Connecticut Family Court: Custody and Parenting-Time Guide
Plain-language Connecticut information for a custody or parenting-time route, including filing, official forms, free help, fee waivers, and legal-cost context.
This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. State law, court rules, forms, and local procedures can change. Confirm current requirements with the court handling the case.
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Find the right family court
The custody or parenting-time route described in this guide is handled through the Connecticut Superior Court. Other family-law matters can follow a different court or procedure.
Connecticut law places family relations matters, including custody and visitation proceedings, within the jurisdiction of the Superior Court.Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-1, Family relations matters and domestic violence defined
How Connecticut courts decide custody
Connecticut law directs the Superior Court to enter custody orders that serve the child's best interests.Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-56, Orders re custody, care, education, visitation and support of children
The best-interests factors may include the child's safety and developmental needs, each parent's ability to meet those needs, and the child's relationships and adjustment to home, school, and community.Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-56, Orders re custody, care, education, visitation and support of children
Key legal sources
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-56Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-56, Orders re custody, care, education, visitation and support of children
Parenting time
Connecticut's custody statute refers to parenting time when it describes an order giving sole custody to one parent with appropriate time for the noncustodial parent.Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-56, Orders re custody, care, education, visitation and support of children
The court may approve a parental responsibility plan agreed to by the parents, award joint parental responsibility, award sole custody with appropriate parenting time, or make another arrangement in the child's best interests.Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-56, Orders re custody, care, education, visitation and support of children
Key legal sources
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-56Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-56, Orders re custody, care, education, visitation and support of children
How to file
This route covers an initial Connecticut custody or visitation application by a parent when the parents of a minor child live separately. It excludes divorce, parentage, modification, enforcement, emergency, nonparent, adoption, and interstate cases.Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-61, Orders re children where parents live separately, Filing for Custody or Visitation (or both)
Prepare the parent application and accompanying documents
Use Custody/Visitation Application - Parent (JD-FM-161), Order to Show Cause and Notice to the Respondent (JD-FM-162), Notice of Automatic Court Orders (JD-FM-158), Affidavit Concerning Children (JD-FM-164), and Appearance (JD-CL-12). The statute also requires documents establishing the legal relationship between the parents and child by the first docket date.Sources:Filing for Custody or Visitation (or both), C.G.S. § 46b-61, Orders re children where parents live separately
File with the Superior Court Clerk
The Connecticut Judicial Branch directs a filer to take the completed paperwork to the Superior Court Clerk's office with the entry fee. If the court waives fees, follow the court guide's instruction for returning the fee-waiver application with the other papers.Sources:Filing for Custody or Visitation (or both)
Arrange delivery and return proof
The court guide says that, after signature, a State Marshal delivers the paperwork to the other party. It then directs the filer to return the original paperwork to the Clerk's office with proof that delivery occurred.Sources:Filing for Custody or Visitation (or both)
Official forms
Open the official forms portal.
The Connecticut Judicial Branch's custody and visitation guide identifies the five forms for a parent-filed start and separately notes optional temporary-order, fee-waiver, and child-support materials. Use the current official forms before filing.Sources:Filing for Custody or Visitation (or both), Official Court Forms of the Connecticut Judicial Branch
Free court self-help
Find court self-help near you.
Connecticut Judicial Branch Court Service Centers
Court Service Centers are located in Superior Courthouses and provide services for self-represented parties, including court forms, Judicial Branch publications, docket information, and electronic-filing resources.Sources:Court Service Centers
Legal-aid organizations
Connecticut Legal Services
Area served: 122 Connecticut communities; its sister agencies serve greater Hartford and greater New Haven.
Connecticut Legal Services says it provides representation, counsel, education, and advocacy in civil legal matters, including family issues.Sources:Our Story, Our Work, Get Help
Eligibility: The provider describes its client community as low-income individuals and families; availability and intake screening should be confirmed directly with the provider.
New Haven Legal Assistance Association
Area served: New Haven County and the Lower Naugatuck Valley, with the provider's listed towns and limits.
The provider lists family-law assistance for restraining orders, custody disputes, and divorce when domestic violence or endangerment is involved.Sources:The New Haven Legal Assistance Association
Eligibility: The provider says it serves people living in poverty and cannot assist every person or every case because resources are limited.
Fee waivers
If the court finds a party indigent and unable to pay court fees or the cost of service, Connecticut law requires the fees to be waived and the service cost to be paid by the state.Sources:C.G.S. § 52-259b, Waiver of fees and payment of the cost of service of process for indigent party
Who may qualify
The statute creates a rebuttable presumption for a person receiving public assistance or whose specified income after deductions and child-care expenses is 125 percent or less of the federal poverty level; the court may also make other indigency findings.Sources:C.G.S. § 52-259b, Waiver of fees and payment of the cost of service of process for indigent party
What to do
Use the family fee-waiver application
The custody and visitation guide identifies Application for Waiver of Fees/Payment of Costs/Appointment of Counsel - Family (JD-FM-75). It says not to sign the form until before a court clerk or notary public.Sources:Filing for Custody or Visitation (or both)
Official fee-waiver forms
Key statute or rule
Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-259bSources:C.G.S. § 52-259b, Waiver of fees and payment of the cost of service of process for indigent party
Attorney cost benchmark
Lawyer fees vary by county, experience, services, and the facts of a case. This state benchmark is context for planning, not a quote.
State and local details to confirm
For this parent-filed route, Connecticut's statute requires accompanying documents that establish the parents' legal relationship to the child; the needed document depends on the family's circumstances.Sources:C.G.S. § 46b-61, Orders re children where parents live separately
Part of Family Law in Your State.