81-11-305. Registration of child custody determination.

512 words·~2 min read·/ut/title-81/chapter-11/81-11-305

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Effective 9/1/2025

(1)A child custody determination issued by a court of another state may be registered in this state, with or without a simultaneous request for enforcement, by sending to the district court in this state:

(a)a letter or other document requesting registration;

(b)two copies, including one certified copy, of the determination sought to be registered, and a statement under penalty of perjury that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person seeking registration the order has not been modified; and

(c)except as otherwise provided in Section 81-11-209 , the name and address of the person seeking registration and any parent or person acting as a parent who has been awarded custody or parent-time in the child custody determination sought to be registered.

(2)On receipt of the documents required by Subsection

(1), the registering court shall:

(a)cause the determination to be filed as a foreign judgment, together with one copy of any accompanying documents and information, regardless of their form; and

(b)serve notice upon a person named as described in Subsection (1)(c) and provide the person with an opportunity to contest the registration in accordance with this section.

(3)The notice required by Subsection (2)(b) shall state:

(a)that a registered determination is enforceable as of the date of the registration in the same manner as a determination issued by a court of this state;

(b)that a hearing to contest the validity of the registered determination shall be requested within 20 days after service of notice; and

(c)that failure to contest the registration will result in confirmation of the child custody determination and preclude further contest of that determination with respect to any matter that could have been asserted.

(a)A person seeking to contest the validity of a registered order shall request a hearing within 20 days after service of the notice.

(b)At that hearing, the court shall confirm the registered order unless the person contesting registration establishes that:

(i)the issuing court did not have jurisdiction under Part 2, Jurisdiction ;

(ii)the child custody determination sought to be registered has been vacated, stayed, or modified by a court of a state having jurisdiction to do so under Part 2, Jurisdiction ; or

(iii)the person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but notice was not given in accordance with the standards of Section 81-11-107 in the proceedings before the court that issued the order for which registration is sought.

(5)If a timely request for a hearing to contest the validity of the registration is not made, the registration is confirmed as a matter of law and the person requesting registration and all persons served shall be notified of the confirmation.

(6)Confirmation of a registered order, whether by operation of law or after notice and hearing, precludes further contest of the order with respect to any matter which could have been asserted at the time of registration.

Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 426 , 2025 General Session