Tennessee Child Custody: A Parent's Guide

In short: Tennessee organizes custody around a mandatory Permanent Parenting Plan Order, required before any divorce involving minor children is finalized, designating a Primary Residential Parent and an Alternate Residential Parent rather than a single custody award. There's no presumption of equal parenting time; courts weigh 15 statutory best-interest factors. Relocating out of state, or more than 50 miles within Tennessee, requires 60 days' notice with a 30-day objection window for the other parent.

This is an educational overview written for parents, not lawyers. It isn't legal advice. For anything beyond general understanding, talk to a licensed Tennessee family law attorney.

What Tennessee generally provides

Tenn. Code § 36-6-106 requires a court to enter a Permanent Parenting Plan Order (PPPO) before finalizing any divorce involving minor children, allocating parental responsibilities based on the child's best interest. The statute enumerates 15 non-exclusive factors and explicitly does not create a presumption favoring equal parenting time, instead directing courts to maximize both parents' involvement consistent with the child's need for stability and the practical realities of the family's circumstances.

Important terminology

• Permanent Parenting Plan Order (PPPO): the court-approved document that functions as Tennessee's custody order, required in every divorce involving minor children.
• Primary Residential Parent (PRP): the parent with whom the child spends the greater share of residential time under the plan.
• Alternate Residential Parent (ARP): the other parent, whose residential schedule is set out in the plan.
• Best interest of the child: Tennessee's controlling standard under § 36-6-106, assessed through 15 enumerated, non-exclusive factors.

How custody works in Tennessee

The Permanent Parenting Plan Order

Rather than awarding "custody," Tennessee courts enter a Permanent Parenting Plan Order that designates a Primary Residential Parent and sets out the residential schedule for the Alternate Residential Parent, alongside how major decisions (education, health care, religious upbringing) are allocated between the two.

The 15 best-interest factors, without an equal-time presumption

Section 36-6-106 directs courts to weigh factors including the strength, nature, and stability of the child's relationship with each parent (including which parent has handled the majority of day-to-day parenting responsibilities), each parent's past performance and future capacity for parenting, each parent's willingness and ability to encourage the child's relationship with the other parent, the child's developmental needs, and any history of abuse. Tennessee law is explicit that this doesn't create a presumption favoring equal parenting time, courts maximize both parents' involvement within the bounds of what the child's stability and the specific factors support.

Parenting schedules

Because Tennessee requires an integrated Permanent Parenting Plan rather than a generic custody label, families use it to establish patterns like 2-2-3 or week on, week off, or a primary-residence model with a defined residential schedule for the Alternate Residential Parent. See what is a parenting plan for what a strong plan generally covers regardless of jurisdiction, how to choose a custody schedule for a general framework, and the custody schedule generator to build the actual calendar.

Moving with your child (relocation)

Under Tenn. Code § 36-6-108, once custody or co-parenting has been established, a parent who wants to relocate out of state or more than 50 miles from the other parent within Tennessee must send notice by registered or certified mail to the other parent's last known address, generally at least 60 days before the move (unless a court excuses this for exigent circumstances). The notice must state the intent to move, the new location, the reasons for relocating, and that the move will proceed absent an agreement or a timely objection. The other parent then has 30 days from when the notice is sent to object; without a timely objection, and if the parents can't agree on a revised schedule, the relocating parent may proceed. See moving to another state with shared custody for how notice requirements and relocation standards tend to work more broadly across states.

Common questions

How is child support calculated? Tennessee uses the Income Shares Child Support Guidelines: both parents' combined adjusted gross income and the number of children determine a basic support obligation, divided based on each parent's income share and the residential schedule. A completed Child Support Worksheet is required for every order.

Can a parenting plan be changed later? Yes, generally on a showing of a material change in circumstances, and that a modification serves the child's best interest.

What if my co-parent won't follow the parenting plan? You can file a petition for contempt or a motion to enforce with the court. Courts can order makeup residential time and, in serious or repeated cases, hold a parent in contempt.

Practical considerations

Because Tennessee's statute explicitly rejects an equal-time presumption, the specific factors, particularly which parent has historically handled day-to-day responsibilities, carry real weight in shaping the residential schedule, worth documenting and discussing directly with a Tennessee family law attorney if the designation of Primary Residential Parent is contested. Whatever the plan ends up specifying, the operational part that follows it, keeping both households aligned on the same schedule, logging change requests instead of relying on memory, and keeping a record if an enforcement issue arises, is a separate, ongoing piece worth planning for.

Official Tennessee resources

• Tenn. Code § 36-6-106 (Best Interest Factors; Permanent Parenting Plan)
• Tenn. Code § 36-6-108 (Parental Relocation)
• Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts: Income Shares Child Support Guidelines

Related OnePage resources

• Custody schedule generator
• What is a parenting plan
• How to choose a custody schedule
• Moving to another state with shared custody

Related Tennessee pages

• Tennessee hub