How to Modify Child Custody in Michigan
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Michigan · Last updated October 7, 2026
Michigan decides your burden of proof before it decides your case. What settles it is not how recent your order is, but whether the change you want would move the place the child already looks for care. Modifying child custody in Michigan means asking the family division of the circuit court that issued your existing custody or parenting time order to change it because something significant has changed since then. MCL 722.27(1)(c) lets that court modify its previous judgments or orders for proper cause shown or because of change of circumstances, with no minimum interval, until the child reaches 18. Then comes the gate that makes Michigan different. The same subsection says the court shall not change the established custodial environment of a child unless there is presented clear and convincing evidence that it is in the best interest of the child, and it defines that environment as established if over an appreciable time the child naturally looks to the custodian for guidance, discipline, the necessities of life, and parental comfort. Two parents asking for changes of the same size can therefore carry different burdens. Best interest means the twelve factors in MCL 722.23. The threshold is a separate question with teeth of its own: under MCL 552.505(1)(g) the court may order a Friend of the Court custody investigation only if it first finds proper cause or a change of circumstances. You file SCAO form FOC 87, Motion Regarding Custody, with the completed MC 416 affidavit attached, in the same circuit court case. MCL 600.2529(1)(e) sets a $20 fee on filing a motion. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Michigan
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 Michigan?
File SCAO form FOC 87, Motion Regarding Custody, in the family division of the circuit court that issued your order, using the same case number, with the completed MC 416 affidavit attached. Item 5 of the form states the proper cause or changed circumstances; item 6 states which best interest factors support the request.
Is there a waiting period to modify custody in Michigan?
No. The Child Custody Act sets no minimum interval before a parent may move to modify custody or parenting time. MCL 722.27(1)(c) permits modification for proper cause shown or because of change of circumstances until the child reaches 18. Michigan limits modification through the burden of proof rather than through a clock.
How far can a Michigan parent move with a child after a custody order?
Not more than 100 miles from the child's legal residence at the time the action was commenced, unless the other parent consents or the court permits the move (MCL 722.31). No notice period applies and silence does not allow the move. Taking the child's domicile out of Michigan needs separate prior court approval.
Which court changes a custody order in Michigan?
The family division of the circuit court. MCL 600.1021(1)(g) gives it sole and exclusive jurisdiction over child custody cases under the Child Custody Act of 1970. You file into the same circuit court case that produced the order, and the county Friend of the Court office administers custody and parenting time matters.
Michigan custody modification at a glance
Changing child custody in Michigan means asking the family division of the circuit court that issued your existing custody or parenting time order to change it because something significant has changed since then. Michigan imposes no waiting period: MCL 722.27(1)(c) allows modification for proper cause shown or because of change of circumstances at any point until the child turns 18. What Michigan adds instead is a burden switch. If the change you want would alter the child's established custodial environment, that same subsection demands clear and convincing evidence that the change serves the child's best interest. Where the environment would stay intact, the statute does not impose that heightened requirement. Michigan also runs a genuine threshold: under MCL 552.505(1)(g) the court may order a Friend of the Court custody investigation only after finding proper cause or changed circumstances.
A second move, measured from the first address
Your Michigan order was entered while the child's legal residence was in Royal Oak; you later moved 85 miles to Lansing without objection, and a job offer would now take you to Traverse City. MCL 722.31 does not measure from Lansing. It measures from the Royal Oak residence the child had when the action was commenced, so the new move sits well past 100 miles and is barred until the other parent consents or the circuit court permits it under the five factors in subsection (4). Because the child has spent school weeks with you for years and looks to you for daily guidance and necessities, the move would also change the established custodial environment, so MCL 722.27(1)(c) puts clear and convincing evidence on you. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.
Relevant Laws
MCL 722.27 (modification power and the established custodial environment)
Allows the circuit court to modify or amend its previous judgments or orders for proper cause shown or because of change of circumstances until the child reaches 18, and forbids a change to the established custodial environment unless clear and convincing evidence shows the change is in the child's best interest. It also defines that environment.
MCL 722.31 (legal residence change, the 100 mile restriction)
Bars a parent from changing the child's legal residence to a location more than 100 miles from the child's legal residence at the time the action was commenced, unless the other parent consents or the court permits it, and lists the five factors the court must consider plus the carve-outs for sole legal custody and closer moves.
MCL 722.23 (best interests of the child defined)
Defines best interests of the child as the sum total of twelve listed factors, including the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the reasonable preference of the child if the court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express preference.
MCL 552.505 (Friend of the Court duties, investigation threshold and free forms)
Requires the Friend of the Court office to make modification motions, responses, orders and filing instructions available to a party without counsel, including a domicile or residence provision, and provides that where custody has been established by court order the court shall order an investigation only if it first finds proper cause or a change of circumstances.
SCAO form FOC 87, Motion Regarding Custody
The statewide State Court Administrative Office form for a custody modification motion, citing MCL 722.21 et seq., MCR 2.119 and MCR 3.213. It separates the proper cause or changed circumstances showing at item 5 from the best interest factors at item 6, and requires the MC 416 affidavit as an attachment.
Regional Variances
Michigan custody modification levers at a glance
Waiting period before you may file
None. A scan of the whole Child Custody Act, MCL 722.21 to 722.31, finds no waiting period, no minimum interval and no refiling bar for custody. MCL 722.27(1)(c) runs until the child reaches 18. The only interval in the Act is a separate limit on grandparenting time petitions.
Standard to change an order
Two steps under MCL 722.27(1)(c). First, proper cause shown or change of circumstances. Second, the child's best interest measured by the twelve MCL 722.23 factors. Both must be satisfied, and the form itself splits them into items 5 and 6.
Burden of proof
The distinctive Michigan lever. If the change would alter the established custodial environment, MCL 722.27(1)(c) requires clear and convincing evidence that the change is in the child's best interest. Where the environment would not change, the statute does not impose that heightened requirement.
Established custodial environment
Defined in MCL 722.27(1)(c): established if over an appreciable time the child naturally looks to the custodian in that environment for guidance, discipline, the necessities of life, and parental comfort. The court also weighs the child's age, the physical environment, and both parties' inclination as to permanency.
Relocation
Permission first, not notice then object. MCL 722.31 bars a change of the child's legal residence more than 100 miles from the residence held when the action was commenced, unless the other parent consents or the court permits it. No notice period exists, so silence does not allow the move.
Relocation carve-outs
The restriction does not apply where the order grants sole legal custody to one parent, where the child's two residences were already more than 100 miles apart at commencement, where the move brings them closer together, or where the move complies with the residence change provision subsection (5) puts in your order.
Out-of-state moves
A second and separate gate. Michigan custody orders state that the domicile of the minor child may not be moved from the State of Michigan without prior approval of the court, as printed at item 11 of SCAO form FOC 89. A short move across a state line can clear the mileage rule and still need approval.
Court
The family division of the circuit court for the county that issued the order, filed under the same case number. MCL 600.1021(1)(g) gives that division sole and exclusive jurisdiction over Child Custody Act cases and over child custody jurisdiction under the uniform act.
Forms
Michigan prescribes a statewide State Court Administrative Office set: FOC 87 Motion Regarding Custody, FOC 65 Motion Regarding Parenting Time, FOC 88 Response to Motion Regarding Custody, FOC 89 Order Regarding Custody and Parenting Time, and MC 416, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Enforcement Act Affidavit required as an attachment.
Filing fee
MCL 600.2529(1)(e) sets $20 on filing a motion. Subsection (1)(d)(i) sets $80 at the time an action to determine or modify custody or parenting time is filed. The section was amended effective 13 February 2024, so older figures are stale. Waiver on an affidavit of indigency is required by subsection (5).
Procedural screen
A threshold finding, not an affidavit screen. MCL 552.505(1)(g) permits a Friend of the Court custody investigation only where the court first finds proper cause or changed circumstances, and SCAO form FOC 89 gives the judge boxes to find that neither exists and dismiss the motion, leaving the prior order in effect.
Child's wishes
No statutory age. MCL 722.23(i) weighs the reasonable preference of the child if the court considers the child to be of sufficient age to express preference. No numeric age appears anywhere in the Child Custody Act, and preference is one of twelve factors given no enhanced weight.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Decide whether the change touches the established custodial environment
Before you draft anything days after startingMap where the child actually looks for guidance, discipline, necessities and comfort, and over how long, using the MCL 722.27(1)(c) wording. If your request would move that, plan to meet the clear and convincing standard. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.
Assemble the proper cause or changed circumstances proof
Before you file days after startingCollect dated evidence of what shifted since the judge signed your current order: school records, work schedules, medical notes, messages. Michigan decides this threshold first, and under MCL 552.505(1)(g) it controls whether the court may order a Friend of the Court investigation at all.
Read the residence change provision in your own order
Before planning any move days after startingMCL 722.31(5) requires every custody or parenting time order to state the parents' agreement on how a change in either legal residence is handled, and a move complying with that provision escapes the 100 mile restriction. Check whether yours also carries the out-of-state domicile approval term.
Complete SCAO form FOC 87 and the MC 416 affidavit
As soon as your evidence is assembled days after startingFill out form FOC 87, Motion Regarding Custody, with item 5 setting out the proper cause or changed circumstances and item 6 naming the MCL 722.23 factors, on attached sheets. Complete the MC 416 affidavit. Use form FOC 65 where only parenting time is at issue.
File with the circuit court clerk and pay the motion fee
Promptly, since hearing dates run weeks out days after startingFile into the same case number in the family division of the circuit court that issued your order. MCL 600.2529(1)(e) sets a $20 fee on filing a motion, and the clerk confirms which fee applies. Ask for waiver under subsection (5) by affidavit of indigency.
Serve the motion and complete the notice of hearing
By the hearing date on the form days after startingServe the motion, the MC 416 affidavit and the notice of hearing on the other parent by first class mail to the last known address, then sign the certificate of mailing on form FOC 87. The other parent may respond on form FOC 88 from the Friend of the Court office.
Attend the Friend of the Court meeting if an investigation is ordered
Before the investigator reports days after startingMCL 552.505(1)(g) gives each party the right to meet with the individual investigating the dispute before a recommendation is made, and the written report must rest on the Child Custody Act factors. Bring documentation of alleged facts rather than conclusions.
Attend the hearing and keep following the current order
On your hearing date days after startingBring your evidence and a specific proposed schedule, since MCL 722.28 means the trial record is where the case is decided. Keep following the existing order until a judge signs form FOC 89, because a unilateral departure is an enforcement problem that can count against you.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decide whether the change touches the established custodial environment | Map where the child actually looks for guidance, discipline, necessities and comfort, and over how long, using the MCL 722.27(1)(c) wording. If your request would move that, plan to meet the clear and convincing standard. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft. | - | Before you draft anything |
| Assemble the proper cause or changed circumstances proof | Collect dated evidence of what shifted since the judge signed your current order: school records, work schedules, medical notes, messages. Michigan decides this threshold first, and under MCL 552.505(1)(g) it controls whether the court may order a Friend of the Court investigation at all. | - | Before you file |
| Read the residence change provision in your own order | MCL 722.31(5) requires every custody or parenting time order to state the parents' agreement on how a change in either legal residence is handled, and a move complying with that provision escapes the 100 mile restriction. Check whether yours also carries the out-of-state domicile approval term. | - | Before planning any move |
| Complete SCAO form FOC 87 and the MC 416 affidavit | Fill out form FOC 87, Motion Regarding Custody, with item 5 setting out the proper cause or changed circumstances and item 6 naming the MCL 722.23 factors, on attached sheets. Complete the MC 416 affidavit. Use form FOC 65 where only parenting time is at issue. | - | As soon as your evidence is assembled |
| File with the circuit court clerk and pay the motion fee | File into the same case number in the family division of the circuit court that issued your order. MCL 600.2529(1)(e) sets a $20 fee on filing a motion, and the clerk confirms which fee applies. Ask for waiver under subsection (5) by affidavit of indigency. | - | Promptly, since hearing dates run weeks out |
| Serve the motion and complete the notice of hearing | Serve the motion, the MC 416 affidavit and the notice of hearing on the other parent by first class mail to the last known address, then sign the certificate of mailing on form FOC 87. The other parent may respond on form FOC 88 from the Friend of the Court office. | - | By the hearing date on the form |
| Attend the Friend of the Court meeting if an investigation is ordered | MCL 552.505(1)(g) gives each party the right to meet with the individual investigating the dispute before a recommendation is made, and the written report must rest on the Child Custody Act factors. Bring documentation of alleged facts rather than conclusions. | - | Before the investigator reports |
| Attend the hearing and keep following the current order | Bring your evidence and a specific proposed schedule, since MCL 722.28 means the trial record is where the case is decided. Keep following the existing order until a judge signs form FOC 89, because a unilateral departure is an enforcement problem that can count against you. | - | On your hearing date |
Frequently Asked Questions
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