Parental kidnapping is a crime. It might be called different things in different places, such as custodial interference, child concealment, or parental abduction.

Each state and territory has its own definition of the crime. In some states, it may be illegal to take children out of state only if doing so violates a custody order or if there is an active custody case pending. In other states, it might be illegal for a parent to move his/her children anywhere, even within the state, if s/he hides the children’s location from the other parent.

Other factors that may be considered under the law are:

• whether the parents are married and considered to have equal parental rights;
• if the parents aren’t married, whether the father’s paternity has been legally established; or
• if the parent is planning a short trip out of state or if s/he plans to move out of state long-term.

Since the laws can be so different, it’s important to understand which state’s laws apply to your situation. Whether or not you can be charged with parental kidnapping will depend on the laws of the state your children are leaving, not the state that you are moving them to.

If you’d like to read your state’s law, you can go to our Crimes page and choose your state from the drop-down menu. Look for a crime called custodial interference or something similar; there will be a link to the law (statute) itself. As you are reading, please keep in mind that these laws can be easy to misinterpret, especially in times of stress, and so it’s best to have a lawyer explain them to you.

Before you move, please talk to a lawyer who is knowledgeable about parental kidnapping in the state you are thinking of leaving. You can find legal referrals on our Finding a Lawyer page.

If you have been charged with parental kidnapping, or if you are afraid that you might be charged, please contact us on our Email Hotline for referrals to national organizations that might be able to help.

Depending on your situation, you may also want to apply for temporary emergency custody. Please see Can I get temporary emergency custody of my child? for more information.

Getting the right kind of lawyer is important for getting good advice.

• If you have been charged with parental kidnapping, or if the other parent threatened you with it, the best lawyer to talk to is a criminal defense attorney in the state you left.
• If you have questions about custody or divorce, talk to a family law attorney. You may need to talk to family lawyers in both states - the one where you used to live with your child, and the one where you live now.
• Sometimes, you might need both a criminal defense lawyer and a family lawyer.

Some lawyers may handle both areas of law, especially in small towns where there might be few lawyers.

No matter who you talk to, it’s important to choose a lawyer who has experience with cases like yours and knows the laws and courts in your area.

If your case involves domestic violence, it’s especially helpful to work with a lawyer who has handled similar cases. We have a list of questions to ask lawyers to help you find someone with the right experience. Keep in mind that this kind of interview and evaluation of a lawyer is more relevant when you’re hiring a private lawyer. If you get a lawyer from a free legal services organization, the lawyer would likely be assigned to you, and you may not get to choose between attorneys. However, legal services attorneys often have a lot of experience with domestic violence cases; if you qualify for assistance, not being able to choose isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

You can find legal referrals on our Finding a Lawyer page. You can also try contacting the Legal Resource Center on Violence Against Women, which can sometimes help find lawyers and provide information for custody cases involving domestic abuse across state lines.

Depending on exactly what your state’s law says, there might be some ways a person could commit parental kidnapping even without leaving the state.

In some states, parental kidnapping occurs only when one parent’s actions violate their custody order by interfering with the other parent’s court-ordered time with the children. If your state has a relocation law, it will say how many miles a parent can move their children from the other parent without asking the judge for permission. It’s important to keep in mind that a judge doesn’t have to grant permission just because a parent asks. S/he might not allow your child to move.

Therefore, if the other parent disagrees with the move, you might need to think about trying to negotiate with the other parent to come up with a parenting time schedule that s/he might accept rather than leaving it up to the judge to decide whether you can relocate. A family law attorney in your state should be able to help you figure out:

• what your options are; and
• how judges in your area are likely to rule if the decision is left up to them.

In other states, parental kidnapping might occur even without a custody order in effect. Laws like this tend to focus on concealment, which means hiding or keeping a child away from a parent. So, if a parent moves the children away from the other parent without telling the other parent where they are, that might be considered parental kidnapping—even within state lines. If your state has a law like this, you may want to ask a local family law attorney about your options. If you have safety concerns, you can ask whether you can keep your address confidential. You can also ask what other protections your state’s laws might offer.

If you’ve already been charged with parental kidnapping – or if you’re worried that you might be – please reach out to a criminal attorney in your state for legal advice. You can find a criminal attorney through the Bar Association’s lawyer referral service on our Finding a Lawyer page.

If there is any kind of ongoing court case that involves your children, it might affect both parents’ ability to take their kids across state lines for any amount of time. This is because at the start of a case involving children, many judges automatically enter orders prohibiting both parents from taking children out of the state. The order might say that the parents can’t “remove the children from the jurisdiction.”

Even if you are only leaving for a short time, it still might violate your court order if your children leave the state without the judge’s permission. You may want to ask the judge or your attorney if you can take your children out of the state before leaving.

Common examples of court actions involving children are cases for divorce or custody and visitation. If you filed for a protective order and requested temporary custody, that might count as well.

A case would usually be considered “ongoing” if:

• either parent filed a petition, even if you haven’t had a court date yet;
• you have already been to court at least once, and there are more court dates scheduled or expected in the future, even if you haven’t been to court recently; or
• you have already had a trial or hearing, but the judge hasn’t entered a final order yet.

The parental kidnapping laws that apply will be the laws of the state you’re leaving, not the state you’re going to. If you are charged with parental kidnapping, some states might offer what is called an “affirmative defense” to victims of domestic violence. This defense is generally intended to protect those who are escaping a pattern of domestic violence or trying to protect a child. Whether or not you can use this defense depends on your state’s laws and your situation. If you have enough evidence to prove this defense, you might not get convicted of parental kidnapping.

However, having a defense available may not prevent you from being arrested and charged with the crime. You might still suffer all of the consequences that could come with being arrested, which may include losing custody or going to jail. Even if you are eventually found “not guilty,” you might still have to go through the expense and stress of a criminal trial, and you might not be able to get custody back.

To take advantage of the legal protections offered by an affirmative defense, some states require you to meet specific conditions. You usually need to do these things before or immediately after you flee. For example, to avoid being charged with a crime, some states require a domestic violence victim to make a report to law enforcement before leaving the state. This is why it’s so important to speak to a lawyer in the state you want to leave - so that you understand what the laws in that state require. In order to try to avoid criminal charges, it is important to talk to a criminal law attorney or a custody attorney who is familiar with parental kidnapping in the state you hope to leave. Go to our Finding a Lawyer page for legal referrals.

If you haven’t left the state yet, hopefully, the attorney can tell you whether or not you are in danger of committing parental kidnapping. You can also ask how to leave legally, and if there are any steps you can take to protect yourself before you go.

If you have already left, you can ask about whether or not you might have broken the state’s parental kidnapping law. You can also ask if there are any steps you can take to try to avoid being charged with a crime now.

If you are fleeing abuse, it may be a good idea to collect as much evidence as you can before you leave. You can see examples of the types of evidence that can be helpful in our Preparing for Court – By Yourself section. Hopefully, you can do that in a way that won’t put you in greater danger.

The standard for getting emergency custody may be different depending on whether or not you are filing in the child’s home state.

If you are applying in the child’s home state, you may be able to request temporary emergency custody as part of a regular custody petition, or there may be additional forms you need to file. You may or may not have to prove that your child is in danger in order to get emergency custody. This will all depend on the specific state’s laws.

However, even if you get temporary custody, you still might not be able to take your child to another state unless your order specifically allows it. Any laws regarding relocation and parental kidnapping may still apply, depending on how long you plan to be out of the state. If you know you are planning to leave the state, you might want to ask the judge to give you permission to leave in the custody order. It is up to the judge to decide whether or not to grant your request.

If you are applying in a state where you and the child have recently arrived, the rules may be different. You can apply for temporary emergency custody in a state that is not the “home state” of the child in two situations. Under a law called the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), you must be able to show a judge that the child:

• has been abandoned; or
• needs emergency protection because the child, his/her sibling, or his/her parent is being abused or threatened with abuse.²

In either situation, the child must be with you in the new state where you are applying.²

Note: Every U.S. state follows the UCCJEA except for Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, which follow a law called the UCCJA.³ The main difference is that under the UCCJA, emergency custody can only be granted if the child is being abused or threatened with abuse, not a sibling or parent.⁴

It is important to discuss your situation with a lawyer who specializes in domestic violence and custody before you leave the child’s home state.

¹ UCCJEA § 102(7)
² UCCJEA § 204(a)
³ Current as of May 2025
⁴ M.G.L. 209B § 2(a)(3)