The Standard Possession Order in Texas — What It Is and How It Works
The Standard Possession Order is the default possession schedule that Texas family courts apply in most custody cases when the parents cannot agree on their own arrangement. It governs when the non-primary parent — the parent who does not have the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence — has the right to possession of and access to the child throughout the year. If you are going through a divorce or SAPCR in Bexar County and do not reach a custom agreement with the other parent, the Standard Possession Order is almost certainly what your final decree will contain.
Understanding the SPO in detail — not just its general outline but its specific provisions, the difference between the in-county and expanded versions, the exact holiday schedule, and how it handles the summer — is essential for any parent who will be living under it. A parent who does not understand what the SPO actually requires will either fail to exercise possession they are entitled to or fail to return the child at the required time — both of which have legal and practical consequences.
What the Standard Possession Order Covers
The SPO is set out in Texas Family Code Sections 153.312 through 153.317 and was significantly updated in 2021 when the Texas Legislature expanded the default possession schedule to give the non-primary parent more time with the child. The 2021 amendments made what was previously the “expanded” SPO the new default — meaning that unless the parents live more than 100 miles apart, the expanded schedule now applies automatically rather than requiring a specific election.
The SPO addresses four distinct categories of possession time: regular weekend and weekday possession during the school year, holiday possession, summer possession, and special days.
Regular School-Year Possession
Under the current SPO for parents living within 100 miles of each other, the non-primary parent has possession of the child on the following regular schedule during the school year.
- First, third, and fifth weekends. The non-primary parent has possession beginning when school is dismissed on Friday — or at 6:00 p.m. if school is not in session on that Friday — and ending when school resumes on Monday morning — or at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday if school does not resume on Monday. This means the non-primary parent has the child from Friday afternoon through Monday morning on the first, third, and fifth weekends of each month.
- Thursday evenings. The non-primary parent also has possession every Thursday during the school year, beginning when school is dismissed and ending when school resumes on Friday morning. If school is not in session on the relevant Thursday, possession begins at 6:00 p.m. and ends at 8:00 p.m. that same evening. The Thursday evening visit provides midweek contact during the weeks when the non-primary parent does not have a weekend.
This combination of three weekends per month and every Thursday evening represents a significant amount of contact time — more than the pre-2021 default schedule, which provided only first, third, and fifth weekends without the weekday Thursday component being a universal default.
Holiday Possession Schedule
The SPO holiday schedule alternates most major holidays between the parents on an odd-year/even-year basis. The specific allocation under the current SPO is as follows.
- In odd-numbered years, the non-primary parent has possession for Thanksgiving (beginning when school is dismissed before Thanksgiving and ending the following Sunday at 6:00 p.m.), spring break (the entire spring break period), and the child’s birthday if it falls on a day when the primary parent would otherwise have possession.
- In even-numbered years, the non-primary parent has possession for Christmas (beginning December 26 at noon and ending January 1 at 6:00 p.m.), Christmas Eve through Christmas Day (beginning December 24 at 6:00 p.m. and ending December 26 at noon in even years actually swaps to the other parent), and Father’s Day and Mother’s Day go to the respective parent regardless of whose regular possession period it falls on.
The full holiday schedule under the current SPO is more complex than the summary above — it addresses New Year’s, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and other occasions with specific start and end times. Getting the holiday schedule right is important because holiday possession supersedes regular weekend possession when they conflict — meaning the possession schedule shifts around holidays rather than the holidays adding to regular possession.
Summer Possession
Summer is where the non-primary parent’s possession time is most concentrated under the SPO. The non-primary parent has the right to 42 consecutive days of summer possession — six weeks — with the specific dates determined by notice given to the primary parent by April 1 of each year. If no notice is given by April 1, the default summer possession period is June 15 through July 27.
During the non-primary parent’s summer possession period, the primary parent has the right to one uninterrupted weekend visit — beginning on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and ending Sunday at 6:00 p.m. — which the primary parent designates by giving notice to the non-primary parent by April 15.
Summer possession gives the non-primary parent six weeks of continuous time with the child — far more concentrated than the school-year schedule — and is often the period during which the non-primary parent has the most sustained opportunity to maintain and deepen the parent-child relationship.
The 100-Mile Rule — When the SPO Is Different
When the parents live more than 100 miles apart — measured by straight-line distance rather than driving distance — the SPO provisions change significantly. The weekend and weekday possession provisions are different for long-distance situations, with the non-primary parent typically having one weekend per month rather than three, but with more concentrated holiday and summer possession to compensate.
The 100-mile threshold is measured from the primary parent’s residence to the non-primary parent’s residence. A parent who lives 95 miles away is subject to the standard SPO. A parent who lives 105 miles away is subject to the long-distance SPO. The distinction matters enormously for the amount of regular contact the non-primary parent has with the child, and it is a factor that becomes relevant any time the primary parent proposes a relocation.
When the SPO Applies and When It Does Not
The Standard Possession Order applies automatically when no other possession arrangement has been agreed upon and when the child is three years of age or older. Texas Family Code Section 153.256 provides specific guidance on possession schedules for children under three — recognizing that very young children have different developmental needs than older children and that the standard SPO’s weekend-based schedule may not be appropriate for infants and toddlers.
For children under three, courts typically order a graduated possession schedule that increases the non-primary parent’s contact time as the child grows — starting with more frequent but shorter visits and expanding toward the SPO schedule as the child approaches age three. These schedules are highly fact-specific and depend on the child’s individual needs, the parents’ work schedules, and the nature of the relationship each parent has established with the child.
The SPO also does not apply in cases involving family violence. Texas Family Code Section 153.004 restricts the court’s authority to appoint a parent as a managing conservator when there is a history of family violence, and the possession provisions for a parent with a family violence history are typically significantly more restrictive than the SPO.
Modifying the Standard Possession Order
Parents who agree to a different possession arrangement — one that works better for their specific schedules, geographic proximity, and the child’s needs — can incorporate that custom arrangement into their decree instead of the SPO. Family courts in Bexar County regularly approve custom possession arrangements when both parents agree and the arrangement serves the child’s best interest. Common custom modifications include equal week-on/week-off schedules, 2-2-3 rotating schedules, and arrangements tailored to parents who work non-traditional hours.
When the SPO is already in place and circumstances change in a way that makes the existing schedule unworkable or not in the child’s best interest, a suit to modify conservatorship can seek a new possession schedule. The modification standard requires a material and substantial change in circumstances — a change that is significant enough to justify revisiting the existing arrangement.
When the SPO Is Not Being Followed
When one parent is not following the Standard Possession Order — denying possession, returning the child late, refusing to make the child available for possession — the other parent’s remedy is a motion for enforcement under Texas Family Code Section 157.001. The enforcement motion identifies the specific violations, seeks make-up possession time for the time wrongfully denied, and can result in contempt findings, fines, and attorney’s fee awards against the violating parent.
The most important practice for any parent operating under a SPO is to document every possession exchange — noting the time the child was picked up or returned, any communications about the exchange, and any violations. This contemporaneous documentation is the foundation of any enforcement motion and is far more persuasive than reconstructed recollections made months after the fact.
If you are going through a divorce or custody case in San Antonio or Bexar County and want to understand exactly what possession schedule your decree will contain — or if you need to enforce or modify an existing SPO — call Barton & Associates at 210-500-0000. Consultations are free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day with a family law divorce attorney.
