Ch. 822: Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 822.22 lets the Wisconsin court that made a valid custody determination keep exclusive control over it until it finds the child and the relevant parents or caretakers no longer have a significant connection with the state and lack substantial evidence here, or until it or another court finds none of them still live in Wisconsin.
(1)Except as provided in s. 822.24, a court of this state that has made a child custody determination consistent with s. 822.21 or 822.23 has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over the determination until any of the following occurs:
(a)A court of this state determines that neither the child, nor the child and one parent, nor the child and a person acting as a parent have a significant connection with this state and that substantial evidence is no longer available in this state concerning the child’s care, protection, training, and personal relationships.
(b)A court of this state or a court of another state determines that the child, the child’s parents, and all persons acting as parents do not presently reside in this state.
(2)A court of this state that has made a child custody deter- mination and that does not have exclusive, continuing jurisdiction under this section may modify that determination only if it has jurisdiction to make an initial determination under s. 822.21.
Plain-English Summary
Section 822.22 governs how long the Wisconsin court that made a custody determination keeps authority over it. Subsection (1) gives that court exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over its own determination, made consistent with sections 822.21 or 822.23, until one of two things happens.
Under paragraph (a), jurisdiction ends when a Wisconsin court determines that neither the child, nor the child and one parent, nor the child and a person acting as a parent have a significant connection with Wisconsin, and that substantial evidence about the child’s care, protection, training, and personal relationships is no longer available here. Under paragraph (b), jurisdiction ends when a Wisconsin court or a court in another state determines that the child, the child’s parents, and everyone acting as a parent no longer presently reside in Wisconsin.
Subsection (2) addresses what happens once that exclusive, continuing jurisdiction ends: a Wisconsin court that made the determination but no longer has exclusive, continuing jurisdiction under this section may modify it only if Wisconsin would independently qualify for initial jurisdiction under section 822.21. This links directly to section 822.23’s parallel rule for when Wisconsin can modify another state’s determination, tying the two sections together as two sides of the same modification framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Wisconsin court that issued the original custody order keep control over it forever?
No. Section 822.22(1) gives it exclusive, continuing jurisdiction only until the significant-connection and substantial-evidence test in paragraph (a) fails, or until it is determined under paragraph (b) that nobody connected to the case still resides in Wisconsin.
What causes Wisconsin to lose exclusive, continuing jurisdiction over its own custody order?
Either a Wisconsin court finds that neither the child nor the relevant parent or caretaker still has a significant connection with Wisconsin and that substantial evidence is no longer available here, or a Wisconsin or out-of-state court finds that the child, parents, and persons acting as parents no longer reside in Wisconsin.
Who can decide that nobody connected to the case still lives in Wisconsin?
Section 822.22(1)(b) allows either a Wisconsin court or a court of another state to make that determination.
If Wisconsin loses exclusive, continuing jurisdiction, can it still modify the order later?
Only if Wisconsin would independently qualify for jurisdiction to make an initial determination under section 822.21. Section 822.22(2) limits modification authority to that circumstance.
Does moving out of Wisconsin automatically end the state’s jurisdiction over the custody order?
Not automatically. Jurisdiction ends only when a court makes the specific findings section 822.22(1)(a) or (b) requires, not merely because a family has relocated.
Amendment History
History: 2005 a. 130.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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