Moving Forward: What Pennsylvania Parents Need to Know About Relocation

When one parent wants to move, whether across town, across the state, or across the country, it can feel like the ground shifts beneath the entire family. For children caught in the middle, a parent’s relocation can mean disrupted routines, longer distances from someone they love, and uncertainty about what “normal” looks like going forward. For the relocating parent, the desire to move may carry genuine hope: a new job, family support nearby, a fresh start. And for the parent who stays behind, the prospect of losing daily proximity to their child can be profound.

What Pennsylvania Law Says About Relocation

Pennsylvania’s relocation statute, 23 Pa. C.S. § 5337, is one of the more detailed relocation frameworks in the country. It applies any time a proposed move would “significantly impair the ability of a nonrelocating party to exercise custodial rights.” That phrase, significantly impair, carries a great deal of weight. A move a few miles away may not trigger the statute at all. Moving a few hours away often does.

The Notice Requirement

If a parent with custody rights intends to relocate, they must provide advance written notice to every other individual with custody rights. Under the statute, that notice must be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 60 days before the proposed relocation, or, if 60 days’ notice is not possible, within 10 days of learning of the move.

Failure to provide proper notice is taken seriously by Pennsylvania courts. Judges may consider a parent’s failure to notify when making future custody determinations, and a parent who relocates without following the statute risks being ordered to return with the child.

The Other Parent’s Response

Once notice is received, the nonrelocating parent has 30 days to object by filing a counter-affidavit with the court. If no objection is filed, the relocating parent may proceed. The statute treats silence as consent.

If an objection is filed, the court schedules a hearing to determine whether relocation is in the child’s best interest.

The Ten Factors Courts Consider

When relocation is contested and reaches a judge, Pennsylvania courts must consider ten specific factors under § 5337(h) to determine whether relocation serves the child’s best interest. These are not checkboxes. They are substantive considerations that can lead to very different outcomes depending on the family’s circumstances.

Pennsylvania courts weigh factors including the depth of each parent’s relationship with the child, the child’s age and developmental needs, the feasibility of maintaining the nonrelocating parent’s involvement, the child’s own preferences, each parent’s motivations, and the overall impact on the child’s quality of life. A history of either fostering or blocking the other parent’s access is also considered, as is any history of abuse.

Why Mediation Is a Powerful Alternative

Here is something important: relocation does not have to be decided by a judge.

When both parents are willing to work together, even if they disagree, mediation resolves relocation disputes on their own terms, without the cost, delay, and adversarial strain of going to court. In my practice, I have seen families relocate in ways that genuinely put their children first, precisely because they stayed in control of the outcome.

Mediation allows both parents to:

• Speak candidly about their concerns, fears, and needs in a structured, neutral setting
• Explore creative solutions that a court order might not contemplate, such as extended summer parenting time, rotating long weekends, or shared travel costs for visits
• Keep the focus on their children, rather than on winning or losing

When parents reach an agreement through mediation, that agreement can carry the same legal weight as a litigated order, but arrived at on their own terms.

What a Mediated Parenting Plan Can Address

A thoughtfully crafted parenting plan, developed through mediation, can address relocation proactively, even before a move is contemplated. For families where relocation is already on the table, a mediated agreement can speak directly to:

Dawn Clement is a family law mediator based in Kennett Square, PA, serving families throughout Pennsylvania. This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.