Not unless your order allows it or a court changes the order first. Most Texas custody orders contain a geographic restriction limiting where the child’s primary residence can be, typically to a specific county and the counties contiguous to it. If yours does, moving out of state without your co-parent’s written agreement or a court order violates the order and can cost you primary custody. If your order has no geographic restriction, you have more freedom, but the other parent can still file to impose one and to block the move.

Texas has no relocation statute. That is the thing to understand first. There is no checklist and no presumption either way. Everything runs through the geographic restriction in your order and the modification standard, decided on the child’s best interest.

How Do You Know If Your Order Restricts a Move?

Read the order, specifically the conservatorship section. You are looking for language designating a primary residence and restricting it to an area.

Typical wording restricts the child’s primary residence to a named county “and counties contiguous thereto.” Some orders use a school district. Some specify a radius in miles. A few contain no restriction at all.

Three practical notes:

  • A joint managing conservatorship does not by itself prevent a move. What matters is which parent has the exclusive right to designate the primary residence, and whether that right is geographically limited
  • Standard possession orders change based on distance. Texas standard possession has different terms for parents living within 100 miles and beyond 100 miles, so a move can alter the schedule automatically
  • Some restrictions lift by their own terms when the other parent moves away or fails to exercise possession. Read the trigger language carefully

If you cannot locate the restriction, do not assume it is absent. Have counsel read the full order before you sign a lease or accept a job.

What Happens If You Move Without Permission?

The consequences are serious and they arrive quickly.

  • Contempt of court, which can carry fines and jail time
  • An emergency motion to order the child returned to Texas, often granted within days
  • Modification of conservatorship, meaning the other parent becomes the primary conservator
  • Attorney fees awarded against you
  • A credibility problem that follows you through every future hearing in the case

The most common version of this mistake is a parent who accepts an out-of-state job, moves in August for the school year, and files a modification afterward hoping the court will ratify a completed move. Texas courts respond poorly to that sequence. The move is not a fact on the ground the court has to accept. It is a violation.

Also worth knowing: taking a child out of state in violation of an order can create criminal exposure under the Texas interference with child custody statute. Our guide on parental kidnapping where no custody order exists covers the related framework.

How Do You Legally Get Permission to Relocate?

Two routes, and one is far cheaper than the other.

Route one: written agreement. If your co-parent agrees, you formalize it in a modification order the court signs. This is faster, less expensive, and lets you negotiate the trade-offs directly, usually a revised possession schedule and an allocation of travel costs. Never rely on a text message or a verbal agreement. It has to be an order.

Route two: modification suit. You file under Texas Family Code Section 156.101, which requires you to show:

  1. A material and substantial change in circumstances of the child, a conservator, or another party since the order was rendered; and
  2. That the modification would be in the best interest of the child

The material and substantial change is a threshold, not the whole case. A job offer, remarriage, a family support network, or a change in the other parent’s circumstances can satisfy it. Best interest is where the case is actually decided.

What Do Texas Courts Weigh in a Relocation Case?

Texas appellate courts, including in the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Lenz v. Lenz, have looked at a cluster of practical factors rather than a rigid test. What consistently matters:

Factors that help the moving parent:

  • A concrete, verifiable improvement in circumstances, meaning a signed offer letter with specific compensation, not a general expectation of better opportunity
  • Extended family or a support network at the destination
  • Educational or medical advantages specific to this child’s needs
  • A realistic, funded plan for preserving the other parent’s relationship, including who pays for travel
  • The child’s own preference, where the child is old enough for the court to consider it
  • The other parent’s history of limited involvement or inconsistent exercise of possession

Factors that hurt the moving parent:

  • Any indication the move is motivated by limiting the other parent’s access
  • Highly involved co-parent with consistent, meaningful possession
  • Extended family and community ties in Texas, especially for an older child
  • Disruption to a settled school and social situation
  • Vague plans, including no confirmed job, housing, or school
  • A pattern of interfering with possession or communication

The strongest relocation cases share one feature: a specific, documented benefit to the child paired with a genuine plan to keep the other parent in the child’s life. The weakest ones lead with the parent’s benefit and treat the other parent’s time as a problem to be managed.

Does It Matter Which State You Are Moving To?

Yes, for jurisdiction. Texas has adopted the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which is in Chapter 152 of the Family Code.

Under the UCCJEA, Texas keeps exclusive continuing jurisdiction over the custody order as long as one parent still lives in Texas and there is a significant connection to the state. That means:

  • Future modification fights generally stay in Texas even after you move
  • The new state must enforce the Texas order rather than rewrite it
  • Jurisdiction can eventually shift, but not automatically and not quickly

Practically, this means a parent who moves to Arizona may still be flying back to a Texas courtroom for years. Factor that into the decision.

Relocation FAQs for Texas Parents

Can I move within Texas without permission?

If the move stays inside the geographic restriction, generally yes. Verify the exact counties named, since a move from Dallas to Austin usually breaks a Dallas-area restriction.

How long does a relocation modification take?

Contested relocation cases commonly take six months to a year. Start well before the date you need to move.

Will the court order me to pay all the travel costs?

Often the moving parent bears most or all of it, since the move created the expense. It is a standard negotiating point.

What if the other parent has not seen our child in a year?

That substantially strengthens your case, but it does not remove the need for an order. File the modification rather than moving first.

Can we just agree and skip court?

No. Only a signed court order protects you. An informal agreement leaves you in violation of the existing order.

Steps to Take Before You Accept the Job

Sequence is everything in these cases.

  1. Pull your order and read the geographic restriction before you commit to anything
  2. Do not move first. Filing after the fact is the single most damaging thing you can do
  3. Ask your co-parent in writing and try to negotiate a modification by agreement
  4. Document the concrete benefit, with a written offer, school information, housing details, and medical resources
  5. Build a funded possession plan for the other parent, including flights, holidays, and extended summer time
  6. File early, allowing six to twelve months for a contested case

Flatiron Legal Advisors handles conservatorship and relocation matters through our Texas family law team. For related reading, see our guides on modifying a child custody order in Texas and emergency custody orders.

Schedule a consultation before you give notice at work.

Reviewed by the Flatiron Legal Advisors family law team. This article is general information, not legal advice for your specific case.