How long must I wait after my last order to file in Alabama?

You do not have to wait. Searches of the whole of Title 30 return no provision barring or delaying a petition to modify custody or visitation, and no endangerment affidavit is needed to file early. The practical limit is evidence: you need facts that arose after the order you want changed.

Do I have to give notice before moving within Alabama with my child?

Yes. Sections 30-3-163 and 30-3-164 attach the notice duty to any change of the child's principal residence, with no distance threshold. The 60 mile figure in Section 30-3-162 only removes the objection and court proceeding sections, and it does not remove the certified mail notice itself.

Where is the 60 miles in the Alabama relocation statute measured from?

From the residence of the non-relocating parent, not from where the child lives now. Section 30-3-162 also treats a move that brings the child nearer that parent the same way, and it cancels the exemption outright if the move puts the child in a different state, however short the trip.

What happens if an Alabama parent moves without giving notice?

Section 30-3-168 makes the failure a factor in the relocation decision, in whether custody or visitation is modified, in ordering the child returned to the former residence, in deviating from the support guidelines, and in shifting travel costs and attorney fees. Contempt is also available for violating an order.

Can my Alabama order be changed if the other parent agrees to it?

An agreement helps but does not finish the job. The court still has to approve it, because only a court approved agreement is enforceable. If the other parent will not agree, the Administrative Office of Courts guidance warns that a judge will usually leave custody alone absent proof the child's health or safety is at risk.

Can an Alabama court still decide custody after the child leaves the state?

Often yes. Section 30-3B-202 keeps continuing exclusive jurisdiction until a court finds the significant connection to Alabama is gone, or finds that the child and both parents no longer live here. Section 30-3-169.9 says a joint custody parent who keeps an Alabama residence preserves that connection.

Can the Alabama filing fee be put off if money is tight?

Section 12-19-70 lets the court waive the docket fee initially and tax it as costs later, on a verified statement of substantial hardship filed with the clerk. If the court makes no written contrary finding inside 90 days, the hardship is deemed granted. Your pleading counts as filed on the statement date.

How to Modify Child Custody in Alabama

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Alabama · Last updated October 7, 2026

Alabama never makes a parent wait to ask, and then makes that parent work hard to win. Modifying child custody here means asking the circuit court that entered your existing custody or visitation order to change it because something significant has shifted since that order was signed. A scan of all of Title 30 turns up exactly one waiting period, Section 30-2-8.1, and it is a 30 day pause before a divorce judgment that expressly leaves temporary custody orders untouched. Nothing delays your petition. The burden is the hard part. Where a prior judgment already placed custody with one parent, the courts apply the Ex parte McLendon test: you must show the change would materially promote the child's welfare, and that the positive good of the change more than offsets the inherently disruptive effect of uprooting the child. Where the earlier judgment gave shared physical custody and named no primary custodian, Ex parte Couch applies the lighter best interest standard instead. One statutory shortcut exists. Under Section 30-3-134, a finding that domestic or family violence has occurred since the last custody determination is itself a finding of change in circumstances. The Administrative Office of Courts publishes Form PS-07, Request to Change the Current Custody or Visitation Order, and Section 12-19-71 sets a statewide $248 filing fee for a case seeking to modify an existing domestic relations order. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Alabama

What is prompting the change to your custody order?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

How do I modify a child custody order in Alabama?

File a petition in the circuit court that entered your order, or in the circuit court of a county where the custodial parent and the child have lived three consecutive years. The Administrative Office of Courts publishes Form PS-07, Request to Change the Current Custody or Visitation Order, with the CS-47 child support information sheet.

Is there a waiting period to modify custody in Alabama?

No. No section of Title 30 of the Alabama Code imposes a waiting period or time bar before a parent may ask to change a custody or visitation order. The one waiting period in Title 30 is the 30 day pause before a divorce judgment set by Section 30-2-8.1.

How much notice must an Alabama parent give before moving with a child?

Section 30-3-165 requires notice by certified mail no later than the 45th day before the intended change of the child's principal residence, or by the 10th day after the required information becomes known if the 45 day lead time was not possible. Eight specific items must be included.

Can an Alabama parent stop a planned relocation?

A parent who receives relocation notice has 30 days from receipt to file a proceeding seeking an order preventing the move, under Section 30-3-169. If nobody files inside that window the change of principal residence is authorized. Section 30-3-169.1 lets a court extend the window for good cause.

Alabama custody modification at a glance

Changing child custody in Alabama means asking the circuit court that entered your existing custody or visitation order to change it because something significant has shifted since then. Alabama adds no clock to the courthouse door: no provision of Title 30 bars or delays a modification petition. What it adds instead is weight on the parent asking. Where a prior judgment placed custody with one parent, Ex parte McLendon requires proof that the change would materially promote the child's welfare and that its positive good more than offsets the disruption of uprooting the child. Relocation is handled by its own statute, the Alabama Parent-Child Relationship Protection Act at Section 30-3-160 and following, which writes a rebuttable presumption against moving the child directly into the code at Section 30-3-169.4.

A Mobile parent plans a 58 mile move and counts the wrong 45

A 58 mile move inside Alabama still owes the full certified mail notice, and the reason trips parents up. Take a Mobile parent with primary custody who lands a job 58 miles away and reads that the relocation statute talks about 45 days. Two different 45 day figures sit in that article. Section 30-3-161 defines relocation as a change of the child's principal residence lasting 45 days or more, while Section 30-3-165 sets the notice lead time at 45 days. The lead time is the one that binds. Distance is no excuse either, because the 60 mile figure in Section 30-3-162 switches off only the objection sections, and only while the child stays in Alabama. So certified mail goes out by the 45th day before the move, carrying the eight required items, and the other parent then has 30 days to object.

Relevant Laws

Ala. Code 30-3-165 (relocation notice, 45 days, certified mail)

Requires notice by certified mail not later than the 45th day before the intended change of the child's principal residence, or the 10th day after the required information becomes known where 45 days was not possible, and lists the eight items the notice must contain including the 30 day objection warning.

Ala. Code 30-3-162 (applicability, and the 60 mile exemption)

Applies the Parent-Child Relationship Protection Act to orders entered before or after September 1, 2003, and provides that Sections 30-3-169.1 to 30-3-169.7 do not apply to a move 60 miles or less from the non-relocating parent's residence, or a move bringing the child nearer, unless the child ends up in a different state.

Ala. Code 30-3-169 and 30-3-169.4 (30 day objection window, presumption)

Section 30-3-169 permits the move after notice unless a person entitled to notice files a proceeding to prevent it within 30 days of receipt. Section 30-3-169.4 creates a rebuttable presumption that a change of the child's principal residence is not in the child's best interest, with the initial burden on the parent proposing it.

Ala. Code 30-3-5 (venue for a modification petition)

Places venue for all proceedings seeking modification, interpretation, or enforcement of a final custody, visitation, or support decree in the original circuit court that rendered the decree, or in the circuit court of the county where the current custodial parent and the child have resided for at least three consecutive years, at that parent's choice.

Ala. Code 12-19-71 (filing fee) and 30-3-134 (violence as changed circumstances)

Section 12-19-71(a)(7) sets $248 for a case filed on the domestic relations docket of the circuit court seeking to modify or enforce an existing domestic relations order, with local act court costs preserved on top. Section 30-3-134 makes a finding of domestic or family violence since the last custody determination a finding of change in circumstances.

Regional Variances

Alabama custody modification levers at a glance

Waiting period before you may file

None. Scans of the whole of Title 30 return no waiting period, no bar on making a motion, and no adequate cause screen keyed to elapsed time. The single waiting period hit in Title 30 is Section 30-2-8.1, a 30 day pause before a divorce judgment that subsection (b) says does not restrict temporary custody orders.

Standard to change a final order

Not codified. Where a prior judgment placed custody with one parent, Ex parte McLendon requires the change to materially promote the child's welfare, with its positive good more than offsetting the inherently disruptive effect of uprooting the child. Where the prior judgment gave shared physical custody and named no primary custodian, Ex parte Couch applies the best interest standard.

Statutory ground that does not need the usual showing

Section 30-3-134 provides that in every proceeding where modification of a custody or visitation order is at issue, a finding that domestic or family violence has occurred since the last custody determination constitutes a finding of change in circumstances. Section 30-3-131 adds a rebuttable presumption against custody with a perpetrator.

Relocation notice and trigger

Certified mail notice by the 45th day before the move, or the 10th day after the information becomes known, under Section 30-3-165. The trigger is any change of the child's principal residence, with no distance element; Section 30-3-161 defines relocation as a change lasting 45 days or more. Eight items are mandatory in the notice.

The 60 mile figure, and its direction

An exemption ceiling, not a trigger, and measured from the non-relocating parent's residence. Under Section 30-3-162 a move of 60 miles or less from that residence, or a move bringing the child nearer, switches off Sections 30-3-169.1 to 30-3-169.7 only, and the exemption fails entirely if the child ends up in a different state.

Relocation mechanism

Notice then object, with a statutory presumption against the move. Silence clears it: Section 30-3-169 authorizes the change unless a proceeding to prevent it is filed within 30 days of receiving notice. But once an objection is filed, Section 30-3-169.4 presumes the move is not in the child's best interest and puts the initial burden on the moving parent.

Court and forms

Circuit court, under Section 30-3-5, either the court that rendered the decree or a court where the custodial parent and child have lived three consecutive years. The Administrative Office of Courts publishes Form PS-07, Request to Change the Current Custody or Visitation Order, in its do it yourself catalog, with the CS-47 child support information sheet.

Filing fee and screens

$248 statewide under Section 12-19-71(a)(7), with local act court costs preserved by subsection (c)(2). Section 12-19-70 allows a verified statement of substantial hardship, deemed granted if the court makes no contrary written finding in 90 days. There is no adequate cause screen; Section 30-3B-209 requires sworn jurisdictional information in the first pleading.

Child's wishes

No statutory age. The only codified mention is Section 30-3-169.3, listing the preference of the child, taking age and maturity into account, as one of seventeen relocation factors. The joint custody factors in Section 30-3-152 contain no preference item at all, and no Title 30 provision sets an age of twelve or fourteen.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Identify which standard your existing judgment triggers

Before you draft anything days after starting

Pull the judgment you want changed and look at how it allocated custody. A judgment placing custody with one parent puts you under the McLendon burden. A shared physical custody judgment with no primary custodian named puts you under the best interest standard per Ex parte Couch.

Assemble dated proof of what changed after that judgment

Before you file days after starting

Collect records that postdate the order: school reports, work schedules, medical notes, messages, any protection order. Section 30-3-134 makes a finding of domestic or family violence since the last custody determination a finding of change in circumstances, so document any such incident carefully.

Send the relocation notice by certified mail if you plan to move

By the 45th day before the move days after starting

Section 30-3-165 requires certified mail to the last known address with all eight items: new street address, mailing address, phone numbers, the child's new school, the move date, your reasons, a proposed revised schedule, and the warning that an objection must be made within 30 days.

Complete Form PS-07 and the CS-47 information sheet

Once your evidence is assembled days after starting

Fill out Form PS-07, Request to Change the Current Custody or Visitation Order, from the Administrative Office of Courts catalog, and the CS-47 child support information sheet it names. Use the case number from your current custody order. Do not use PS-07 in a case filed by Alabama DHR.

File in the correct circuit court and handle the fee

As soon as your papers are complete days after starting

Take your originals and two copies to the clerk of the circuit court that rendered the decree, or the circuit court allowed by Section 30-3-5. The statewide fee is $248 under Section 12-19-71, before local court costs. Ask the clerk about a verified statement of substantial hardship if needed.

Give a current address so the clerk can complete service

At filing days after starting

The clerk arranges service on the other parent by sheriff or certified mail, so an out of date address stalls the case. Include the sworn jurisdictional information Section 30-3B-209 requires in your first pleading or an attached affidavit, covering where the child has lived for the last five years.

Keep following the existing order up to the hearing

Until a judge signs a new order days after starting

Bring witnesses and documents with personal knowledge of the facts behind your request. Departing from the current order on your own is an enforcement problem rather than a modification and can count against you. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.

Task	Description	Document	Days after starting
Identify which standard your existing judgment triggers	Pull the judgment you want changed and look at how it allocated custody. A judgment placing custody with one parent puts you under the McLendon burden. A shared physical custody judgment with no primary custodian named puts you under the best interest standard per Ex parte Couch.	-	Before you draft anything
Assemble dated proof of what changed after that judgment	Collect records that postdate the order: school reports, work schedules, medical notes, messages, any protection order. Section 30-3-134 makes a finding of domestic or family violence since the last custody determination a finding of change in circumstances, so document any such incident carefully.	-	Before you file
Send the relocation notice by certified mail if you plan to move	Section 30-3-165 requires certified mail to the last known address with all eight items: new street address, mailing address, phone numbers, the child's new school, the move date, your reasons, a proposed revised schedule, and the warning that an objection must be made within 30 days.	-	By the 45th day before the move
Complete Form PS-07 and the CS-47 information sheet	Fill out Form PS-07, Request to Change the Current Custody or Visitation Order, from the Administrative Office of Courts catalog, and the CS-47 child support information sheet it names. Use the case number from your current custody order. Do not use PS-07 in a case filed by Alabama DHR.	-	Once your evidence is assembled
File in the correct circuit court and handle the fee	Take your originals and two copies to the clerk of the circuit court that rendered the decree, or the circuit court allowed by Section 30-3-5. The statewide fee is $248 under Section 12-19-71, before local court costs. Ask the clerk about a verified statement of substantial hardship if needed.	-	As soon as your papers are complete
Give a current address so the clerk can complete service	The clerk arranges service on the other parent by sheriff or certified mail, so an out of date address stalls the case. Include the sworn jurisdictional information Section 30-3B-209 requires in your first pleading or an attached affidavit, covering where the child has lived for the last five years.	-	At filing
Keep following the existing order up to the hearing	Bring witnesses and documents with personal knowledge of the facts behind your request. Departing from the current order on your own is an enforcement problem rather than a modification and can count against you. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.	-	Until a judge signs a new order

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Alabama guides

Adverse Possession in Alabama: Ten Years and Three Statutory Gateways

Alabama Notice to Vacate: 2026 Landlord Rules and Process

Asset Protection Planning in Alabama (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Alabama (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Alabama (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Alabama

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