sign it in front of a notary.)
• Statement of the Evidence (only if the respondent was served by publication)

Call the clerk’s office to find out when and where the court hears uncontested modification cases.

Call the clerk’s office again the day before you plan to go to court to make sure the respondent has still not filed an Answer. If the respondent has filed an answer, you cannot finish your case by default. Go back to Step 6.

Read the article Tips for the Courtroom for more information about going to court. 

Bring these papers with you to the courthouse on the day you plan to finish your modification case.

• A copy of the order you are asking the judge to change;
• A file-stamped copy of your Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship;
• A file-stamped copy of the Return of Service form showing when and where the respondent was served;
• A completely filled out Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship signed by you;
• A completely filled out Income Withholding Order for Support if child support will be ordered, changed, or stopped;
• A completed Certificate of Last Known Mailing Address form and 1 copy;
• A completed Military Status Declaration (or Military Status Affidavit) and 1 copy; and
• If the respondent was served by publication, a completed Statement of the Evidence and the lawyer you hired to serve as attorney ad litem for the respondent.
• If another respondent was served and defaulted, you must also bring the following for that respondent:
  • A file-stamped copy of the Return of Service form showing when and where that respondent was served; 
  • A completed Certificate of Last Known Mailing Address form and 1 copy; and
  • A completed Military Status Declaration (or Military Status Affidavit) and 1 copy.

When you get to the courthouse, go to the clerk’s office.

• Ask the clerk if you need the court file or docket sheet (list of what has been filed in your case).
• Ask the clerk to check one more time to see if the respondent has filed an answer. If the respondent has filed an Answer, you will not be able to finish your case by default. Go back to Step 6.
• File the Certificate of Last Known Mailing Address and the Military Status Declaration (or Military Status Affidavit). Ask the clerk to file stamp your copy of each form. Bring a file-stamped copy of each form with you to court.
• When you get to the courtroom, tell the clerk you are there and give the clerk your paperwork. Sit down until the judge calls your case.
• When the judge calls your case, walk to the front of the courtroom, and stand in front of the judge’s bench. The judge will have you raise your right hand and swear to tell the truth. Be prepared to quickly tell the judge, what orders you are asking the judge to change and why the change or changes you are requesting would be in your child’s best interest. It’s a good idea to write down everything you want to say ahead of time. You can read it to the judge if you get nervous.
• The judge will listen to what you say and review your papers. If everything is in order the judge will sign your Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship.

The procedure may be different if you are appearing by videoconference app.

Study TexasLawHelp's Virtual Court: Technology and Virtual Court: Procedure sections.

After the judge signs your Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship, go back to the clerk’s office. File (turn in) your Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship and any other orders signed by the judge. Your modification case is NOT final until you do so. Get a certified copy of your Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship and any other orders signed by the judge from the clerk while you are there. The clerk may charge a fee for the certified copies.

If child support was ordered, ask the clerk what you need to do to set up a child support account. If child support was changed or terminated, ask the clerk to send a copy of the income withholding order for support to the employer of the person who is or was ordered to pay child support. 

Complete and submit the Record of Support Order to the county’s clerk of the court to set up the child support account.

Send a file-stamped copy of the Order Modifying the Parent-Child Relationship to each respondent.

Follow these additional steps if they apply:

• If you were ordered to pay child support and/or cash medical support or dental support, learn about payment options here: Texas Attorney General - Child Support Payment Options. If you have any questions, call the Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division at 1-800-252-8014. DO NOT send child support payments directly to the other parent.
• If the respondent was ordered to pay child support and/or medical support and dental support to you and doesn’t pay, you can contact the Texas Attorney General Child Support Division for help enforcing your order.