Understanding The Texas Standard Possession Calendar 2025: What Parents Need To Know
The Texas Standard Possession Order (SPO) provides a clear framework for non-custodial parents to maintain meaningful relationships with their children while balancing fairness, flexibility, and the child’s best interests.
Key Takeaways:
The Standard Possession Order (SPO) is the default custody schedule for parents, offering a 60/40 time split and accounting for holidays, distance, and special occasions. Parents can modify it to suit their family’s needs.
The 2025 SPO adjusts parenting time based on distance between parents and provides clear guidelines for holidays, summer visitation, and milestones like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and the child’s birthday.
If the standard schedule doesn’t fit your family, you can create a custom arrangement or seek modifications to prioritize what works best for you and your children. Hembree Bell Law Firm is here to help.
In Texas, “possession” is the term used to describe when two divorced or separated parents have the right to time with their children, otherwise known as visitation. If you’re a parent, it’s natural to be concerned about the amount of time you’ll get to spend with your children, especially if you’re the non-custodial parent; precious time with our children is always fleeting, and the thought of missing out on important milestones or daily moments can be deeply unsettling.That’s why understanding your parental rights and the visitation schedule under Texas’s Standard Possession Order (SPO) is so crucial - it provides a clear framework to ensure you remain an active and present part of your child’s life. There are several types of possession orders in Texas, including Modified Possession Orders, Possession Orders for a Child Under Three, and Supervised Possession Orders, but the Standard Possession Order is the most common.In this blog, we’ll cover the major aspects of the 2025 Texas Standard Possession Order to ensure you can start the new year in the best possible position to support your children.
What is the Texas Standard Possession Order (SPO)?
To reiterate, the SPO is the visitation schedule for non-custodial parents to ensure they are able to maintain meaningful relationships with their children after divorce or separation. Each year, the SPO is created by the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and it is presumed to be the schedule that’s in the best interests of all children who are 3 years old or older.It is called the “standard” possession order because it’s just that: the default framework for possession and access when parents do not or cannot agree to an alternative arrangement, or the court modifies it based on what is in the child’s best interests. So, you and your co-parent always have the option of working together to create your own arrangement based on the SPO if you find that the original does not meet your family’s needs as it stands.However, it is comforting for many parents to know that the calendar does strive for equitability, with the custodial parent (sometimes referred to as the managing conservator) having possession of the kids for around 60% of the time, and the non-custodial parent (sometimes referred to as the possessory conservator) having possession for around 40% of the time.The SPO is one of the most commonly used schedules in Texas family law, and it even accounts for parents who live farther away from each other to allow for longer blocks of time, as well as holidays, summer breaks, and other special occasions. Overall, the purpose of the Texas Standard Possession Order is designed to ensure consistency and fairness while prioritizing the child’s best interests, as well as offering flexibility where appropriate.
Key Features of the 2025 Standard Possession Calendar
One of the main components of the 2025 SPO is the parenting time schedule for the weekdays and weekends, which varies depending on the distance apart the parents live. (It’s important to note that the following guidelines only apply to orders issued on September 1, 2021 or after.)
Parents live 0-50 miles apart
Thursday parenting time: the non-custodial parent (NCP) has possession of the child from the time their school releases them to when they are dropped off at school the following morning
Weekend parenting time: the NCP has possession of the child on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month, from the time they are released on Friday to the time when they are dropped off at school the following Monday
Schedule may vary when school is not in session; if there is a student holiday or teacher in-service day; or if there is a federal, state, or local holiday
Parents live 51-100 miles apart
Thursday parenting time: the NCP has possession of the child from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. (only while school is in session)
Weekend parenting time: the NCP has possession of the child starting at 6 p.m. on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month, and ending at 6 p.m. on Sunday of that weekend
Schedule may vary when school is not in session; if there is a student holiday or teacher in-service day; or if there is a federal, state, or local holiday
Parents live over 100 miles apart
Weekend parenting time: the NCP has possession of the child starting at 6 p.m. on the first, third, and fifth Friday of each month, and ending at 6 p.m. on Sunday of that weekend
Some orders may have the alternative schedule, in which the NCP elects to have possession of the child on one weekend per month of their choosing, provided they give the custodial parent at least 14 days’ written or telephoned notice prior to the selected weekend, and so long as the chosen weekend does not conflict with parenting time during select holidays
Schedule may vary when school is not in session; if there is a student holiday or teacher in-service day; or if there is a federal, state, or local holiday
Holidays and Special Occasions in the 2025 SPO
Holidays and some other special occasions which are specifically identified in the 2025 SPO override any regularly-occurring weekday or weekend parenting time schedules. Other holidays that are not specifically identified in the SPO would continue to follow the regularly-occurring weekdays or weekend parenting time schedules.Most holidays alternate depending on whether it is an even year or an odd year; keep in mind that 2025 is an odd year. Those holidays include:
Thanksgiving - the custodial parent has possession on even-numbered years, while the NCP has possession on odd-numbered years
Pickup and drop-off times may vary between orders depending on the date it was issued (before or after September 1, 2021) as well as the distance apart that the parents live
Christmas - the NCP will have possession of the child beginning the day the child’s school dismisses for the holiday break and ends on December 28th, when the custodial parent will have possession until the day school resumes from the holiday break (in odd years)
Pickup and drop-off times may vary between orders depending on the date it was issued (before or after September 1, 2021) as well as the distance apart that the parents live
Spring Vacation - When the parents live 100 miles apart or less, the custodial parent will have possession (in odd years); when the parents live over 100 miles apart, the NCP will have possession for spring vacation every year
Pickup and drop-off times may vary between orders depending on the date it was issued (before or after September 1, 2021) as well as the distance apart that the parents live
Mother’s Day - If the mother is not scheduled to have possession of the child, then…
The mother will have possession starting at the time the child is released from school on the Friday before Mother’s Day, until dropping them off at school on the Monday after Mother’s Day (if the order was issued on 9/1/21 or after and the parents live less than 50 miles apart)
The mother will have possession starting at 6 p.m. on the Friday before Mother’s Day, until dropping them off at 6 p.m. on Mother’s Day (for all other SPOs)
Father’s Day - If the father is not scheduled to have possession on Father’s Day, then…
The father will have possession starting at 6 p.m. on the Friday before Father’s Day, until 8 a.m. on the Monday after Father’s Day (if the order was issued on 9/1/21 or after and the parents live less than 50 miles apart)
The father will have possession starting at 6 p.m. on the Friday before Father’s Day, until dropping them off at 6 p.m. on Father’s Day (for all other SPOs)
The child’s birthday - The parent not in possession of the child on their birthday is entitled to pick the child up at 6 p.m. and have possession until 8 p.m.
Summer Possession in 2025
While you might be concerned about filing your taxes by the time April rolls around, you should also remember that April is a significant month when it comes to the guidelines for summer visitation in the Texas Standard Possession Order.
NCP’s Summer Possession (parents live 0-100 miles apart)
Extended Summer Visitation - The NCP is entitled to 30 days of possession during the summer, so long as they provide written notice to the custodial parent by April 1st. These days can either be exercised in one period, or two periods of at least seven consecutive days each, but they must occur between the day after the child’s school dismisses for summer vacation and end at least seven days before school resumes.
Default Period - If the NCP does not give notice to the custodial parent by April 1st, the default possession period is from 6 p.m. on July 1st to 6 p.m. on July 31st.
Custodial Parent’s Summer Weekend Selections - The custodial parent can choose one weekend during the NCP’s extended summer possession to have the child, so long as they provide written notice by April 15th to the NCP. This weekend begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday and ends at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, and the custodial parent is responsible for transportation of the child during this period.
NCP’s Summer Possession (parents live more than 100 miles apart)
Extended Summer Visitation - The NCP is entitled to 42 days of summer possession. With written notice by April 1st, they can specify these days, taken in no more than two separate periods of at least seven consecutive days each.
Default Period - If the NCP does not give notice to the custodial parent by April 1st, the default possession period is from 6 p.m. on June 15th to 6 p.m. on July 27th.
Custodial Parent’s Summer Weekend Selections - The custodial parent can designate two non-consecutive weekends during the NCP’s extended summer possession, provided they give written notice by April 15th
Is The Standard Possession Order Too “Standard” For Your Family?
We Can Help. Contact Hembree Bell Law Firm Today!
You and your co-parent always have the right to develop your own custody arrangement that supports the best interests of your kids and meets the unique needs of your family as a whole. If the SPO isn’t appealing to you, or you need to modify it to work for your family, let our award-winning team help. Call today to book your free initial consultation and learn more about how we can impact the lives of you and your children.