WHAT IS A MOTION TO RESTRICT PARENTING TIME IN COLORADO?
A motion to restrict parenting time in Colorado asks the court to limit the other parent's time or contact with your child. When the motion alleges that the child is in imminent physical or emotional danger because of that parenting time or contact, Colorado law puts it on an emergency track: the court must hear and rule on it within 14 days.
Filing that motion does not cut off the other parent's time. Until the hearing, any parenting time that happens must be supervised. Many parents, and many websites, get this point wrong, and it shapes everything that follows.
This page covers the emergency motion itself: when it applies, how to file it, what the hearing decides, and what to do if one is filed against you. For the other emergency tools, including protection orders and temporary orders when no parenting plan exists yet, see our guide to emergency custody orders in Colorado.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- When the Emergency Procedure Applies
- What Happens to Parenting Time After You File
- How to File the Motion
- The 14-Day Hearing
- The Risk of Filing Without Grounds
- If a Motion Is Filed Against You
- Other Emergency Options
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sources
WHEN THE EMERGENCY PROCEDURE APPLIES
The emergency procedure is in C.R.S. 14-10-129(4). It covers a motion to restrict parenting time or parental contact that alleges the child is in imminent physical or emotional danger due to the parenting time or contact by the parent. Such a motion must be heard and ruled upon no later than fourteen days after the day it is filed.
It is meant for danger that is current and serious. Examples parents raise include physical or sexual abuse, a parent driving the child while impaired, or threats to harm or take the child. A long-running disagreement about bedtimes, diet or screen time is a parenting dispute, not an emergency, and is handled through an ordinary motion to modify parenting time.
The emergency procedure does not apply to a motion filed under subsection (3) of the same statute. That subsection gives a separate objection process when a parent has been convicted of certain serious crimes, such as sexual assault on a child or child abuse.
What Counts as a Restriction
Apart from the automatic supervision during the 14 days after filing, C.R.S. 14-10-129(1)(b)(I) says a court may not restrict a parent's parenting time unless it finds the parenting time would endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development. Any order imposing or continuing a restriction must list the specific factual findings that support it.
In In re Marriage of Dale, 2026 CO 35, decided May 26, 2026, the Colorado Supreme Court defined what a restriction is. A restriction exists only when a court ends parenting time completely or places qualitative limits on its manner, location or environment, such as supervision, a ban on overnight visits, or limits on where parenting time may occur.
A reduction in the amount of time, without conditions like those, is a modification measured by the child's best interests. So the question is what you are asking the court to order. Supervision, a ban on overnights or no contact at all are restrictions; a smaller share of the schedule is a modification.
WHAT HAPPENS TO PARENTING TIME AFTER YOU FILE
The statute sets the rule for the period between filing and the hearing. Any parenting time that occurs during that fourteen-day period must be supervised by an unrelated third party the court deems suitable, or by a licensed mental health professional as defined in C.R.S. 14-10-127(1)(b).
That means the other parent's unsupervised time stops, but their parenting time does not automatically stop. The statute does not suspend contact or hand the child to the filing parent until the hearing. If the other parent exercises scheduled time during that period, it must be supervised.
Plan for that before you file. Think about who could supervise, such as an unrelated adult both parents trust or a professional supervision provider, and say in the motion what supervision you propose. A clear proposal makes it easier for the court and the other parent to follow the statute in the days before the hearing.
HOW TO FILE THE MOTION
The Colorado Judicial Branch form is JDF 1406, Motion and Affidavit to Change/Restrict Parenting Time, revised May 29, 2025. You file it in your existing case, in the court that entered your current parenting time order.
Section 6 of the form is for restricting parenting time. It has a box to check if you believe the children are in imminent or immediate danger, citing C.R.S. 14-10-129(4), and a request for an emergency hearing within 14 days and supervised parenting time until then. You then explain in detail, with examples and dates, why you believe the danger is imminent, and list the restrictions you are asking for.
The form is signed under penalty of perjury. Everything in it must be true, and the other parent will see every word.
Why Detail Decides These Motions
In In re Marriage of Wollert, 2020 CO 47, the Colorado Supreme Court held that these motions are reviewed under the particularity requirement of C.R.C.P. 7(b)(1). The motion must state the specific grounds for restricting parenting time; repeating the statute's words about imminent danger is not enough.
The decision cuts both ways. A motion that fails the particularity requirement should be denied outright without a hearing. A motion that meets it must be heard, and the judge may not deny it on the papers based on a view of how believable the allegations seem.
In practice, that means dates, incidents, injuries, statements, and the names of people who saw what happened. "He is unstable" is a conclusion. "On March 3 he drove the children home after drinking, and the exchange was witnessed by their grandmother" is a ground.
THE 14-DAY HEARING
At the hearing, both parents can present evidence and testimony. To impose or continue a restriction, the court must find that the parenting time would endanger the child's physical health or significantly impair the child's emotional development, and it must state the specific facts supporting that finding.
The outcome can range from returning to the existing schedule, to continued supervision, to other conditions such as exchanges in a protected setting or limits on overnights. Where the court finds domestic violence, child abuse or neglect, or sexual assault that resulted in the conception of a child, C.R.S. 14-10-124 now requires it to treat the safety of the child and the abused parent as the primary concern and to impose conditions that ensure it.
Those abuse rules were rewritten by House Bill 26-1309, effective May 27, 2026. Our article on how domestic violence affects child custody explains them in detail.
Bring Your Evidence to the Hearing
Fourteen days passes quickly. Gather what supports your account as soon as you file: police or incident reports, medical records, photographs, messages, school records, and the contact details of witnesses who can testify about what they saw.
Hearings on these motions are often short and set on a busy docket. A clear timeline of events, with the supporting documents in order, helps the judge follow your account in the time available.
THE RISK OF FILING WITHOUT GROUNDS
Subsection (5) of the statute is mandatory. If the court finds that an emergency motion was substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious, it must order the parent who filed it to pay the other parent's reasonable and necessary attorney fees and costs.
There is a practical cost too. Judges weigh each parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent, and an emergency motion that falls apart can affect how the filing parent is seen in later proceedings. File when the danger is real and you can describe it with specifics.
IF A MOTION IS FILED AGAINST YOU
Being served with an emergency motion is frightening, especially when the allegations are untrue. The steps that protect you are mostly practical:
- Follow the statute in the meantime. Exercise your parenting time only with an approved supervisor, and do not respond by keeping the child or ignoring the process.
- Read the motion closely and note every factual claim you can disprove, with the documents or witnesses that disprove it.
- Collect evidence of your day-to-day parenting, such as school and medical involvement, and messages that show how exchanges and communication actually went.
- Prepare for a hearing within 14 days, and speak with a family law attorney promptly, since there is little time.
If the court finds the motion was substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious, the fee award under subsection (5) runs in your favor.
If a Restriction Is Entered
A restriction is not necessarily permanent. When parenting time is restricted under the abuse provisions now in C.R.S. 14-10-124(1.6), or under certain Title 19 provisions, the restricted parent can file a verified motion to modify. Within 35 days, the court must decide from the papers whether there has been a substantial and continuing change of circumstances, including whether the restricted parent has complied with the conditions set when the restriction was imposed, and then deny the motion or set a hearing.
Complying fully with every condition, such as supervision, treatment or classes, is the foundation for any later request to lift a restriction. Our page on post-decree modifications covers changing orders after they are entered.
OTHER EMERGENCY OPTIONS
A motion to restrict parenting time only works where a parenting time order already exists. If your child is in danger right now, call 911 first.
If there is no parenting order yet, or the danger also involves you, other tools may fit better. A civil protection order can include temporary care and control of children, and temporary orders can address parenting time while a case is pending. Our guides to emergency custody orders and parenting plans and to restraining orders during a Colorado Springs divorce compare these options.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does filing a motion to restrict parenting time stop the other parent's time?
No. Under C.R.S. 14-10-129(4), parenting time during the 14 days after filing must be supervised by an unrelated third party the court deems suitable or by a licensed mental health professional. Unsupervised time stops, but parenting time itself is not automatically suspended.
How quickly will the court hold a hearing?
A motion alleging imminent physical or emotional danger must be heard and ruled upon no later than 14 days after it is filed. Under In re Marriage of Wollert, 2020 CO 47, a motion that does not state specific grounds should be denied without a hearing.
What form do I use to file?
The Colorado Judicial Branch form is JDF 1406, Motion and Affidavit to Change/Restrict Parenting Time. Section 6 covers restrictions, including a box for imminent or immediate danger and a request for a hearing within 14 days with supervised parenting time until then.
Is reducing my time the same as restricting it?
Not necessarily. In In re Marriage of Dale, 2026 CO 35, the Colorado Supreme Court held that a reduction in the amount of parenting time is a modification unless it ends parenting time entirely. A restriction involves conditions on how, where or in what setting time happens, such as supervision or a ban on overnight visits.
What happens if a parent files a false emergency motion?
If the court finds the motion was substantially frivolous, substantially groundless, or substantially vexatious, C.R.S. 14-10-129(5) requires the court to order the filing parent to pay the other parent's reasonable and necessary attorney fees and costs. Statements in the motion are also made under penalty of perjury.
Can I file this motion if we have no parenting order yet?
The motion restricts parenting time under an existing order. Without an order, options include a motion for temporary orders in a pending case or a civil protection order that addresses temporary care and control of the children.
TALK TO A COLORADO SPRINGS FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY
An emergency motion is decided largely on how well it is drafted and how quickly the evidence is gathered. Moran, Allen & Associates Family Law Attorneys represents parents on both sides of these motions in El Paso County and Teller County, through our Colorado Springs child custody practice and our Woodland Park office.
To talk through your situation, schedule a free consultation. If your child is in immediate danger, call 911 first.
This article is general information about Colorado law as of October 2026 and is not legal advice. Statutes, court rules and forms change. Consult a licensed Colorado attorney about your situation.
SOURCES
- C.R.S. 14-10-129, Modification of parenting time
- C.R.S. 14-10-124, Best interests of the child (2025 text; amended by HB26-1309)
- Colorado Session Laws 2026, Chapter 163 (HB26-1309, Abuse in Cases of Separation, as enacted)
- In re Marriage of Dale, 2026 CO 35 (Colo. May 26, 2026)
- In re Marriage of Wollert, 2020 CO 47 (Colo. June 1, 2020)
- Colorado Judicial Branch, JDF 1406, Motion and Affidavit to Change/Restrict Parenting Time (R. May 29, 2025)