If your co-parent keeps blocking your parenting time, you have real options to enforce a child visitation order in Texas. Being denied court-ordered time with your child is stressful, and it is normal to feel angry or powerless. Still, your visitation order is a binding court order, not a suggestion. At McCarty-Larson, PLLC, our family law team helps parents across Ellis County, Johnson County, Tarrant County, and Dallas County hold the other parent accountable. This guide walks you through how enforcement works, what penalties a judge can order, and how a major 2025 law raised the stakes for repeat violators.
The Short Answer
To enforce a child visitation order in Texas, you file a motion for enforcement in the court that issued your order. A judge can then hold the other parent in contempt, order make-up time, award attorney’s fees, and in serious cases modify custody. Acting quickly and keeping clear records gives you the strongest case.
What Does Enforcing a Visitation Order Mean?
A Texas visitation order sets out possession and access, which is the legal term for when each parent has the child. Most orders follow a Standard Possession Order, though some parents have a custom schedule. Either way, family courts expect both parents to follow that schedule exactly. When one parent refuses, the other parent can ask the court to step in under Chapter 157 of the Texas Family Code.
Many parents wonder if they can simply keep the child longer, stop paying child support, or handle it on their own. None of those responses hold up in court. Breaking the order yourself can put you at risk instead. Child support and visitation are separate issues under Texas law, so you cannot withhold one because of the other. The correct path is to return to the same court and let a judge enforce the order for you.
File a Motion for Enforcement
The main tool for enforcement is a motion for enforcement. You file it in the court that issued your original custody and visitation order. In your motion, you list each date the other parent denied your possession or access. Then you describe what the order required and exactly what happened instead.
Because details matter, your motion must be specific. A judge needs to see the ordered time, the denied time, and the pattern. Vague complaints rarely lead to strong results, but clear dates and facts do. After you file, the court sets a hearing, and the other parent receives notice and a chance to respond. At the hearing, you present your evidence, and the judge decides whether the order was violated.
What Penalties Can a Judge Order?
When a parent violates a visitation order, a Texas judge has strong enforcement powers. The most common remedy is contempt of court. A parent held in contempt can face fines and up to six months in jail for repeated or serious violations.
Beyond contempt, judges focus on making things right for your child. Courts can order make-up possession time so you recover the days you lost. In many cases, the judge will also order the other parent to pay your attorney’s fees and court costs. That rule matters, because it means enforcing your rights does not have to drain your savings. For a single missed visit, a court may start with a warning. For an ongoing pattern, the consequences grow quickly.
What If the Other Parent Refuses to Return Your Child?
Sometimes a parent does more than skip a visit. They keep the child and refuse to hand them over at all. Texas gives you fast tools for that situation. Your lawyer can request a writ of habeas corpus, which orders the other parent to return the child when you have the superior right to possession.
In urgent cases, a court can also issue a writ of attachment. That order lets law enforcement pick up the child and return them to the parent entitled to possession. Keeping a child away from the other parent can even lead to criminal charges for interference with child custody. These remedies move quickly, so call an attorney the moment an exchange breaks down.
The Three-Strikes Rule: What Changed in 2025
Texas made enforcement much tougher with House Bill 3181, which took effect on September 1, 2025. This law targets parents who keep denying court-ordered time, and it created a clear escalation once violations pile up.
Under the new rule, three or more contempt findings for denying possession count as a material and substantial change of circumstances. That legal phrase is the key that lets a court reopen and change custody. In plain terms, a parent who repeatedly blocks your time can lose primary custody as a result.
The law also strengthened make-up time. For a parent with three or more contempt findings, the court must now order double the missed time, not just a single make-up visit. Judges also lose the option to waive the violator’s attorney’s fees, and they can no longer treat repeat violations as minor. If your co-parent keeps ignoring the schedule, these changes give you real leverage, and you may have grounds to modify your custody order.
Keep a Record of Every Denied Visit
Strong evidence wins enforcement cases. From the first missed exchange, start a simple log. Write down the date, the scheduled time, and what the other parent said or did. Then save your texts, emails, and any messages that show the denial.
Photos of you waiting at the exchange location can help. So can a witness who saw you show up ready for your parenting time. Because Texas courts count each separate violation, a detailed record often makes the difference between a warning and serious penalties. This record also builds toward the three-strikes threshold, since each documented contempt finding moves you closer to stronger remedies. A Texas child visitation lawyer can review your log, confirm the violations, and file a motion that gives the judge exactly what the law requires.
How McCarty-Larson Can Help
If the other parent keeps denying your court-ordered time, the family law team at McCarty-Larson, PLLC can:
- Review your visitation order and every denied exchange
- File a detailed motion for enforcement in the correct court
- Present your evidence and pursue contempt, make-up time, and attorney’s fees
- Use the three-strikes framework to seek stronger penalties for repeat violators
- Advise you on modifying custody when the pattern supports it
- Serve parents across Ellis County, Johnson County, Tarrant County, and Dallas County
With more than 50 years of combined experience and a team background that includes former prosecutors and law enforcement, the firm knows how Texas courts handle these cases. Families dealing with a local custody dispute can also connect with our Johnson County child custody lawyers for county-specific guidance.
If someone is blocking your parenting time in Texas, the right legal help protects both you and your child. Contact McCarty-Larson, PLLC today at (972) 775-2100 for a free, confidential consultation. Family law attorney Bria Larson and the team are ready to enforce your visitation order and fight for the time your child deserves.