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Martine Law PLLC | Updated October 23, 2026
Minnesota allows a parent to ask the family court for an emergency custody order. When the order is issued without notice to the other parent, it is an ex parte order, and the bar is high: the court can award custody or cut off parenting time ex parte only if it finds the children are in immediate danger of physical harm. A hearing must follow at the earliest practicable date, and when emergency relief granted without notice affects custody or parenting time, the court rules require that hearing within 14 days. When domestic abuse is involved, an Order for Protection is a separate route that can also address temporary custody and parenting time.
What is an emergency custody order in Minnesota?
Section 518.131, the Minnesota statute on temporary relief in a family case, does not use the phrase “emergency custody order.” It calls an order issued without notice an ex parte restraining order.
The court rules treat “emergency” and “ex parte” as two different things. Emergency relief means urgent relief on shortened deadlines, and the other parent is normally still given notice. Ex parte relief means the court acts before the other parent is heard. A request can be both.
Source: Minnesota General Rules of Practice, Rule 303.04, ex parte and emergency relief
An ex parte order is tied to a court case. It is available in a proceeding for custody, dissolution, or legal separation, or in a post-divorce proceeding about property, maintenance, or child support. If no case is open yet, the parent asking for emergency relief must start the right underlying case, such as a custody or divorce case, and file the emergency motion in it.
What must a court find to grant emergency custody?
An ex parte order may not deny parenting time to either parent or grant custody of the children to either parent unless the court finds immediate danger of physical harm to the minor children.
Each part of that standard matters:
- Immediate. The danger has to be present now, not a risk that may develop over the coming months.
- Physical harm. The ex parte standard is physical harm. Concerns about a parent’s choices, a missed exchange, or an ordinary disagreement about school or bedtime do not meet it on their own.
- To the children. The finding has to be about the minor children of the parties.
A similar rule protects the family home. An ex parte order may not exclude either party from the family home unless the court finds immediate danger of physical harm to the other party or the children of either party.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 3, ex parte restraining orders
If the facts do not reach that level, an ex parte custody award is not available. The parent can still ask for emergency relief with notice on shortened deadlines, or bring a regular temporary motion. Filing under the wrong procedure costs time.
How is an emergency order different from a temporary custody order?
A temporary custody order is the ordinary tool. Either party can file a motion asking the court to set custody and parenting time while the case is pending. The other parent receives notice and can respond before the judge rules.
Temporary orders can also cover spousal maintenance, child support, attorney fees, use of the family home, restraints on hiding property or harassment, and restraints on removing a child from the court’s jurisdiction.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 1, permissible orders
When setting temporary custody and parenting time, the court must consider each parent’s parenting time with the child before the case began. The court is guided by the same custody and parenting time statutes, sections 518.17 to 518.175, that apply at the end of the case.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivisions 1 and 7
The standard to deny parenting time in a regular temporary order is different from the ex parte standard. A temporary order may not deny parenting time to a parent unless the court finds that parenting time is likely to cause physical or emotional harm to the child.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 2, impermissible orders
Temporary orders are decided on affidavits and the arguments of counsel. Live testimony happens only if a party timely demands it or the court orders it, so the affidavit carries the motion.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 8, basis for order
For a broader look at temporary relief during a divorce, including support and the house, read our guide to temporary orders in a Minnesota divorce.
What happens after an emergency custody order is signed?
The ex parte order must be personally served on the parent it restrains, along with notice of the time and place of the hearing. Once it is issued, a hearing on the temporary order must be held at the earliest practicable date. The restrained parent may, on written notice to the other parent, move the hearing to an earlier date.
The ex parte order stays in effect only until the hearing time noticed. The court can extend that time only for good cause and upon notice.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 4, hearing on restraining order and duration
The court rules add a firm deadline. An order granting emergency relief without notice must include a return hearing date, and if the relief affects custody or parenting time, the hearing must be set within 14 days of the date the relief is granted.
Source: Minnesota General Rules of Practice, Rule 303.04(f), hearing
At the hearing, both parents are heard. The judge can keep the emergency terms in place as a temporary order, change them, or vacate them.
What if an emergency custody order was entered against me?
Read the order line by line and follow it while it is in effect, even if you believe it is wrong. Violating some terms carries criminal exposure on top of contempt. A violation of a temporary or restraining order provision that restrains harassment, restrains removal of a child from the court’s jurisdiction, or excludes a party from a home is a misdemeanor.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 10, misdemeanor
Then prepare for the hearing. A temporary order does not decide the final case. It does not prejudice the rights of the parties or the child that will be decided at later hearings, and the court can revoke or modify it before the case ends.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 9, effect of temporary order
How long does a temporary custody order last in Minnesota?
A temporary order stays in full force until the earliest of these events: the court amends or vacates it, the main case is dismissed, or the court enters a final decree of dissolution or legal separation.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 5, duration of order
If a divorce or separation case is dismissed, a temporary custody order is vacated unless a party or the child’s custodian moves to continue the case as a custody proceeding and the court finds, after a hearing, that the circumstances and the child’s best interests require a custody order.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 6, dismissal of main action
What if the other parent is keeping the children from me?
Withholding a child is not, by itself, the kind of physical danger that supports an ex parte custody award. Minnesota has a faster track built for this problem.
While a case is pending, the court must give priority to a temporary relief hearing when a party credibly alleges they have been denied parenting time with a child for 14 consecutive days or more. The priority hearing must be held within 30 days of the request. The court must also consider credible allegations of domestic abuse, substance abuse, maltreatment findings, or neglect as a reasonable basis for the denial.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 11, priority for temporary relief
Can an Order for Protection give me temporary custody?
Yes. An Order for Protection under the Domestic Abuse Act is a separate case from a divorce or custody case, and it can address temporary custody and parenting time.
A petition can be filed by a family or household member personally, or by a family or household member on behalf of minor family or household members.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 4, petition
After a hearing, the court may award temporary custody or establish temporary parenting time on a basis that gives primary consideration to the safety of the victim and the children. If unsupervised or unrestricted parenting time would jeopardize their safety, the court must condition or restrict parenting time by time, place, duration, or supervision, or deny it entirely. The court may not enter a parenting plan as part of an Order for Protection case.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 6, relief by the court
Does an ex parte OFP include custody?
No. Temporary custody or parenting time in an OFP case requires a hearing. The relief a court can grant ex parte in an OFP case is a specific list that includes restraining abuse, excluding the abusing party from a shared residence, and no-contact provisions. Temporary custody and parenting time are not on that list. A petitioner who wants custody relief must request a hearing for it. When an ex parte order has been issued and the petitioner seeks relief beyond that list, a hearing must be held within seven days.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivisions 5 and 7, hearing and ex parte order
How does an OFP affect the later custody case?
Relief in an Order for Protection generally lasts no more than two years unless the court decides a longer period is appropriate. In a later custody proceeding, the court must consider a finding in the OFP case that domestic abuse occurred between the parties.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivisions 6 and 17
Read more in our guide on how an Order for Protection affects a Minnesota divorce and custody case.
How do I request an emergency custody order in Minnesota?
The request is a motion supported by an affidavit, filed in the custody or divorce case. Under the court rules, the motion and affidavit must state with specificity:
- Why emergency relief is required.
- The relief requested.
- Any other attempts to get the same or similar relief, and the result.
- The judicial officer who heard any prior emergency request.
- If a prior request was denied, the new facts that support this one.
The parent asking must also present a proposed order. The motion must be served on the other parent with notice of the hearing unless the parent asking states in writing that a good faith effort to reach the other side failed, or the papers show good cause to skip notice and the court waives it.
Source: Minnesota General Rules of Practice, Rule 303.04(c) through (e)
A party seeking a temporary custody order must submit an affidavit setting out the facts that support it, and the other parties may file opposing affidavits. The affidavit usually carries the request, so a strong one is specific:
- What happened, when, and where, with dates.
- Who saw it, and which facts you know firsthand versus what someone told you.
- Police reports, medical records, school or daycare reports, and messages that back up each key fact.
- Why the danger is immediate and physical, not a general worry.
- The exact terms you are asking for, such as where the children stay, whether any contact continues, and whether it should be supervised.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.185, affidavit practice
The responding parent needs the same discipline: a dated account of current care and documents that answer each allegation.
Questions people ask
How fast can I get an emergency custody order in Minnesota?
A judge can sign an ex parte order without first hearing from the other parent. How fast that happens depends on the county and the filing. The statute then requires a hearing at the earliest practicable date, and when the order affects custody or parenting time, the court rules require the hearing within 14 days.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 4 and Minnesota General Rules of Practice, Rule 303.04(f)
Can I get emergency custody for emotional abuse?
The ex parte custody standard is immediate danger of physical harm to the children. Emotional harm is part of the standard for denying parenting time in a regular temporary order, which is heard with notice to the other parent.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivisions 2 and 3
Do I need a divorce case open to get emergency custody?
An ex parte order under section 518.131 is issued in a custody, dissolution, or legal separation proceeding, or a post-divorce proceeding on property, maintenance, or support. An Order for Protection is its own proceeding and does not require a divorce or custody case.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 1 and Minnesota Statutes 518B.01, subdivision 4
Can a Minnesota court act in an emergency if custody was decided in another state?
Yes, in limited situations. A Minnesota court has temporary emergency jurisdiction when the child is present in Minnesota and a listed ground applies, including when the child has been abandoned or when emergency protection is necessary because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to or threatened with mistreatment or abuse.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518D.204, temporary emergency jurisdiction
Does emergency custody mean I will get custody in the end?
No. A temporary order does not prejudice the rights of the parties or the child that are decided later in the case.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.131, subdivision 9
What does the court look at for final custody?
In a first custody decision, the outcome turns on the child’s best interests under section 518.17. Changing custody under an existing final order is harder: the court must also find a change in circumstances and one of the grounds listed in section 518.18. Our guide to child custody in Minnesota walks through the factors.
Source: Minnesota Statutes 518.17, custody and parenting time and Minnesota Statutes 518.18, paragraph (d)
For the full picture of how a Minnesota divorce works, see our guide to Minnesota divorce laws.
Talk with Martine Law about emergency or temporary custody
Emergency custody is a narrow tool with a short clock. Filing under the wrong standard costs days, and a weak response can lock in a temporary arrangement that shapes the rest of the case. Martine Law handles emergency and temporary custody requests as part of a Minnesota child custody case or divorce.
If you need to ask for emergency relief, or an emergency order was just served on you, contact Martine Law PLLC or call 612-482-9475. Tell us the county, whether a case is already open, and the date of any hearing.
This article provides general information about Minnesota custody law and is not legal advice for any specific case.
