Rule 5.700.Termination of jurisdiction—custody and visitation orders (§§ 302, 304, 361.2, 362.4, 726.5)

Division 3. Juvenile Rules · Chapter 12. Cases Petitioned Under Section 300 · Article 3. Disposition · Last amended 2019 · Last verified September 10, 2026

In one sentenceRule 5.700 lets the juvenile court issue a custody and visitation order when it ends jurisdiction and sends the child home, and routes that order into the family law system.

Full Text of Rule 5.700

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When the juvenile court terminates its jurisdiction over a dependent or ward of the court and places the child in the home of a parent, it may issue an order determining the rights to custody of and visitation with the child. The court may also issue protective orders as provided in section 213.5 or as described in Family Code section 6218.

(a) Effect of order

Any order issued under this rule continues in effect until modified or terminated by a later order of a superior court with jurisdiction to make determinations about the custody of the child. The order may be modified or terminated only if the superior court finds both that:

(1) There has been a significant change of circumstances since the juvenile court issued the order; and

(2) Modification or termination of the order is in the best interest of the child.

(b) Preparation and transmission of order

The order must be prepared on Custody Order—Juvenile—Final Judgment (form JV-200). The court must direct either the parent, parent’s attorney, county counsel, or clerk to:

(1) Prepare the order for the court’s signature; and

(2) Transmit the order within 10 calendar days after the order is signed to any superior court where a proceeding described in (c)(1) is pending or, if no such proceeding exists, to the superior court of, in order of preference:

(A) The county in which the parent who has been given sole physical custody resides;

(B) The county in which the children’s primary residence is located if no parent has been given sole physical custody; or

On receiving a juvenile court custody order transmitted under (b)(2), the clerk of the receiving court must immediately file the juvenile court order as follows.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the juvenile court order must be filed in any pending nullity, dissolution, legal separation, guardianship, Uniform Parentage Act, Domestic Violence Prevention Act, or other family law custody proceeding and, when filed, becomes a part of that proceeding.

(2) If the only pending proceeding related to the child in the receiving court is filed under Family Code section 17400 et seq., the clerk must proceed as follows.

(A) If the receiving court has issued a custody or visitation order in the pending proceeding, the clerk must file the received order in that proceeding.

(B) If the receiving court has not issued a custody or visitation order in the pending proceeding, the clerk must not file the received order in that proceeding, but must instead proceed under paragraph (3).

(3) If no dependency, family law, or guardianship proceeding affecting custody or visitation of the child is pending, the order must be used to open a new custody proceeding in the receiving court. The clerk must immediately open a family law file without charging a filing fee, assign a case number, and file the order in the new case file.

(d) Endorsed filed copy—clerk’s certificate of service

Within 15 court days of receiving the order, the clerk of the receiving court must send an endorsed filed copy of the order showing the case number assigned by the receiving court by first-class mail or by electronic means in accordance with section 212.5 to the child’s parents and the originating juvenile court, with a completed clerk’s certificate of service, for inclusion in the child’s file.

End

Plain-English Summary

When the juvenile court terminates jurisdiction and places the child with a parent, it may determine custody and visitation — and may issue protective orders as well. The order it makes is designed to survive the case that produced it.

It stays in force until a superior court with custody jurisdiction modifies or ends it, and that court may do so only on both of two findings: a significant change of circumstances since the juvenile court acted, and that modification or termination is in the child’s best interest. This is a higher bar than an ordinary custody modification, and it is the reason the order is worth making.

The order goes on form JV-200, and the court directs a parent, a parent’s attorney, county counsel or the clerk to prepare it and transmit it within 10 calendar days of signature. It goes to any superior court where a family law proceeding is already pending; failing that, in order of preference, to the county where the parent with sole physical custody lives, the county of the children’s primary residence where no parent has sole physical custody, or a county where any parent resides.

The receiving clerk files it immediately. It joins any pending nullity, dissolution, legal separation, guardianship, parentage, domestic violence or other family law custody proceeding and becomes part of it. Where the only pending matter is a child support action, the order is filed there only if that court has already made a custody or visitation order; otherwise a new case is opened. And where nothing at all is pending, the clerk opens a family law file without charging a filing fee, assigns a number, and files the order in it.

Within 15 court days the receiving clerk mails or electronically serves an endorsed filed copy showing the new case number on the child’s parents and the originating juvenile court, with a certificate of service for the child’s file — so everyone knows where the order now lives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a juvenile custody order end with the dependency case?

No. It continues in effect until modified or terminated by a later order of a superior court with jurisdiction over the child’s custody.

How hard is it to change a juvenile court custody order?

The superior court must find both that there has been a significant change of circumstances since the juvenile court issued the order and that modification or termination is in the child’s best interest.

Where does the order go?

To any superior court with a pending family law proceeding about the child. Failing that, in order of preference: the county where the parent with sole physical custody lives, the county of the children’s primary residence, or a county where any parent resides — within 10 calendar days of signature.

Is there a filing fee to open the new case?

No. Where no dependency, family law or guardianship proceeding affecting custody is pending, the clerk must open a family law file without charging a filing fee, assign a case number, and file the order.

Amendment History

Rule 5.700 amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as rule 1457 effective January 1, 1990; previously amended effective January 1, 1994, January 1, 2001, and January 1, 2016; previously amended and renumbered as rule 5.700 effective January 1, 2007.

(Subd (a) adopted effective January 1, 2016.) (Subd (b) amended and relettered effective January 1, 2016; adopted as part of subd (a).) (Subd (c) amended and relettered effective January 1, 2016; adopted as part of subd (a).) (Subd (d) amended effective January 1, 2019; adopted as part of subd (a); amended and relettered effective January 1, 2016.)

Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California. Last verified September 10, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: exit order juvenile custody Californiaform JV-200 custody order juvenile final judgmentjuvenile court custody order family law fileterminating dependency custody visitation