Tennessee Child Custody Agreement

Introduction

Key Things to Know

1. 1

   Tennessee cannot enter the order without the plan. Section 36-6-404(a) provides that any final decree or decree of modification in an action for absolute divorce, legal separation, annulment, or separate maintenance involving a minor child shall incorporate a permanent parenting plan. Section 36-6-402 defines that plan as a written plan for the parenting and best interests of the child, including allocation of parenting responsibilities, establishment of a residential schedule, and an award of child support. One carve-out exists, for parties divorced before July 1, 1997 who return to court to enter an agreed order modifying the previous order.

2. 2

   What agreeing changes is the paperwork the judge owes. Section 36-6-404(c)(1) directs the court to approve a permanent parenting plan upon agreement of the parties, with entry of a final decree or judgment or with a consent order to modify one. Section 36-6-407(a) requires the court to approve agreements allocating parenting responsibilities, or specifying rules, if it finds the agreement consistent with any limitations mandated by section 36-6-406, knowing and voluntary, and in the best interest of the child, and a 2020 amendment to that section provides that those requirements and Rule 52.01 are conclusively satisfied upon the court's approval of the agreement, with no written findings required.

3. 3

   On an agreed modification the duty to inquire is lifted, not the power. Section 36-6-405(d) provides that where the parties announce an agreed modification on the record, or execute a modifying plan approved by agreed order, the court is not required to inquire further and make an independent determination as to whether the modification is in the best interest of the child. The same subsection says the court is not required to accept an agreement of the parties modifying a permanent parenting plan, and preserves its authority to make inquiry and ensure the modification is entered into freely and voluntarily by both parents and is not the product of duress, coercion, or undue influence. One finding survives agreement in any event: since July 1, 2025 section 36-6-106(a) has required the court to include written findings of fact in a child custody order as to whether the limitations in section 36-6-406(a) to (d) apply.

4. 4

   The vocabulary is Tennessee's own, and one label is a translation layer. Part 4 of chapter 6 works through a permanent parenting plan that allocates parenting responsibilities and establishes a residential schedule, and section 36-6-402 defines the primary residential parent as the parent with whom the child resides more than fifty percent of the time. Section 36-6-410 says that designation is made solely for the purpose of all other state and federal statutes and does not affect either parent's rights and responsibilities under the parenting plan. Where the child is scheduled to reside an equal amount of time with both parents the parents may agree to a designation as joint primary residential parents or to waive the designation, but in the absence of an agreement a single primary residential parent must be designated.

5. 5

   The contents of the plan are prescribed. Section 36-6-404 requires the plan to provide for the child's changing needs as the child grows so as to minimize the need for further modifications, establish the authority and responsibilities of each parent, minimize the child's exposure to harmful parental conflict, provide a process for dispute resolution before court action unless precluded or limited by section 36-6-406, allocate decision-making authority over education, health care, extracurricular activities and religious upbringing, allow each parent day-to-day decisions while the child is residing with that parent, require the support obligor to report income annually on a date certain, and address transportation arrangements where a parent has no valid driver license. Section 36-6-101(a)(3)(C) adds a step that is easy to miss: a plan submitted by one party must carry that party's notarized signature, and a plan submitted jointly must carry the notarized signature of both. Section 36-6-404(d) also requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to develop a statewide parenting plan form for courts approving plans, and section 36-6-406 requires party-drafted forms to conform to the substantive language requirements that office establishes.

6. 6

   The best interest list is long and it moves. Section 36-6-106(a) directs the court to consider all relevant factors with the best interest of the child always being paramount, including the listed factors where applicable, and as of July 1, 2026 that list runs to eighteen subdivisions ending in a catch-all for any other factors deemed relevant by the court. It has been amended in several recent legislative sessions, so a Tennessee source giving a different count is usually describing an earlier version of the section rather than contradicting this one. The list is not switched off by agreement, although sections 36-6-405(d) and 36-6-407(a) relieve the court of writing findings on it in an agreed case.

7. 7

   Tennessee's abuse provisions are mandatory limitations rather than a presumption against custody. Section 36-6-406(a) provides that where the court determines, based upon a prior order or other reliable evidence, that a parent has engaged in willful abandonment continuing for an extended period or substantial refusal to perform parenting responsibilities, or in physical or sexual abuse or a pattern of emotional abuse of the parent, the child, or another person living with the child, the plan and the mechanism for approving it shall not utilize dispute resolution and that parent's residential time shall be limited if the limitation is found to be in the best interest of the minor child. Subsection (b) extends the limitation to a parent who resides with such a person, and subsection (c) requires the court to restrain a parent from contact with a child on conviction of enumerated sexual offenses. Section 36-6-409 separately bars any dispute resolution process except court action where a limiting factor applies, and restricts referral to mediation where an order of protection is in effect or the court has found domestic abuse, so if there has been abuse this is a situation to raise with a lawyer rather than settle on a form.

Tennessee Requirements for Child Custody Agreement

• Permanent Parenting Plan Required, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-404(a)

  Any final decree or decree of modification in an action for absolute divorce, legal separation, annulment, or separate maintenance involving a minor child shall incorporate a permanent parenting plan. Draft the document as the plan itself rather than as a settlement to be summarized in an order.

• Approval Upon Agreement, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-404(c)

  The court approves a permanent parenting plan upon agreement of the parties, with the entry of a final decree or judgment or with a consent order modifying one. If the parties have not agreed by forty-five days before trial, each must file and serve a proposed plan with a verified income statement and a verified good faith statement, and non-compliance may result in the court adopting the opposing party's plan.

• Agreed Allocation of Parenting Responsibilities, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-407(a)

  The court shall approve agreements of the parties allocating parenting responsibilities, or specifying rules, if it finds the agreement consistent with any limitations mandated by section 36-6-406, knowing and voluntary, and in the best interest of the child. Under a 2020 amendment those requirements and Rule 52.01 are conclusively satisfied upon the court's approval, with no written findings required.

• Agreed Modification, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-405(d)

  Where the parties announce an agreed modification on the record or execute a modifying plan approved by agreed order, the court is not required to inquire further and make an independent determination as to best interest. The same subsection provides that the court is not required to accept the agreement and retains authority to check that it was entered into freely and voluntarily and is not the product of duress, coercion, or undue influence.

• Residential Schedule, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-402 and 36-6-404(b)

  The plan must establish a residential schedule designating in which parent's home the child resides on given days of the year, including holidays, family birthdays, vacations and other special occasions. The court considers the section 36-6-106(a) factors in establishing the schedule where the section 36-6-406 limitations are not dispositive.

• Primary Residential Parent Designation, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-410

  The plan designates a primary residential parent solely for the purpose of all other state and federal statutes, and the designation does not affect either parent's rights and responsibilities under the plan. Where the child resides an equal amount of time with both parents the parents may agree to joint primary residential parents or to waive the designation, but absent agreement a single primary residential parent must be designated.

• Dispute Resolution Process, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-404 and 36-6-409

  The plan must provide a process for dispute resolution before court action unless precluded or limited by section 36-6-406, and the dispute resolution provision is to be set out in the decree. A parent who willfully fails to appear at a scheduled process without good reason may be ordered to pay attorney fees and financial sanctions. Section 36-6-409 limits the process to court action where a limiting factor applies or a parent cannot afford it.

• Statutory Parenting Rights and Notarized Signatures, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-101(a)(3)(B) and (C)

  The plan sets out the statutory parental rights, which include unimpeded telephone or, if available, video conference conversations with the child at least twice a week, uncensored mail, notice of hospitalization within twenty-four hours, direct receipt of school and medical records, freedom from derogatory remarks, forty-eight hours notice of extracurricular activities, and a travel itinerary for out-of-state trips of more than forty-eight hours. A plan filed by one party carries that party's notarized signature; a plan filed jointly carries both.

• Best Interest Factors, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-106(a)

  The court considers all relevant factors with the best interest of the child always being paramount, including the listed factors where applicable. As of July 1, 2026 the list runs to eighteen subdivisions and ends in a catch-all, and the section has been amended in several recent sessions, so check the current text rather than relying on a published count. The section also requires a child custody order to include written findings as to whether the section 36-6-406(a) to (d) limitations apply.

• Relocation Notice, Tenn. Code Ann. 36-6-108

  A parent relocating outside the state, or more than fifty miles from the other parent within the state, must send notice by registered or certified mail not later than sixty days before the move unless excused for exigent circumstances, stating the intent to move, the proposed new residence, and the reasons. If the other parent does not object within thirty days the move is permitted; on objection the relocating parent petitions and the court decides best interest on eight enumerated factors.