Custody rights of unmarried parents

When a child is born in Ohio and the parents aren’t married, unmarried parents have different automatic rights.

What rights does an unmarried mother have?

• The mother gets sole custody automatically. She does not need a court order to get custody. She has sole legal custody by default under Ohio law.  
• The mother has the right to make decisions. Legal custody means the right to make important decisions, including where the child lives, who can see the child, where to enroll the child in school and medical decisions. 
• A court can order something different. The mother has sole legal custody automatically under the law, but a court could order something different.  

What rights does an unmarried father have?

• An unmarried father doesn’t get rights automatically. He must establish that he’s the father (paternity) and go to court to get legal rights.  

Try to work together  

It’s usually best if you can work together to do what’s best for your child. 

• You can parent together without a court order. Spending time with both of you can be good for your child, unless there’s a health or safety risk. If the child’s mother agrees, an unmarried father or other parent can be involved in the child’s life without a court order giving legal rights. 
• Focus on the child’s best interest. It’s helpful if you can communicate with each other and work together. Think about what’s best for your child, not what’s most convenient for either of you. 
• Follow any court orders. Usually, if you weren’t married when your child was born, there’s no court order involving custody or visitation time with your child. But if there is a court order, everyone must follow it. 

It’s not always possible to work together.  If you or your child is experiencing domestic violence or abuse, and the other parent is seeking custody or visitation rights, you may want to speak with a lawyer. Find local resources for domestic violence or abuse.

How to file for custody or visitation as an unmarried parent

Here are the steps to take if you want to go to court to file for custody or visitation as an unmarried parent.

Step 1. Establish paternity  

An unmarried father must establish paternity before he can get legal rights to his child. 

Paternity means legal fatherhood. It establishes the father's legal relationship to the child. 

There are 3 ways to establish paternity in Ohio: 

1. Sign a sworn statement together. This is usually the easiest way to establish paternity. If you both agree that you are the child’s biological parents, you can sign a form called an Acknowledgement of Paternity Affidavit. You will need to sign the form in front of a notary, but you don’t have to go to court. You can sign the form at any time. You can get the form at the hospital when your child is born, or at your local health department or child support enforcement agency. You can also call the Ohio Central Paternity Registry at (888) 810-6446 to ask for a copy of the form to be mailed to you. 
2. Go to the child support office for a paternity order. You can ask the child support enforcement agency (CSEA) to do genetic testing. To find your local CSEA, go to “Local Government and Community Resources” on this page and enter your county. If the genetic test shows at least a 99% probability of fatherhood, the CSEA issues an Administrative Order of Paternity. Even if you’re not asking for a change in child support, you can go to the child support office to help establish paternity. 
3. Go to court to ask for a paternity order.  This is usually the most complicated option. You can ask a court to issue an order of paternity. Usually, as unmarried parents, you have to go to the juvenile court in the county where your child lives. You don’t have to agree with each other to file in court, but you generally will have to file forms, pay court fees and wait for the court’s decision. 

Paternity can be established any time before your child turns 23 years old. 

A paternity order has no effect on an unmarried mother’s custody of the child. The mother still has sole custody even if paternity has been established, unless a court orders something different.  

If you were married when your baby was born or any time in the 300 days before the birth, the man’s paternity is assumed automatically (unless paternity is established for another biological father).  

Note: Child support can be ordered by the county child support office or by the court. If you’re ordered to pay child support, you must pay it, whether or not you have custody or parenting time with your child.  Learn about child support in Ohio.

Step 2. Decide on custody vs. visitation  

Usually, one parent gets custody and the other parent gets visitation time with the child.

• Custody means the right to make decisions. Whoever has legal custody has the right to decide where the child lives, where the child goes to school, medical care for the child, and who can see the child and for how long. The mother gets these rights automatically.   
• Visitation is parenting time. The time that the other parent has with the child is called “parenting time” or visitation. When you have parenting time, you have the right to spend time with your child, but you don’t have the right to make important decisions that the parent with custody can make. 
• Review a sample schedule. Look for the standard parenting time schedule in the county where the child lives. You can usually find a sample schedule from the county’s juvenile court or domestic relations court. You can use the standard schedule to help decide what might work best for your child.

Sometimes people want to share custody. Joint custody or shared custody is called “shared parenting” in Ohio. It means both parents equally share in the decision-making. It can be hard to do, because you both must agree on decisions involving your child. 

Shared parenting does not mean you will each have equal time with your child. It also doesn’t mean there won’t be any child support. It’s about shared decision-making.

If you can work together to parent your child, you may not need to go to court.

Step 3. File paperwork in court  

If you can’t work together on parenting time or decision-making for your child, you may want to talk to a lawyer about your options. 

If you decide you want to go to court for custody or visitation rights, it’s best to have a lawyer. If you can’t afford a lawyer, you can file on your own. 

The Complaint for Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities Form Assistant on our site has step-by-step instructions for completing the forms to request parenting time or custody as an unmarried parent. 

You generally need to:  

• Find the right court. Typically, it is the juvenile court in the county where your child lives. 
• Complete the forms. The Form Assistant on our site has step-by-step instructions for completing the forms. The forms will include a “Complaint for Parentage, Allocation of Parental Rights and Responsibilities and Parenting Time,” a “Parenting Proceeding Affidavit” and other forms that the court requires. The court needs this information to determine what’s in the best interest of the child and if any child support should be ordered.
• File the forms and pay the filing fee. File your forms with the clerk of court’s office. Usually, you must pay a fee to file your forms. Each court sets its own fees. It may cost about $100 to $200 or more to file your request, depending on your court. 
• Make sure the other parent is served. Your forms will include instructions for how you want the other parent to be served with the official court documents. This process is called “service.” A common way is to request that the clerk of courts send the papers using certified mail. Sometimes service fails. If this happens, learn about options for serving court papers.

If you can’t afford the filing fee, you can add a poverty affidavit. You can get the poverty affidavit as part of the Form Assistant on this site. The poverty affidavit asks that you be allowed to file your forms without paying up front. You still may be responsible for paying the fees at the end of the case. 

Step 4. Look for notices from the court  

Pay attention to any letters, calls or other contact you get from the court. 

• You are called the Plaintiff or Petitioner. In court, the person who files a complaint is usually called the plaintiff or petitioner. The other person is usually called the defendant or respondent. They will have a chance to respond in court to what you’re asking for.  
• Go to any hearings. The court may schedule a hearing about your request. You must go to any hearings the court schedules for you. If you don’t, you could lose your case or face other consequences.  
• Tell your side of the story. If you both agree, you can testify that you agree and why. If you don’t agree, you will need to explain why your request is best for your child.   

The court will listen to both sides and consider what’s in the best interest of the child. It’s not about what’s best for you or the other parent. It’s about what’s best for your child.  Factors that the court will consider are: 

• Have the child’s wishes (if they are old enough) and relationships with parents, siblings and other family members been taken into account?
• Will the plan disrupt the child’s school life or involvement with their community?
• Are the parents mentally and physically healthy? 
• Does either parent or member of their household have a criminal past?
• Is each parent committed to the plan, at least for now? 
• Does either parent live outside of the state or have any plans to move?
• How will the children be supported financially?

Step 5. Follow the court’s orders  

The court will issue a final decision about your request. You must follow the court order. 

• Review the order carefully. Usually, you will get a copy of the court’s decision in the mail. Read it carefully. Pay attention to what your responsibilities are and when you have time with your child.  
• Ask the clerk for a certified copy. You may need a certified copy of the court order to prove your legal rights. You can usually get a certified copy of the order from the clerk of courts. You may need to pay a small fee to get a certified copy.

If your situation changes and you want to change custody or parenting time, you will need to go back to court. Learn about requirements for a custody change  or requirements for a parenting time change  in Ohio.