Can a Louisiana parent treat silence as permission to move with the child?

Usually yes, but not always. Revised Statutes 9:355.9 lets the relocating parent move after giving proper notice unless an objection arrives within thirty days. Where the parents share equal physical custody under a decree, 9:355.4 requires court authorisation or express written consent instead, so silence clears nothing.

How quickly does a contested Louisiana relocation get to court?

If an objection is sent in time, the relocating parent has thirty days from receiving it to start a summary proceeding for court approval, and Revised Statutes 9:355.13 requires trial to be assigned within sixty days of that filing. The child may not be moved while the dispute is pending.

Does Louisiana require a relocation notice to be sent by certified mail?

Yes. Revised Statutes 9:355.5 requires registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, or delivery by commercial courier, to the last known address. The notice must also carry eight listed items, including the specific new physical address, the reasons for the move, and a proposed revised schedule.

At what age will a Louisiana judge follow what the child wants?

There is no age in the statute. Civil Code article 134 lists the reasonable preference of the child, if the court deems the child of sufficient age to express one, as a single factor among fourteen. The article designates the potential for the child to be abused as the primary consideration.

Can a short move still support a Louisiana custody modification?

It can. Revised Statutes 9:355.17 says any change in the child's principal residence, including one that does not meet the threshold distance, may constitute a change of circumstances warranting modification. The same section says that merely giving relocation notice does not itself count as a change of circumstance.

Does the Louisiana six month home state rule delay a modification motion?

No. That period sits in Revised Statutes 13:1813, which is the interstate jurisdiction test for an initial custody determination. It decides which state's court may hear the case, not how long a parent waits or what must be proved. It is not a waiting period.

How does Louisiana deal with a parent who keeps blocking court ordered time?

Revised Statutes 9:346 allows a rule to show cause for failure to allow custody, visitation or time rights. A prevailing petitioner gets contempt, costs, attorney fees and extra time equal to the time lost. Subsection H makes a pattern of willful violation a possible ground for modification.

Can a Louisiana custody judgment be changed by agreement rather than a hearing?

Parents can present a consent judgment for a judge to sign, and Civil Code article 132 says the court shall follow a custody agreement unless the best interest of the child requires otherwise. Note that a judgment entered without evidence of parental fitness is not a considered decree.

How to Modify Child Custody in Louisiana

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

Which custody judgment you already hold decides how hard a Louisiana modification will be, and since August 1, 2026 that split sits in the Civil Code itself. Modifying child custody here means asking the district court that signed your existing custody or visitation judgment to change it because something significant has changed since then. Civil Code article 131 lets that court decide custody in a divorce proceeding or at any time afterward, so nothing bars you from filing this week. Article 138, added by Acts 2026 No. 93 and in force since August 1, 2026, then sorts you into one of two tracks. If your judgment was rendered by considered decree, meaning the trial court took evidence of parental fitness and ruled on it, then for five years after that judgment you must prove either by clear and convincing evidence that the harm a change of custody would likely cause is substantially outweighed by the advantages to the child, or that continuing the present award is so harmful to the child as to justify modification. Once five years have passed, and in all other cases including a consent or stipulated judgment, you need a change in circumstances that materially affects the child's welfare plus the child's best interest under the fourteen article 134 factors. You file a rule to show cause under Code of Civil Procedure article 2592, because Louisiana prescribes no statewide modification form, and you pay the parish clerk's advance deposit rather than a fixed statewide fee. A planned move runs on a separate statute with its own 60 day notice and 75 mile trigger. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Louisiana

What is prompting the change to your custody order?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Does Louisiana apply a harder test when the custody judgment came from a trial?

Yes. Civil Code article 138 splits the two. For five years after a judgment rendered by considered decree, where the trial court took evidence of parental fitness and ruled, the parent seeking change must show clear and convincing substantially outweighed harm, or that continuing the award is so harmful it justifies modification.

Can a Louisiana parent file to modify custody right away?

Yes. No Louisiana provision bars, delays or conditions the filing of a modification motion, and Civil Code article 131 authorises a custody award in a divorce proceeding or at any time afterward. The five year figure in article 138 changes what you must prove, not when you may file.

How many days of notice does Louisiana require before relocating with a child?

Sixty days before the proposed relocation date, by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested or by commercial courier. If sixty days was not reasonably possible, the deadline becomes the tenth day after the relocating person learns the required information under Revised Statutes 9:355.5.

What does a custody modification cost to file in Louisiana?

Louisiana fixes no statewide amount. Revised Statutes 13:841 caps what a district court clerk may charge for itemized acts, such as a twenty dollar initialization fee and six dollars for a first page. What you actually pay is the parish clerk's advance cost deposit under 13:842.

Louisiana custody modification at a glance

Changing child custody in Louisiana means asking the district court that signed your existing custody or visitation judgment to change it because something significant has shifted since then. Louisiana is the one civil law state, so the rules live in the Civil Code rather than a single custody chapter. The headline is new. Civil Code article 138, enacted by Acts 2026 No. 93 and effective August 1, 2026, codified the considered decree standard that until then existed only in Louisiana jurisprudence, and it attached a five year clock to it. Inside those five years a trial based judgment is protected by a heightened burden. Outside them, and for any consent or stipulated judgment at any time, the test drops to a change in circumstances that materially affects the child's welfare. Nothing stops you filing either way.

A Rapides Parish trial judgment, equal custody, and a 110 mile move

Picture a 2025 Rapides Parish judgment that followed a two day trial on parental fitness and split physical custody equally. You now want to take your daughter to Monroe for a hospital job, roughly 110 road miles away. Two separate machines start. Because the 2025 judgment was rendered by considered decree and is under five years old, any custody change runs on the heightened Civil Code article 138 track. Because you share equal physical custody under a decree, Revised Statutes 9:355.4 makes your move permission first: you serve the 60 day notice, then you must get court authorisation after a contradictory hearing or the other parent's express written consent. Silence from them is not consent here. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

La. Civ. Code art. 138 (modification of a custody award, in force August 1, 2026)

Enacted by Acts 2026 No. 93. Within five years of a judgment rendered by considered decree, modification requires clear and convincing proof that the harm of change is substantially outweighed by the advantages, or that continuing the award is so harmful it justifies modification. After five years, and in all other cases, a change in circumstances materially affecting the child's welfare suffices. Paragraph C defines considered decree.

La. Civ. Code art. 134 (the fourteen best interest factors)

Lists every factor the court weighs, naming the potential for the child to be abused as the primary consideration, and including the reasonable preference of a child the court deems of sufficient age to express one, plus the distance between the parties' residences. Amended by Acts 2018 No. 412.

La. R.S. 9:355.5 (relocation notice: 60 days, and the eight required items)

Requires notice by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, or commercial courier, no later than the sixtieth day before the proposed relocation, or the tenth day after the relocating person learns the required information where sixty days was not reasonably possible. Subsection B lists the eight items the notice must contain.

La. R.S. 9:355.9 and 9:355.4 (who may move on silence, and who must get permission)

Section 9:355.9 permits relocation after proper notice unless a person entitled to object does so within the thirty day window, and requires a summary proceeding within thirty days of an objection. Section 9:355.4(B) carves out parents with equal physical custody, who must obtain court authorisation after a contradictory hearing or express written consent before moving.

La. C.C.P. art. 3945 (the ex parte temporary custody gate)

Bars an ex parte temporary custody order unless a verified petition or supporting affidavit shows specific facts of immediate and irreparable injury. Such an order expires within thirty days, extendable once by up to fifteen days, must give the other parent at least forty eight hours of visitation in any fifteen day period, and is null and void if it does not comply.

Regional Variances

Louisiana custody modification levers at a glance

Waiting period before you may file

None. No Louisiana provision bars, delays or conditions the filing of a custody modification motion, and Civil Code article 131 authorises a custody award in a divorce proceeding or at any time afterward. Scans of all eighteen child custody sections of Revised Statutes Title 9, all nineteen relocation sections, and Civil Code articles 131 to 138 return no waiting period language of any kind.

The five year clock, and what it actually does

Civil Code article 138 runs five years from the date of a judgment rendered by considered decree. It switches which standard applies, not whether you may file. The clock starts at that judgment, and it only exists where the judgment was a considered decree; a consent or stipulated judgment is on the lesser standard from day one with no clock at all.

Standard on the heightened track

Within five years of a considered decree, article 138(A) permits modification in the child's best interest only on proof of either clear and convincing evidence that the harm likely to be caused by a change of custody is substantially outweighed by the advantages to the child, or that continuation of the present award is so harmful to the child as to justify modification.

Standard on the lesser track

After five years from a considered decree, and in all other cases, article 138(B) requires a change in circumstances that materially affects the welfare of the child, plus a finding that modification is in the child's best interest measured against the fourteen factors in Civil Code article 134. Revised Statutes 9:346(H) adds a pattern of willful denial of court ordered time as a possible ground.

Relocation notice and trigger

Sixty days before the proposed relocation, or the tenth day after the person learns the required information where sixty days was not reasonably possible, by registered or certified mail with return receipt or commercial courier, carrying eight listed items. The trigger is any out of state move, or more than 75 miles within the state. Note the separate 60 day duration element in the definition of relocation.

Where the 75 miles is measured from

Three different baselines, depending on posture. With no custody order, from the other parent's domicile. With a custody order, from the child's principal residence at the time the most recent custody decree was rendered, not from where the child lives now. Where no principal residence is designated or the parents share equal physical custody, from the domicile of a person entitled to object.

Relocation mechanism

Two mechanisms, selected by custody posture. The default is notice then object: under 9:355.9 the parent may move after proper notice unless an objection is made within thirty days, so silence permits the move. Where the parents share equal physical custody under a decree, 9:355.4(B) is permission first and silence permits nothing; court authorisation after a contradictory hearing or express written consent is required.

Court, forms, fee and screens

The district court for the judicial district and parish that rendered the judgment, except in East Baton Rouge Parish, where the Family Court holds exclusive jurisdiction over custody and visitation. No statewide modification form exists; the vehicle is a rule to show cause by summary proceeding. No statewide fee; Revised Statutes 13:841 caps itemized clerk charges and 13:842 sets an advance deposit. No adequate cause screen, and the child's preference carries no statutory age.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Classify your existing judgment

Before you draft anything days after starting

Order the judgment and the court minutes. You are looking for whether the trial court actually received evidence of parental fitness, which is what makes it a considered decree under Civil Code article 138(C). Note the judgment date, because the five year clock runs from it. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.

Read the relocation clause in your own judgment

Before you plan any move dates days after starting

To the extent the relocation statute conflicts with an existing custody order, it does not apply to that order's own relocation terms. So your judgment can displace the statutory scheme. Find the clause, and check whether the judgment designates a domiciliary parent or splits physical custody equally.

Measure the move against the trigger

At least 70 days before any move days after starting

Any out of state move is caught at any distance. In state, the threshold is more than 75 miles, measured from the baseline that matches your posture, which with an existing custody order is the child's principal residence when the most recent custody decree was rendered rather than today's address.

Serve the eight item relocation notice

No later than 60 days before the move days after starting

Send it by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, or by commercial courier, to the last known address. Include all eight items required by Revised Statutes 9:355.5(B), including the statement telling the other person they must object in writing within thirty days and should seek legal advice immediately.

Draft the rule to show cause

Once your evidence matches your track days after starting

Caption it into the existing suit number in the court that rendered the judgment, state which article 138 track applies and why, plead the facts supporting that standard, and ask for the specific custody terms you want. Code of Civil Procedure article 2592 makes a subsequent change in custody a summary proceeding.

File with the clerk and get a hearing date

As soon as the rule is drafted days after starting

Take it to the clerk of the district court for the parish that rendered the judgment, or the Family Court in East Baton Rouge Parish. Pay the advance cost deposit set under Revised Statutes 13:842; there is no statewide modification fee. Ask the clerk what the local rule requires alongside the rule.

Serve the other parent and keep following the current judgment

Before the hearing date on the rule days after starting

Have the other parent served and file proof. Keep obeying the existing judgment until a judge signs a new one. Moving without the required notice, or in violation of the judgment, may itself constitute a change of circumstances warranting a modification against you under Revised Statutes 9:355.17.

Task	Description	Document	Days after starting
Classify your existing judgment	Order the judgment and the court minutes. You are looking for whether the trial court actually received evidence of parental fitness, which is what makes it a considered decree under Civil Code article 138(C). Note the judgment date, because the five year clock runs from it. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.	-	Before you draft anything
Read the relocation clause in your own judgment	To the extent the relocation statute conflicts with an existing custody order, it does not apply to that order's own relocation terms. So your judgment can displace the statutory scheme. Find the clause, and check whether the judgment designates a domiciliary parent or splits physical custody equally.	-	Before you plan any move dates
Measure the move against the trigger	Any out of state move is caught at any distance. In state, the threshold is more than 75 miles, measured from the baseline that matches your posture, which with an existing custody order is the child's principal residence when the most recent custody decree was rendered rather than today's address.	-	At least 70 days before any move
Serve the eight item relocation notice	Send it by registered or certified mail with return receipt requested, or by commercial courier, to the last known address. Include all eight items required by Revised Statutes 9:355.5(B), including the statement telling the other person they must object in writing within thirty days and should seek legal advice immediately.	-	No later than 60 days before the move
Draft the rule to show cause	Caption it into the existing suit number in the court that rendered the judgment, state which article 138 track applies and why, plead the facts supporting that standard, and ask for the specific custody terms you want. Code of Civil Procedure article 2592 makes a subsequent change in custody a summary proceeding.	-	Once your evidence matches your track
File with the clerk and get a hearing date	Take it to the clerk of the district court for the parish that rendered the judgment, or the Family Court in East Baton Rouge Parish. Pay the advance cost deposit set under Revised Statutes 13:842; there is no statewide modification fee. Ask the clerk what the local rule requires alongside the rule.	-	As soon as the rule is drafted
Serve the other parent and keep following the current judgment	Have the other parent served and file proof. Keep obeying the existing judgment until a judge signs a new one. Moving without the required notice, or in violation of the judgment, may itself constitute a change of circumstances warranting a modification against you under Revised Statutes 9:355.17.	-	Before the hearing date on the rule

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Louisiana guides

Adverse Possession in Louisiana: Acquisitive Prescription at Ten or Thirty Years

Asset Protection Planning in Louisiana (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Louisiana (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Louisiana (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Louisiana

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Louisiana (2026)

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