New Hampshire's rule on child custody and parenting time turns on a feature the national template does not capture: New Hampshire uses Decision-making responsibility (legal) and residential responsibility / parenting time (physical).. Courts apply best-interests factors under RSA 461-A:6, including the child’s relationship with each parent, ability to provide, and any history of abuse. Shared parenting arrangements are encouraged when safe; there is no automatic equal residential presumption. The controlling authority is N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 461-A:1 to 461-A:20. Relocation: A parent seeking to relocate with the child must generally show the move is for a legitimate purpose and in the child’s best interests. Modification: A substantial change of circumstances is required to modify parenting rights and responsibilities.
Key takeaways
- Best-interests standard: Courts apply best-interests factors under RSA 461-A:6, including the child’s relationship with each parent, ability to provide, and any history of abuse.
- Labels used in New Hampshire: Decision-making responsibility (legal) and residential responsibility / parenting time (physical)..
- Parenting-time posture: Shared parenting arrangements are encouraged when safe; there is no automatic equal residential presumption.
- Relocation: A parent seeking to relocate with the child must generally show the move is for a legitimate purpose and in the child’s best interests.
- Modification: A substantial change of circumstances is required to modify parenting rights and responsibilities.
- Primary authority: N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 461-A:1 to 461-A:20.
Worked example under New Hampshire law
The illustration below uses only rules already stated for New Hampshire. It is a research hypothetical, not a prediction of what a court will do.
Two parents in New Hampshire disagree about where the child lives during the school week, and one wants to move.
- Use the labels New Hampshire actually uses: Decision-making responsibility (legal) and residential responsibility / parenting time (physical)..
- Apply the best-interests factors: Courts apply best-interests factors under RSA 461-A:6, including the child’s relationship with each parent, ability to provide, and any history of abuse.
- Check any parenting presumption: Shared parenting arrangements are encouraged when safe; there is no automatic equal residential presumption.
- If a move is proposed: A parent seeking to relocate with the child must generally show the move is for a legitimate purpose and in the child’s best interests. Later changes follow: A substantial change of circumstances is required to modify parenting rights and responsibilities.
Parenting petitions proceed in the Family Division. Mediation is common. Final decrees allocate decision-making and residential schedules under RSA 461-A.
Best-interests factors in New Hampshire
Courts apply best-interests factors under RSA 461-A:6, including the child’s relationship with each parent, ability to provide, and any history of abuse.
Legal custody, physical custody, and parenting time
Decision-making responsibility (legal) and residential responsibility / parenting time (physical).
Shared parenting arrangements are encouraged when safe; there is no automatic equal residential presumption.
Relocation with a child
A parent seeking to relocate with the child must generally show the move is for a legitimate purpose and in the child’s best interests.
Modifying a New Hampshire custody order
A substantial change of circumstances is required to modify parenting rights and responsibilities.
How custody cases typically move in New Hampshire
Parenting petitions proceed in the Family Division. Mediation is common. Final decrees allocate decision-making and residential schedules under RSA 461-A.
Related New Hampshire guides
- How to file for divorce in New Hampshire
- Security deposit return in New Hampshire
- DUI penalties in New Hampshire
Case law: custody and parenting time in New Hampshire
In the Matter of Roberta L. Kosek and Michael J. Kosek — Broderick, J., dissenting
…Knudson, 133 N.H. 665, 672-73 (1990). While modification of custody or visitation may well be triggered as a consequence of contemptuous conduct by an offending parent, it should only occur upon an express and supportable finding that modification is in the best interests of the children. The relevant facts giving rise to the contempt sanction are undisputed and fully recited b…
In the Matter of Roberta L. Kosek and Michael J. Kosek — Broderick, J., dissenting is worth reading on New Hampshire child custody because the court put the point in its own words: "N.H. 665, 672-73 (1990). While modification of custody or visitation may well be triggered as a consequence of contemptuous conduct by an offending parent, it should only occur upon an express and supportable finding that modification is in the best interests of the children." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.
In the Matter of Douglas Hoyt Nelson and Sylvia Horsley — Nadeau, J., dissenting
…the tenor of our case law. First, this case surely involves custody issues more like those in divorce proceedings than in the abuse and neglect cases cited by the majority. In both situations, the court’s task is to balance the State’s right to act in the best interest of the child against the natural or adoptive parent’s right to raise.the child without interference by the Sta…
Practitioners open In the Matter of Douglas Hoyt Nelson and Sylvia Horsley — Nadeau, J., dissenting when New Hampshire child custody turns on the distinction in this sentence: "First, this case surely involves custody issues more like those in divorce proceedings than in the abuse and neglect cases cited by the majority." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
In the Matter of R.A. and J.M. — Dalianisduggan, J., dissenting
In the Matter of R.A. and J.M. — Dalianisduggan, J., dissenting, 153 N.H. 82 (2005)
…tal right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody and control of their children.” Troxel, 530 U.S. at 66. We have long recognized a corollary right under Part I, Article 2 of the New Hampshire Constitution. See In the Matter of Nelson & Horsley, 149 N.H. 545, 547 (2003). In Troxel, the United States Supreme Court examined a Washington non-parental visitation s…
In the Matter of R.A. and J.M. — Dalianisduggan, J., dissenting is worth reading on New Hampshire child custody because the court put the point in its own words: "Troxel, 530 U.S. at 66. We have long recognized a corollary right under Part I, Article 2 of the New Hampshire Constitution. See In the Matter of Nelson & Horsley, 149 N.H. 545, 547 (2003)." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.
In re Guardianship of Reena D.
In re Guardianship of Reena D., 163 N.H. 107 (2011)
…a natural entitlement to the exclusive companionship, care, custody, and management of their children.” Id. We have also ruled that fit parents are those who have not been adjudicated unfit. In re Alexis O., 157 N.H. 781, 789 (2008) (biological and adoptive parents are “presumed to be fit parents . . . until they are found to be unfit in an abuse/neglect proceeding or a termina…
Practitioners open In re Guardianship of Reena D. when New Hampshire child custody turns on the distinction in this sentence: "Id. We have also ruled that fit parents are those who have not been adjudicated unfit. In re Alexis O., 157 N.H. 781, 789 (2008) (biological and adoptive parents are “presumed to be fit parents . . ." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
In the Matter of Kathleen Quigley Berg and Eugene E. Berg
In the Matter of Kathleen Quigley Berg and Eugene E. Berg, 152 N.H. 658 (2005)
…Pursuant to the final divorce decree, they have joint legal custody of their four children, whose ages range from eleven to seventeen. The mother has primary physical custody, while the father has specific custodial time with the children. After entry of the final divorce decree, the children at times did not visit the father as scheduled, because either they refused to do so o…
New Hampshire opinions such as In the Matter of Kathleen Quigley Berg and Eugene E. Berg are cited where child custody is disputed. The court stated: "Pursuant to the final divorce decree, they have joint legal custody of their four children, whose ages range from eleven to seventeen. The mother has primary physical custody, while the father has specific custodial time with the children." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
Erica U. Bodwell & a. v. Troy Brooks
Erica U. Bodwell & a. v. Troy Brooks, 141 N.H. 508 (1996)
Horton, J. This case involves conflicting claims for custody of a minor child brought by his biological mother, Erica U. Bodwell; her husband, Mark Bodwell; and the child’s biological father, Troy Brooks. Mark Bodwell appeals a decree of the Superior Court (Groff, J.) approving the marital master’s (Deborah Kane Rein, Esq.) ruling that as the child’s stepfather, Mark Bod…
Practitioners open Erica U. Bodwell & a. v. Troy Brooks when New Hampshire child custody turns on the distinction in this sentence: "Horton, J. This case involves conflicting claims for custody of a minor child brought by his biological mother, Erica U. Bodwell; her husband, Mark Bodwell; and the child’s biological father, Troy Brooks. Mark Bodwell appeals a decree of the Superior Court (Groff, J." Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
Frequently asked questions
What does New Hampshire call “custody”?
Decision-making responsibility (legal) and residential responsibility / parenting time (physical).
Can I move out of state with my child?
A parent seeking to relocate with the child must generally show the move is for a legitimate purpose and in the child’s best interests.
How do I change an existing custody order in New Hampshire?
A substantial change of circumstances is required to modify parenting rights and responsibilities.
This guide covers New Hampshire custody law as of 2026. Verify the live statute and any local parenting-time guidelines before relying on this summary.