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Legal Statutes: Maryland

UPDATED October 2, 2012

Maryland Statutes


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Subtitle 3. Enforcement

back to top§ 9.5-305. Registration of child-custody determination

In general

(a) 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 appropriate court in this State:

(1) a letter or other document requesting registration;
(2) 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
(3) except as otherwise provided in § 9.5-209 of this title, the name and address of the person seeking registration and any parent or person acting as a parent who has been awarded custody or visitation in the child custody determination sought to be registered.

Duty of registering court

(b) On receipt of the documents required by subsection (a) of this section, the registering court shall:

(1) 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
(2) serve notice upon the persons named in subsection (a)(3) of this section and provide them with an opportunity to contest the registration in accordance with this section.

Contents of notice

(c) The notice required by subsection (b)(2) of this section shall state that:

(1) 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;
(2) any request for a hearing to contest the validity of the registered determination shall be made within 20 days after service of notice; and
(3) 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.

Contesting a registered order


(d)(1) A person seeking to contest the validity of a registered order shall request a hearing within 20 days after service of the notice.

(2) 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 Subtitle 2 of this title;
(ii) the child custody determination sought to be registered has been vacated, stayed, or modified by a court having jurisdiction to do so under Subtitle 2 of this title; or
(iii) the person contesting registration was entitled to notice, but notice was not given in accordance with the standards of § 9.5-107 of this title, in the proceedings before the court that issued the order for which registration is sought.

Confirmation of registration

(e) 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.


Further contesting of order

(f) 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 that could have been asserted at the time of registration.

Added by Acts 2004, c. 502, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 2004.