Family Court SidekickYour next clear step
State guide · UT

Utah Family Court: Custody and Parenting-Time Guide

Plain-language Utah information for a custody or parenting-time route, including filing, official forms, free help, fee waivers, and legal-cost context.

Last reviewed:

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.

State laws, court rules, and forms can change. Automated link checks will run every week once the monitoring job is deployed. Please check each cited source before relying on it. Report a broken link or changed law.

Find the right family court

The custody or parenting-time route described in this guide is handled through the Utah District Courts. Other family-law matters can follow a different court or procedure.

Find the court for your area.

  • Utah Courts directs a petitioner starting this custody route to file in the appropriate district court.Sources:Custody Cases

How Utah courts decide custody

Utah Courts distinguishes legal custody, which concerns major decisions, from physical custody, which concerns where a child lives.Sources:Child Custody and Parent-Time

Key legal sources

Parenting time

Utah Courts calls the time a noncustodial parent spends with a child parent-time, also known as visitation.Sources:Child Custody and Parent-Time

Key legal sources

How to file

This draft is limited to an initial Utah District Court custody case by a parent of a minor child who is not married to the other parent, using the Utah Courts MyPaperwork Parentage interview. It excludes divorce, separate maintenance, annulment, nonparent, modification, enforcement, emergency, protective-order, adoption, guardianship, juvenile-court, and interstate routes.Sources:Custody Cases, MyPaperwork

  1. Confirm that the unmarried-parent custody route fits

    Utah Courts describes custody cases as usually for people who have children under 18 with another person and are not married to that person. The court says a custody case may be the right option for a parent, while a nonparent should review guardianship information instead.Sources:Custody Cases

  2. Use the Parentage interview and include the required parenting plan

    Utah Courts says the petitioner may use MyPaperwork's Parentage interview to prepare the petition and other custody documents. Utah law requires a proposed parenting plan to be filed and served with the original petition. The interactive system does not provide a public exhaustive static packet, so confirm the generated documents for the case before filing.Sources:Custody Cases, MyPaperwork, Utah Code § 81-9-203, Custody and parent-time proceedings — Requirements for parenting plan

  3. File with the appropriate district court and complete service

    Utah Courts says the petitioner files with the appropriate district court and must have the respondent served with the petition, summons, and other documents no later than 120 days after filing, then provide proof of service. The court says jurisdiction can be complicated; confirm the correct court and county for the facts.Sources:Custody Cases, Filing Procedures

  4. Complete the parenting-course requirement when it applies

    In a parentage action determining custody or parent-time for unmarried parents, Utah law requires the petitioner to attend the mandatory parenting course within 60 days after filing and the respondent within 30 days after service, subject to the statute's waiver provision. Utah Courts lists form 1912FA as the notice form for required classes.Sources:Utah Code § 81-5-610, Joinder of judicial proceedings — Court reliance of custody and parent-time standards, Required Classes for Parents, Notice of Required Classes

Official forms

Open the official forms portal.

Free court self-help

Find court self-help near you.

  • Utah Legal Services

    Area served: Utah

    May help qualifying people in noncriminal matters and identifies child-custody orders where violence or abuse is a factor.Sources:What Types of Legal Problems Does ULS Help With?

    Eligibility: The provider says it can help only people who qualify and describes custody representation as involving violence or abuse; contact it to confirm current eligibility and capacity.

  • Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake Virtual Family Law Clinic

    Area served: Statewide

    The Utah Courts clinic listing identifies family-law topics including divorce and custody, with help by phone or email and brief attorney consultations by appointment.Sources:Legal Clinics

    Eligibility: The court listing identifies appointment details but does not establish representation or eligibility for an individual case.

Fee waivers

Utah law allows a person who submits an affidavit demonstrating indigency to proceed without prepaying fees, costs, or security, subject to the court's determination.Sources:Utah Code § 78A-2-302, Waiver of fees, costs, and security — Indigent litigants — Affidavit, Fees and Fee Waiver

Who may qualify

What to do

  1. Use the listed family fee-waiver forms if applicable

    For custody or paternity cases, the Utah Courts fee-waiver page lists 1305FAJ Motion to Waive Fees - Family and 1302FA. The current 1305FAJ form identifies the Children option for establishing custody, parent-time, or child support. Follow the court page and form instructions for the asserted qualification path.Sources:Fees and Fee Waiver, Motion to Waive Fees - Family

Official fee-waiver forms

Key statute or rule

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

Part of Family Law in Your State.