California
How do I file for custody in California if there’s no court case yet?
Quick answer
You open a family law case and ask for custody at the same time: the petition starts the case, and a Request for Order (form FL-300) filed with it gets you a hearing date for temporary custody orders. The petition depends on your situation: a divorce or legal separation petition if you are married and separating, a Petition for Custody and Support (form FL-260) if you are married and not divorcing or are both already legal parents, or a Petition to Determine Parental Relationship (form FL-200) if parentage has not been established.
Researched by Dan Martin, Legal Researcher · Published by Onbello Legal · Last updated October 2026
What the law says
Form FL-300-INFO, item 2, says not to use the Request for Order “Before you have filed a Petition to start your family law case (form FL-300 may be filed with the Petition).” The courts’ self-help custody page: “To make this request, you need a family law court case. If you don’t have one, you will have to open one at the same time.”
Family Code section 3060: “A petition for a temporary custody order, containing the statement required by Section 3429, may be included with the initial filing of the petition or action or may be filed at any time after the initial filing.” Section 3429(a) requires each party’s first pleading or an attached affidavit to give the child’s addresses for the last five years and any other custody proceedings; forms FL-200 (item 6) and FL-260 (item 3) say a completed UCCJEA declaration, form FL-105, is attached.
On where to file, the courts’ filing options page says: “Typically, the child will need to have lived in California for the past 6 months (unless they are less than 6 months old) in order for a California judge to make a decision about custody.”
- Form FL-300-INFO, Information Sheet for Request for Order, Rev. January 1, 2026 (PDF)
- California Courts self-help: ask for or change a custody and visitation order
- Family Code section 3060 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Family Code section 3429 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
- Form FL-105, Declaration Under Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), Rev. January 1, 2025 (PDF)
- California Courts self-help: what you can file to ask for a custody order
What to do next
File the petition, a summons, FL-105, and your FL-300 with the custody attachment (FL-311), then have the other parent served. A blank response form goes with the petition (FL-220 for FL-200, FL-270 for FL-260), and the self-help guide says the other parent generally has 30 days to respond to it. If custody is contested, Family Code section 3170(a) says the court “shall set the contested issues for mediation.”
Last checked against the sources above on October 8, 2026.
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Forms, deadlines, and local rules change. Verify anything on this page against the official self-help resources for your state before you rely on it.
This page is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Laws and local rules vary and change. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed family-law attorney in your state.
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