Can I travel out of state or out of the country with my child if we share custody?

What the law says

Family Code section 3048(a)(5) requires every California custody order to contain “Identification of the country of habitual residence of the child or children.” When the court becomes aware of a possible risk of abduction, section 3048(b) has it weigh factors such as past or threatened taking of the child, weak ties to California, and planning steps like “applying for a passport” or buying tickets. Measures it can order include “Restricting the right of the custodial or noncustodial parent to remove the child from the county, the state, or the country,” surrendering passports, barring a new passport, and requiring an itinerary and round trip tickets. Penal Code section 278.5(a) makes it a crime for a person who “takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals a child and maliciously deprives a lawful custodian of a right to custody, or a person of a right to visitation.”

Federal passport rules, 22 C.F.R. section 51.28(a)(2): “Except as specifically provided in this section, both parents or each of the minor's legal guardians, if any, whether applying for a passport for the first time or for a renewal, must execute the application on behalf of a minor under age 16” and provide proof of parentage or guardianship. Section 51.28(a)(3) lets one parent apply alone on providing the other parent’s written consent, signed before a notary public (or, where the Department allows, a passport specialist), and lists evidence of sole custody, such as a court order granting sole legal custody that contains no travel restrictions inconsistent with issuing the passport. Form DS-3053 says consent may not be required when the applying parent submits evidence of sole authority, such as a court order granting sole legal custody. A court order for joint legal custody “will be interpreted as requiring the permission of both parents or the court, as appropriate.” The consent form is DS-3053, which says: “Consent is valid for 90 days from the passport authorizing officer or notary’s signed date.”

• Family Code section 3048 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
• Penal Code section 278.5 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov)
• 22 C.F.R. section 51.28, Minors (ecfr.gov)
• Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent: U.S. Passport Issuance to a Child, U.S. Department of State (PDF)

What to do next

Read your order for travel terms before you book. If you fear the other parent will not return the child, the self-help guide says a clear order could “State who can apply for or keep a child's passport,” and you can ask for child abduction prevention orders with a Request for Order and form FL-312; the judge’s orders go on form FL-341(B).

• Form FL-312, Request for Child Abduction Prevention Orders, Rev. July 1, 2025 (PDF)
• Form FL-341(B), Child Abduction Prevention Order Attachment, Rev. July 1, 2025 (PDF)
• California Courts self-help: enforce a custody order
• Can I move out of state with my child without a custody order?
• Moving away with a child in California