Parenting Time in Minnesota

Last reviewed November 3, 2026

Parenting time in Minnesota is the time a child spends in each parent’s care under a court order. The term replaced the older word “visitation,” and it applies to every parent, not only the parent without physical custody. The governing statute is Minn. Stat. § 518.175. This page explains how courts set parenting time, when it may be limited, and how a schedule can change. It is part of the site’s guide to custody and parenting in Minnesota.

The Basic Standard

In a divorce or legal separation, the court must grant parenting time on request of either parent. The time awarded should let the child and parent keep a relationship that serves the child’s best interests (§ 518.175, subd. 1(a)). The court may also reserve a future decision on starting or expanding a parent’s time. In that case, a later motion is decided under the best-interests standard.

Parenting time is separate from the custody labels. A parent may have sole physical custody while the other parent has substantial parenting time. For the difference between the labels, see Legal and Physical Custody.

The 25 Percent Presumption

Minnesota sets a minimum starting point. Absent other evidence, the law presumes that a child should spend at least 25 percent of the parenting time with each parent (§ 518.175, subd. 1(g)).

The percentage is usually counted in overnights. However, the court may use another method when a parent has significant daytime periods with the child that do not include an overnight. The child’s age may also affect whether a given period counts as significant.

The presumption is rebuttable. For instance, evidence of danger to the child, or a parent’s long absence from the child’s life, may justify less time.

What a Schedule Should Include

On request of either party, a parenting time order must include a specific schedule, to the extent practicable (§ 518.175, subd. 1(e)). A complete schedule typically addresses:

• the regular weekly or biweekly rotation;
• holidays and special occasions;
• summer and other school breaks;
• vacations, including notice requirements; and
• exchange times, locations, and transportation.

Common rotations include alternating weekends with a midweek visit, a 2-2-3 rotation, and alternating weeks. Parents may also adopt a broader parenting plan under § 518.1705, which can set decision-making methods and dispute-resolution steps.

When Parenting Time May Be Restricted

A court may limit parenting time only for serious reasons. After a hearing, the court must restrict a parent’s time if that time is likely to endanger the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health or safety, or impair the child’s emotional development (§ 518.175, subd. 1(b)). Restrictions may cover the time, place, length, or supervision of visits. In extreme cases, the court may deny parenting time entirely.

Several related rules apply:

• Failing to pay support because of an inability to pay is not, by itself, a reason to deny parenting time (subd. 1(c)).
• When an order for protection is in effect and a parent asks for supervised time, the court must consider that order (subd. 1a). See Orders for Protection in Minnesota.
• When a parent makes specific allegations of danger, the court must hold a hearing at the earliest possible time (subd. 5(d)).

Changing a Parenting Time Order

Ordinary Modifications

The court must modify a parenting time order when the change would serve the child’s best interests and would not change the child’s primary residence (§ 518.175, subd. 5(b)). The child’s changing developmental needs are part of that analysis. As a result, schedules often evolve as a child moves from infancy to school age and then to the teenage years.

Restrictions Require More

A modification that restricts a parent’s time needs a stronger showing. The court must find either endangerment or that the parent has chronically and unreasonably failed to follow court-ordered parenting time (subd. 5(c)). An increase that brings a parent to between 45.1 and 54.9 percent, however, is not treated as a restriction of the other parent’s time.

When a Change Is Really a Custody Change

A large shift in parenting time can amount to a change of custody. In Christensen v. Healey, 913 N.W.2d 437 (Minn. 2018), the Minnesota Supreme Court held that such a request must meet the custody modification standard in Minn. Stat. § 518.18. See Child Custody Modification.

Moving with a Child

A parent with whom the child lives may not move the child to another state without the other parent’s consent or a court order, if the other parent has court-ordered parenting time (§ 518.175, subd. 3). The court applies a best-interests test with specific relocation factors. The site’s page on moving with a child covers that process.

Parenting Time and Child Support

Parenting time directly affects child support. The guidelines apply a parenting expense adjustment based on each parent’s share of overnights or overnight equivalents (Minn. Stat. § 518A.36). For this reason, an order must allow the number of overnights to be determined (§ 518.175, subd. 5(a)).

Enforcing Parenting Time

Every party must follow the court’s parenting time order unless both parents agree otherwise in writing (§ 518.175, subd. 6(a)). When one parent withholds time, the other parent has several remedies, including compensatory time and fees. Interference with Parenting Time explains those remedies.