Custody Schedule Templates
Six common custody schedules, drawn as real calendars. 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3 and alternating weeks split the nights 50/50; every other weekend and 5-2 give one parent most of them. Turn the ribbon to see each pattern's fortnight, then open a template, pick the start date and who goes first, and print the calendar or add it to your phone.
Six patterns on one ribbon
Pick a pattern and the ribbon redraws it from its next start day: a Monday for the 50/50 patterns, a Friday for every other weekend, a Sunday for 5-2. Drag it, or use the arrow keys, to turn through the nights.
Courts and parents decide what fits the child; this page only lays a pattern over the calendar.
The six templates side by side
Every figure is counted from the pattern itself. A night is the unit: the split is nights with each parent, and a handover is a night that follows a night at the other home.
| Template | Overnight split | Repeats every | Handovers per 14 nights | Longest run at one home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-2-3 | 50% / 50% | 14 nights | 6 | 3 nights |
| 2-2-5-5 | 50% / 50% | 14 nights | 4 | 5 nights |
| 3-4-4-3 | 50% / 50% | 14 nights | 4 | 4 nights |
| Alternating weeks | 50% / 50% | 14 nights | 2 | 7 nights |
| Every other weekend | 85.7% / 14.3% | 14 nights | 2 | 12 and 2 nights |
| 5-2 | 71.4% / 28.6% | 7 nights | 4 | 5 and 2 nights |
Open a template
2-2-3 Custody Schedule
Two nights, two nights, three nights, then the same with the parents swapped. Started on a Monday, one parent has Monday and Tuesday, the other Wednesday and Thursday, and the first has Friday to Sunday; the next week is the mirror.
Make this calendar →2-2-5-5 Custody Schedule
Two nights, two nights, five nights, five nights. Started on a Monday, one parent always has Monday and Tuesday and the other always Wednesday and Thursday; the weekend alternates and joins onto one side, making the five-night runs.
Make this calendar →3-4-4-3 Custody Schedule
Three nights, four nights, four nights, three nights. Started on a Monday, one parent has Monday to Wednesday and the other Thursday to Sunday; the next week the first has Monday to Thursday and the other Friday to Sunday.
Make this calendar →Alternating Weeks Custody Schedule
Seven nights with one parent, then seven with the other. The handover falls on the same day of the week every time: the day of the week you start on.
Make this calendar →Every Other Weekend Custody Schedule
Two nights, Friday and Saturday, every second weekend with one parent; the other twelve nights of the fortnight with the other. The rotation always starts on a Friday.
Make this calendar →5-2 Custody Schedule
Five nights, Sunday to Thursday, with one parent; Friday and Saturday nights with the other; every week. The rotation always starts on a Sunday.
Make this calendar →Need the rest of the week on paper too — school, work, practice and the lifts? The Family Schedule Maker puts the whole household on one printable week and finds the clashes.
How the calendars are worked out
Each template is a fixed sequence of nights, one letter per night, repeating from the start date you pick: 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3 and alternating weeks repeat every fourteen nights, every other weekend every fourteen, and 5-2 every seven. The sequences are printed on each page under the pattern's name. The letter says which home the child sleeps at that night, and a day on the calendar is coloured for that parent. Every other weekend always starts on a Friday and 5-2 on a Sunday, so the first weekend falls on Friday and Saturday nights; any other date you pick moves forward to the next Friday or Sunday, and the page says so.
The overnight split is the number of nights each parent has in one cycle divided by the length of the cycle, rounded to one decimal place. A handover is a night with one parent that follows a night with the other, counted round the cycle and scaled to fourteen nights so the six patterns compare on one footing. The longest stretch is the longest unbroken run of nights with one parent, which is also the longest the child spends away from the other home. The twelve-month figure counts the 365 nights from the start date one by one.
The four patterns the Family Schedule Maker also offers come from the same rule in the same code, so the two tools cannot draw one pattern two ways. The pattern names are the common names for these rotations; the page sets no expectations about which one suits a family. The calendar file writes each run of nights as an all-day event that repeats every cycle.
Every figure above was read out of the code that runs on this page. Where a number is our own judgement rather than a published one, the note says so and cites nothing. Method last checked 28 September 2026.
How the six custody schedule templates differ
Every custody schedule is a trade between two numbers: how often the child moves between homes, and how long they go without seeing each parent. The six patterns here are the common named answers to that trade, and each one is a fixed rule, which is why it can be drawn from a start date and printed for a year. 2-2-3 has the most handovers of the 50/50 patterns, six a fortnight, and never more than three nights apart. Alternating weeks has the fewest, two a fortnight, and a full week apart. 2-2-5-5 and 3-4-4-3 sit between them, with four handovers and five or four nights at most.
The other two are not even splits. Every other weekend gives one parent Friday and Saturday nights once a fortnight, twelve nights to two. 5-2 gives one parent the school nights and the other the weekend nights every week, five to two. Both are often written with extra time added — a midweek dinner, a Sunday night — and the template is the base rotation those additions are laid on.
The page does the counting and nothing else. The split, the handovers and the longest stretches are read from the pattern itself, and the twelve-month count is the pattern laid over the real calendar from your start date. Our guide to shared custody schedules covers what families weigh when they choose, and the co-parenting calendar guide covers the part a template cannot hold: the swaps, the holidays and who saw the change. When the rotation is only one layer of a busy week — school, practice, work, the lifts — the Family Schedule Maker draws 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3 and alternating weeks from the same rule, as a colour band under the whole household's week.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which custody schedules are 50/50?
What is the difference between 2-2-3 and 2-2-5-5?
What does "overnights" mean on a custody calendar?
How do I make a custody calendar from one of these templates?
Can I put the custody schedule in Google Calendar?
Do the templates include holidays or school breaks?
Related Tools
Family Schedule Maker
Make a family calendar in minutes: everyone's week on one printable page, the clashes found for you, custody rotations as fixed patterns (2-2-3, alternating weeks, 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3), and a calendar file each person can add to their own calendar. Free, no account.
Printable Chore Chart
A free printable chore chart: names down the side, the week across, and a chore library of 62 jobs grouped by age. Rotates weekly, prints on one page, editable, no signup.
Babysitter Cost Calculator
Calculate your annual babysitter cost and compare it to nursery and daycare. Enter hours, rate, and frequency to see the true childcare spend.
Keep the swaps and the handovers on one live calendar with Homsy
A printed rotation is the regular pattern. In Homsy the calendar is shared, so a swapped weekend or a moved handover shows up for everyone in your household the moment someone changes it, next to the chores, meals and shopping.