To file a motion for enforcement of possession or access in Texas, you submit a written motion to the court that issued your custody order, identify each violation by date, time, and place, attach or prepare the evidence that proves it, arrange for the other parent to be formally served, and appear at the hearing the court sets. The motion does not change your order. It asks the judge to make the other parent obey the order already in place, and it opens the door to make-up time, attorney’s fees, and contempt.
File Before the Deadline Runs
Texas puts a hard cutoff on enforcement. You must file no later than six months after the child turns 18 or six months after the right of possession ends under the order, whichever applies.1State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.004 – Time Limitations Miss that window and the court loses the power to hold the other parent in contempt, no matter how well-documented the violations were. Parents who tolerate missed weekends for years and then act once the child is nearly grown are the ones who get caught by this.
File in the Right Court
The motion goes to the court of continuing, exclusive jurisdiction, which is almost always the same court that issued your original custody order.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.001 – Motion for Enforcement Filing anywhere else gets the case dismissed. Confirm the correct court before you draft anything.
Any provision of a temporary or final order can be enforced this way, including standing orders and injunctions.2State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.001 – Motion for Enforcement Refusing to hand over the child, failing to return the child on time, chronic lateness at exchanges, and canceling a guaranteed weekend or holiday are all fair game.
What the Motion Has to Say
Texas law requires the motion to be written in ordinary, concise language. It must identify the specific provision the other parent violated, describe how they violated it, state the relief you want, and carry your signature or your attorney’s. The motion must list the date, place, and time of each occasion the other parent failed to comply.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.002 – Contents of Motion Vague complaints do not survive a hearing. “She was late sometimes” fails. “On March 8, 2026, at 6:00 p.m., respondent failed to surrender the child at the agreed exchange location” holds up.
You can also allege that past violations are part of a pattern and that similar violations are likely to continue before the hearing.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.002 – Contents of Motion One missed weekend reads differently than twelve of them.
You do not have to plead contempt to get enforcement. The statute expressly allows other remedies without alleging that the order is enforceable by contempt. That matters because contempt carries a higher burden of proof. If you mainly want make-up time and a clarified order, you can seek those under a lower standard.
Gather Your Documents and Evidence
Have this ready before you draft:
- A certified copy of the current order from the district clerk in the issuing county. The judge needs to see the exact language.
- A violation log recorded in real time with date, time, location, and a factual description of what happened.
- Text messages, emails, screenshots from parenting apps, and contact information for any witnesses. Written communication about the missed time is the strongest evidence you can bring.
- The other parent’s current address for service. If you do not know where they live, you will need to find out or use the alternative service process described below.
Filing Fees and Fee Waiver
You pay a filing fee to the district clerk when you submit the motion. Enforcement motions in suits affecting the parent-child relationship are excluded from the standard subsequent-filing fees that apply to other civil matters and follow their own schedule that varies by county.4Office of Court Administration. County-Level Court Civil Filing Fees Call the district clerk in the county where you are filing for the current amount. Service of process and certified copies cost extra.
If you cannot afford the fees, file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs. The form asks you to disclose income, assets, expenses, and debts so the court can decide whether payment would deprive you or your dependents of basic necessities.5Texas Judicial Branch. Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs or an Appeal Bond An approved waiver covers filing fees, service costs, and copies. It does not cover attorney’s fees.
Serve the Other Parent
Once the motion is filed, the other parent has to be formally notified through service of process. Service can be made by a sheriff, constable, certified process server, or any person 18 or older who is authorized by a written court order. You cannot serve the papers yourself, and neither can anyone else with an interest in the case.6Texas Judicial Branch. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure – Rule 103 The server personally delivers a copy of the filed motion and a court citation to the other parent.
When You Cannot Locate the Other Parent
Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 106 provides for alternative service. You file a sworn statement describing where the other parent can probably be found and what attempts at personal service have already failed. The court can then authorize substitute service, which may include leaving the papers with anyone over 16 at the other parent’s likely location, or service by email, social media, or other electronic means the judge finds reasonably likely to reach them.7South Texas College of Law. Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 106 – Method of Service
After service, the other parent must file a written answer. The court then sets a hearing date.
What Happens at the Hearing
You present your evidence and walk the judge through each violation alleged in the motion. The other parent responds and can raise defenses. The judge compares your motion against the exact wording of the order, so the more precisely your evidence lines up with specific provisions, the stronger your case looks.
What the Judge Can Order
When the court finds a violation, several remedies are available and can be combined.
Make-Up Possession Time
The court can order additional periods of possession to compensate for time you lost. For a parent whose main goal is seeing the child, this is often the most meaningful remedy. The judge has discretion to structure the make-up time in whatever way is reasonable.
Attorney’s Fees and Court Costs
In enforcement of possession or access, fee-shifting is not discretionary. If the court finds a violation, it must order the other parent to pay your reasonable attorney’s fees and all court costs.8Justia Law. Texas Family Code 157.167 – Respondent to Pay Attorney’s Fees and Costs The court can waive that only for good cause and must state its reasons on the record. Because of this rule, many family law attorneys will take enforcement cases: the losing side is likely to pay.
Contempt
For repeated or serious violations, the court can hold the other parent in contempt. Criminal contempt carries fines of up to $500 and up to 180 days in jail per violation, so six missed weekends can support six separate findings. Civil contempt is used to coerce compliance: the court can jail the respondent until they agree to comply, and the order must state the conditions for release. The judge can also order community service.
Clarification of the Order
If violations trace to genuinely ambiguous language, the court can use the hearing to clarify the terms and make the order more specific, cutting down future disputes.
Defenses to Expect
The most common defense is voluntary relinquishment: the other parent claims you agreed to skip the visit or swap the weekend. Written records of every exchange are what defeat this. If you never agreed in writing to give up the time, the claim tends to fall apart.
The other parent may also argue the order was too ambiguous to violate. Judges give this some weight when the order really is vague, but not when the violation involves something clear like refusing to hand over the child at a stated time and place.
Impossibility or emergency is another defense: a medical crisis, a natural disaster, or a genuine safety concern for the child. Courts take real safety claims seriously, but the parent raising the defense has to prove the emergency was real and that they took reasonable steps to restore your time once it passed.
Some things do not work. Paying costs or starting to comply after receiving notice of the enforcement suit does not excuse the original violation. Informal agreements to change the schedule, written or verbal, are unenforceable when they contradict the court order. Only a formal modification approved by the judge changes what either parent has to do.