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The Standard Possession Order: The Texas Default Schedule, Explained

Reviewed by the Amicably document team · Updated August 14, 2026

When a Texas court sets up how a child will divide time between two parents, it starts from a schedule that is already written into the Family Code: the Standard Possession Order. It spells out which weekends, which weekday evening, and how much of the summer the parent with the lesser periods of possession gets, and it is presumed to be in the child's best interest unless the parents agree to something different.

This guide walks through what the Standard Possession Order actually requires, how the schedule changes when the parents live more than 100 miles apart, how summer and holiday time work, and when parents can replace the default with a schedule of their own.

What the Standard Possession Order Is

The Standard Possession Order is the schedule Texas courts turn to by default for the parent who does not have the exclusive right to designate the child's primary residence, called the possessory conservator. It sets out, in the statute itself, which weekends, which weekday evening, and how many days of summer that parent gets with the child. Family Code Chapter 153 uses conservatorship and possession and access as its vocabulary, not custody and visitation, and the Standard Possession Order is where those terms turn into an actual calendar.

The schedule is not tied to which parent is named a joint managing conservator versus a sole managing conservator. Conservatorship decides who has rights like consenting to medical care or making school decisions; the Standard Possession Order decides the day-to-day and weekend calendar for the parent who has the lesser periods of time with the child, regardless of which conservatorship label either parent holds.

Why It Is the Legal Default

Texas courts do not evaluate a possession schedule from a blank page. The statute itself presumes that the Standard Possession Order provides reasonable minimum possession for a parent and is in the best interest of a child three years of age or older. Judges adopt it unless the parents agree to a different arrangement or someone shows it should not apply, for example because of a safety concern.

For a child younger than three, this default does not apply yet. Courts instead build an individualized schedule around factors such as the caregiving history between the parents and the child's developmental needs, and the order is written to shift, typically taking the shape of the Standard Possession Order once the child turns three.

The 100-Mile Line: Two Different Schedules

The Standard Possession Order is not one fixed calendar. It comes in two versions, and which one applies depends on how far apart the parents live at the time the order is rendered.

The 100-mile measurement runs between the parents' residences, and a change in either parent's address can move a family from one version of the schedule to the other.

Weekends and Thursdays During the School Year

For parents living 100 miles or less apart, the default weekly and weekend calendar looks like this:

For parents living more than 100 miles apart, the weekly Thursday period drops out entirely, and the possessory conservator chooses between the same first, third, and fifth weekend pattern or a single weekend a month of their own choosing, given with at least 14 days' notice to the other parent.

Summer Possession: 30 Days or 42 Days

Summer is where the 100-mile line makes the biggest difference: 30 days of possession for parents living close together, versus 42 days for parents living farther apart.

In both versions, the possessory conservator can split summer possession into two separate periods of at least seven consecutive days each, but has to give the other parent written notice by April 1. Without that notice, the schedule defaults to a fixed block: July 1 through July 31 for parents living 100 miles or less apart, or roughly June 15 through late July for parents living farther apart.

Holidays and the Days That Override the Regular Schedule

Christmas, Thanksgiving, spring break, and each parent's own birthday, Mother's Day, and Father's Day all run on a separate, alternating holiday schedule that overrides whatever the regular weekend or Thursday calendar would otherwise say for that day. Holidays generally alternate by year, so the schedule looks different in odd and even years. The holiday calendar is detailed enough that it deserves its own explanation; this guide focuses on the regular weekend, weeknight, and summer periods.

The Elected Schedule: School Times Instead of Clock Times

The default Standard Possession Order runs on fixed clock times: 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Sunday, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Texas law also lets parents elect an alternative version that swaps those clock times for school-based times instead, so a weekend might begin when school lets out on Friday and end when school resumes on Monday, and a Thursday period might begin at school dismissal and end when school resumes on Friday. This election has to be made in writing or on the record in court, and a judge still has to find it is in the child's best interest before adopting it.

Can Parents Agree to Something Else?

The Standard Possession Order is a default, not a mandate. Parents who want a different arrangement, including an equal-time schedule, are free to agree to one, and courts generally approve an agreed schedule as long as it serves the child's best interest.

1. Confirm both parents actually want a schedule other than the default weekend, Thursday, and summer terms.
2. Write the agreed schedule into the parenting provisions of the decree in specific, dated language rather than leaving it informal.
3. Present the agreed schedule to the court for approval as part of finalizing the divorce.
4. If the parents cannot agree, the Standard Possession Order applies automatically, without either parent having to ask for it.

Switching to a different time-sharing schedule does not, by itself, change how child support is calculated; support and possession are handled as separate questions in the decree.

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