De Facto Parent Order

Judicial Council of California · Juvenile

Verified current as of August 1, 2026

This form is used to ask a court to officially recognize someone as a "de facto parent" — a person who has been living with and raising a child but is not the biological or adoptive parent — and to grant them custody or parental rights. Family law attorneys, social workers, and caregivers use this form in juvenile dependency cases when a non-parent has been the child's primary caregiver and the court needs to decide custody arrangements that serve the child's best interests.