Right of access and accommodation in the event of separation of parents
Verified 05 June 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
You have a child, you separate from the other parent and you wonder about the right of access and / or accommodation? This right allows the parent with whom the child does not usually reside to maintain regular ties with him. This right is determined amicably between you or by court decision in case of conflict. We present you the information to know.
The rights of access consists of passing a part of the day with your child and bring him or her back to the other parent's home at the end of your period.
The rights of access and accommodation consists of welcome, day or night, your child for a specified period.
This right allows maintain links with the parent with whom the child lives does not have his habitual residence.
FYI
Each of the father and mother must maintain personal relationships with the child and respect the links of this one with the other parent.
The rules vary depending on whether the 2 parents agree or disagree:
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You agree
The rules vary depending on your situation:
You're married, living apart without being divorced
You can organize the conditions of your child's right of access and accommodation amicably.
In case of agreement, you can establish a parental agreement in which you set the following points:
- Residence of the child
- Right of access and accommodation
- Contribution to its maintenance and education.
This parental agreement may be approved by the Jaf: titleContent to give it to him enforceability.
The approval of the parental agreement can be done using a form:
Joint application for approval of a parental agreement
This form also contains templates for conventions.
You must apply to the court in the place of residence of one of the parents.
Who shall I contact
You are not married and live separately
You can organize the conditions of your child's right of access and accommodation amicably.
In case of agreement, you can establish a parental agreement in which you set the following points:
- Residence of the child
- Right of access and accommodation
- Contribution to its maintenance and education.
This parental agreement may be approved by the Jaf: titleContent to give it to him enforceability.
The approval of the parental agreement can be done using a form:
Joint application for approval of a parental agreement
This form also contains templates for conventions.
You must apply to the court in the place of residence of one of the parents.
Who shall I contact
You divorce by mutual consent
You must indicate the agreement you have reached on the conditions of your child's right of access and accommodation in the agreement of divorce by mutual consent established by lawyers.
You're divorcing before the judge
As part of the judicial divorce proceedings, the Family Court Judge (Jaf) determines the right of access and accommodation for your child according to your requests and those of the other parent.
You can agree on the right of access and accommodation of your child even if it is a judicial divorce.
You disagree
The rules vary depending on your situation:
You're separating
In case of disagreement, you can request the intervention of a family mediator to try to reach an agreement.
If family mediation fails, you or the other parent can enter the Jaf: titleContent to set the right of access and accommodation for your child.
You can enter it using a form:
Application to the Family Court Judge (parental authority, visiting rights, maintenance...))
The form must be submitted or sent in the court of the place of residence of the parent who house the child.
Who shall I contact
You're divorcing
As part of the judicial divorce proceedings, the family court judge sets the right of access and accommodation of your child according to your requests and those of the other parent.
Requests for provisional measures (i.e. the desired temporary organization for your child during the divorce proceedings) may be formulated as fromassignment in divorce.
They may include:
- Exercise of parental authority
- Fixing the residence, and rights of access and accommodation
- Contribution to its maintenance and education.
FYI
You can ask for the intervention of a family mediator to try to reach an agreement.
The minor child never determines himself when he wants to go to the other parent and the duration of the DVH: titleContent, regardless of age. However, it can give its opinion, for example by asking to be heard by the Jaf: titleContent in proceedings brought by one of his parents.
The rights of access and accommodation is to welcome (day or night) your child for a specified period.
In order to implement this right, interests of the child either preserved (avoid long journeys, encourage participation in sports competitions, etc.).
This right of access and accommodation may take place for example:
- 1 weekend out of 2 with the other parent and sharing school holidays
- 1 day in the week with the other parent (Wednesday) as well as 1 weekend out of 2 and the sharing of school holidays (visiting rights and extended accommodation).
This right is modular depending on your personal situation and that of the child. For example, if you live very far from your child's home, you can have all the small school holidays except for Christmas and the sharing of other holidays.
The rights of access can be a full day or half a day, on weekends or during the week depending on your availability and those of the child and the distance from each parent's homes.
You can exercise this right in a place of your choice (your home, the home of a grandparent...).)
If your child is young, the rights of access may be practiced at the home of the parent with whom he or she ordinarily resides.
It can also take place in a specific neutral place (for example: public garden, meeting space dedicated to this purpose).
The rules differ according to the days on which the right of access and accommodation is exercised:
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The right of access and accommodation is exercised on the 1st, 3rd and 5th weekend
The 1er weekend of the month starts on the 1ster Saturday of the month even if your right of access and accommodation is exercised from Friday at the school exit.
It happens that the beneficiary parent can have the child 2 weekends in a row when there are 5 weekends in the month: the 5e weekend of the month and the 1er weekend of the following month.
If the last day of the month is a Saturday, it is considered the last weekend of the month.
The right of access and accommodation is exercised on even or odd weekends
The calendar year is divided into 52 weeks. The numbering of the weeks is fixed by the calendar. The 1er weekend of the year is an odd weekend.
The right of access and accommodation is exercised within one week
A day in the middle of the week can be planned in addition to the visiting rights and accommodation of the weekends.
Where no provision is made in the judgment or agreement, your right is exercised as soon as you leave the classroom. It can be Tuesday night to Wednesday night, for example.
The weekend of visitation and accommodation corresponds to Mother's Day or Father's Day
Judgment or convention may expect your child to be at her mother's house for Mother's Day weekend and at her father's house for Father's Day.
If nothing is planned, you can agree amicably that your child is at his mother's house for Mother's Day and vice versa for Father's Day, whatever the schedule of alternating weekends.
For same-parent families, the decision is made on a case-by-case basis.
If a public holiday or unemployed falls before or after a weekend when you have your child and if nothing is specified in the judgment or the convention, it is customary for this day is part of the weekend.
General case
Legal holiday | Date |
|---|---|
New Year's Day | Thursday 1er January 2026 |
Easter Monday | Monday, 6 april 2026 |
International Workers' Day | Friday 1er may 2026 |
Victory 1945 | Friday, May 8, 2026 |
Ascent | Thursday, May 14, 2026 |
Whit Monday | Monday, May 25, 2026 |
National Day | Tuesday, July 14, 2026 |
Assumption | Saturday 15 August 2026 |
All Saints | Sunday 1er November 2026 |
Armistice 1918 | Wednesday, November 11, 2026 |
Christmas | Friday 25 December 2026 |
Alsace-Moselle
Legal holiday | Date |
|---|---|
New Year's Day | Thursday 1er January 2026 |
Good Friday (in municipalities with a Protestant temple or mixed church) | Friday 3 April 2026 |
Easter Monday | Monday, April 6, 2026 |
International Workers' Day | Friday 1er may 2026 |
Victory 1945 | Friday, May 8, 2026 |
Ascent | Thursday, May 14, 2026 |
Whit Monday | Monday, May 25, 2026 |
National Day | Tuesday, July 14, 2026 |
Assumption | Saturday 15 August 2026 |
All Saints | Sunday 1er November 2026 |
Armistice 1918 | Wednesday, November 11, 2026 |
1er Christmas Day | Friday 25 December 2026 |
2e Christmas Day | Saturday 26 December 2026 |
Overseas
Legal holiday | Date |
|---|---|
New Year's Day | Thursday 1er January 2026 |
Easter Monday | Monday, April 6, 2026 |
International Workers' Day | Friday 1er may 2026 |
Victory 1945 | Friday, May 8, 2026 |
Ascent | Thursday, May 14, 2026 |
Whit Monday | Monday, May 25, 2026 |
National Day | Tuesday, July 14, 2026 |
Assumption | Saturday 15 August 2026 |
All Saints | Sunday 1er November 2026 |
Armistice 1918 | Wednesday, November 11, 2026 |
Christmas | Friday 25 December 2026 |
In addition to the national legal holidays, the day of commemoration of the abolition of slavery is a public holiday in the Drom: titleContent, in Saint-Barthélemy and in Saint-Martin. The date varies according to the department, under the following conditions:
Dom concerned | Date |
|---|---|
Guadeloupe | May 27 |
French Guiana | June 10 |
Martinique | May 22 |
Mayotte | April 27 |
The Meeting | December 20 |
Saint Bartholomew | October 9 |
Saint Martin | May 27 |
School holidays begin after the last class of the days indicated in the official calendar. The resumption of classes takes place on the morning of the days also indicated in the official calendar:
Know the school holidays calendar of your department
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During the holidays of the school year
The exercise of the right of access and accommodation during school holidays is independent of the rules of alternation of weekends: the weekend system no longer applies.
Judgment or convention may provide for an alternation of weeks (for example: the first week of the father's holiday in even years and the second in odd years).
The first week of the holidays begins on the first day of the holiday indicated by the academy on which your child's school depends.
Example :
If the first day of the holiday is a Saturday, the parent exercising his right must have the child from Saturday until the following Saturday included. The transfer of residence (arm passage) takes place on Saturday evening or Sunday morning. The other parent will exercise their right until the following Sunday.
During the summer holidays
The summer school holidays are organized in a special way.
Judgment or convention may provide that each parent shall have custody of the child in accordance with one of the following divisions:
- Half the school holidays
- July or August
- Alternation per 15-day period (if the child is young for example).
The first week of the summer holidays begins on the first day of the holiday indicated by the academy on which your child depends.
FYI
The rules on visiting rights and weekend accommodation should not be applied during school holidays.
Parental agreement, judgment or convention divorce usually provides for how the journeys are organized during visiting rights and accommodation.
It may, for example, be provided that it is for a particular parent to have to pick up the children and bring them back. Parents can also share the load of the trips.
If nothing is planned, it is customary that the parent who has the right of access and accommodation make the journeys.
The agreement or judgment may also authorize a third party (grandparent, new companion...) to make the journeys.
In case of conflict, you can try to find an amicable solution with a family mediator.
Otherwise, you can enter the Jaf: titleContent on which the residence of the parent with whom the child resides depends.
Parental agreement, judgment or convention The divorce court may provide for the apportionment of the costs of such travel between the parents. This is particularly useful if the journey is to be made with public transport.
If nothing is planned, it is customary that the parent with access and accommodation rights should bear the costs of transporting the child.
In case of conflict, you can try to find an amicable solution with a family mediator.
Otherwise, you can enter the Jaf: titleContent on which the residence of the parent with whom the child resides depends.
If you are not completely available to exercise your right of access and accommodation, you can entrust your child to a third party. For example, if you have work obligations, you can ask grandparents, your new partner, a childminder, or a well-ventilated center to take care of them.
Similarly, if you have difficulty picking up or taking the child back to the other parent, you can ask a third party to take care of it.
The Convention or Judgment must, however allow this third party to make the journeys.
When one of the parents is moving, he has to warn the other.
If the move affects the right of access and accommodation, this right may be modified to adapt to the new situation.
The change of residence of the child is a ground for requesting the revision of the right of access and accommodation either by establishing a parental agreement or, in case of conflict, by seizing a family mediator or the Jaf: titleContent.
Please note
Only a judge may, as part of measures to protect victims of violence, authorize the parent not to reveal his or her address.
You can change the rules for the exercise of the right of access and accommodation of the child in case of change of situation. For example, you want to welcome your child for a longer period, your situation changes (moving, new working hours).
FYI
If you are pending judicial divorce proceedings, your child's right of access and accommodation has probably been fixed in a court decision. In this case, until the divorce is pronounced, you you should talk to your lawyer to have this right amended.
The procedure differs depending on whether you agree or disagree with the other parent:
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In case of agreement
You can set amicably the right of access and accommodation without going through a family judge by establishing a parental agreement.
A template exists:
Model parental agreement - Residence and rights of access and accommodation
Once the parental agreement is completed and signed by each parent, you can submit to the family court judge for approval.
Approval by the Jaf: titleContent is recommended to give it to him enforceability.
You can use a form to apply for registration:
Joint application for approval of a parental agreement
The form must be filed or sent to the court of the place of residence of one of the parents.
Who shall I contact
In case of disagreement
If you wish to change the right of access and accommodation, you can refer the matter to the judge using a form:
Application to the Family Court Judge (parental authority, visiting rights, maintenance...))
The form must be filed or sent to the court the place of residence of the parent who house the child.
Who shall I contact
You are summoned toa hearing as a result of which a judgment is rendered.
You don't have to hire a lawyer for this procedure. However, you can have a lawyer assist you if you wish.
Who shall I contact
If your income does not allow you to pay the fees from the lawyer, you can apply to benefit from thelegal aid.
The right of access and accommodation fixed by judgment or in a convention is a duty. It must be exercised by the parent.
However, it does not exist no sanctions or legal proceedings to compel the parent to take the child.
In the interests of the child and to avoid conflicts, you can notify the other parent if you do not exercise your right of access and accommodation. For example, to prevent the child from being left alone after school.
You can also ask the Jaf: titleContent the modification of this right of access and accommodation if it is no longer suitable.
The approach varies depending on the situation:
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One parent prevents the other from exercising this right
One parent cannot deprive the other parent of access and accommodation.
If you have access and accommodation rights and the other parent prevents you from exercising them, you can file a handrail. You can also lodge a complaint.
A parent who prevents the other from exercising his right of access and accommodation commits the offense of non-representation of children. This offense is punishable by year of imprisonment and €15,000 of fine.
Where the transfer of residence or the direct surrender of the child to the other parent presents a danger to one of them, the judge organizes it. It can be done in a meeting space or with the assistance of a trusted third party (a parent, a social worker...)..)
The parent no longer exercises this right
There is no procedure to compel a parent to exercise his right of access and accommodation.
However, when the other parent no longer exercises his right of access and accommodation, you can enter the Jaf: titleContent so that he can rule again on this right.
You can also request an increase in child support. Indeed, you have a greater financial burden than what is provided for in the judgment or the initial parental agreement.
Please note
You must prove to the judge that the right of access and accommodation is not respected. For each missed right of access and accommodation, it is recommended to establish evidence (handrails, testimonies, exchanges between parents).
The parent is regularly late in exercising this right
When the other parent don't warn you whether or not he is picking up the child or frequently arrives late, you can request the following measures:
- Intervention of a family mediator
- Established by the Jaf: titleContent of a notice period.
The notice period is a period from which you can consider that the parent who has access and accommodation rights will no longer exercise their right. For example, if the other parent is expected to notify you on the previous Wednesday of the weekend if he or she will pick up the child and does not, you may consider that the other parent has given up exercising his or her right to DVH: titleContent.
For school holidays, the notice period can be 2 months before the big summer holidays and 1 month before the small holidays. This allows the parent with whom the child has his habitual residence to organize himself accordingly to book the holidays or to have the child cared for.
The parent is violent
The parent's right of access and/or accommodation violent towards the child may be modified or even abolished by the judge if the interests of the child so require.
It can also be organized in a meeting space, during mediated visits .
The judge for children can be entered.
The right of access and/or accommodation of the abusive parent with other parent may be temporarily suspended, for example, under a protection order issued by the Jaf: titleContent.
Personal affairs of the child
It is customary, in the interests of the child, that his clothes, shoes, toilet bag, blanket can be given to the other parent when he changes residence.
Clothing and footwear should be adapted to its size and climatic conditions, be in good condition and in sufficient numbers.
The child's luggage should contain the sufficient necessary for the stay of the child, depending on its duration, its age...
The parent exercising his right of access and accommodation may also have business for the child.
Equipment for the usual activities (clothing and shoes adapted to the sport he practices, musical instrument...) must also be given.
All the child's affairs must be returned the parent with whom the child has his habitual residence at the end of the weekend or holiday.
Please note
In case of alternate custody, each parent must have clothes, shoes and other business for the child.
Administrative documents of the child
The child is the holder of his identity card and sound passport.
These documents must be submitted from one parent to another, at each arm crossing, i.e. when the child goes to the other parent's home (alternate care, weekend or for the holidays).
The delivery of these documents is necessary for the proper exercise of parental authority.
Every documents necessary for the practice of the activities of the child (sports license for a competition, insurance certificate...) must also be given to the other parent.
Warning
In case of refusal, you can refer the matter to the family court judge which may require the other parent to give you the documents, under on-call duty possible.
You can enter the court of justice to request damages and interest if you prove that the failure to deliver the documents has caused you harm (cancelation of holidays, additional ...). costs
Medical documents of the child
The child is the holder of his health record.
If necessary, it must be handed over from one parent to another.
In case of medical treatment, the medicines, medical prescription and medical equipment must also be provided to the other parent.
Ensuring the health of the child is an obligation linked to parental authority.
Warning
In case of refusal, you can refer the matter to the family court judge who can compel the other parent to give you the documents and pronounce a on-call duty possible.
Who can help me?
Find who can answer your questions in your region
Administrative information by telephone - Allô Service Public
For more information on this subject, you can contact Allô Service Public.
Please note: the service does not have access to users' personal files and cannot therefore provide information on their progress.
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Exercise of parental authority (by separated parents)
Measures to protect victims of violence
Penalties for infringements of the exercise of parental authority
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