The 3-4-4-3 Custody Schedule

Three nights, four nights, four nights, three nights, an even split with only one moving weekday.

Also written as 3443 schedule, 3/4/4/3 custody, 4-3-3-4 schedule.

Overnight split: 50/50
Cycle length: 14 days
Exchanges: 4 per cycle
Longest gap: 4 nights

See 3-4-4-3 on a calendar

Change the start date, swap which parent begins, or tap a night to move it. The overnight counts update as you go.

Schedule pattern

50/50

One parent has Monday through Wednesday, the other Friday through Sunday, and Thursday alternates, an even split with only four exchanges every two weeks.

January 2026

Parent A
Parent B

Tap any night to switch parents.

3-4-4-3 gives one parent Monday through Wednesday every week and the other Friday through Sunday every week. Thursday is the only night that alternates, and it's what makes the split come out exactly even.

That single alternating night is the schedule's whole trick. Most of the week is completely fixed, school nights with one parent, weekends with the other, and Thursday quietly balances the ledger.

It is the most 'weekly' feeling of the equal schedules, which is why parents who bounced off 2-2-3 often land here.

How 3-4-4-3 works

The two weeks, night by night

Week one: Parent A has Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; Parent B has Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Week two: Parent A has Monday through Thursday; Parent B has Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Three, four, four, three.

The one moving night

Thursday belongs to Parent B in week one and Parent A in week two. Everything else repeats identically. If a Thursday commitment needs to be fixed, 3-4-4-3 is the wrong schedule, look at 2-2-5-5 instead.

How the overnights count

Seven of every fourteen nights each, 182 or 183 a year, with four exchanges every two weeks.

Deciding between this and another pattern? Put them side by side in the custody schedule comparison tool, check your exact numbers with the parenting time calculator, and when the schedule is settled, turn it into a court-ready parenting plan.

Pros and cons

What works well

Monday through Wednesday and Friday through Sunday never move
Only four exchanges every two weeks
Exactly equal overnights
Longest gap is only four nights

What to watch for

One parent gets every weekend, which some parents find unbalanced
Thursday alternates, so Thursday commitments are awkward
Weekend-only time can feel like less involvement in school life

Who 3-4-4-3 usually suits

Families where one parent is better placed to handle school mornings and the other has more availability at weekends, a very common split when one parent works standard office hours and the other does not. It gives equal overnights without forcing an artificial weekly symmetry.

How it compares

The same figures for the schedules parents usually weigh against this one.

Schedule	Split	Cycle	Exchanges	Longest gap
3-4-4-3This page	50/50	14 days	4 / cycle	4 nights
2-2-5-5	50/50	14 days	4 / cycle	5 nights
2-2-3	50/50	14 days	6 / cycle	3 nights
Week on / week off	50/50	14 days	2 / cycle	7 nights

Common questions

Is 3-4-4-3 a 50/50 schedule?

Yes. Each parent has seven of every fourteen nights, which is 182 or 183 overnights across a year, exactly the same total as 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5 or week-on/week-off. The alternating Thursday is what makes the three-night and four-night blocks balance out.

Does the same parent get every weekend on 3-4-4-3?

In the standard version, yes, one parent has Friday, Saturday and Sunday every week. If you want weekends to alternate while keeping an equal split, use 2-2-5-5 or 2-2-3 instead.

How is 3-4-4-3 different from 4-3?

A 4-3 schedule repeats every seven days and gives one parent four nights and the other three, which is roughly a 57/43 split. 3-4-4-3 repeats every fourteen days and comes out exactly even because the four-night and three-night blocks swap in week two.

How many exchanges does 3-4-4-3 need?

Four every two weeks, or around 104 a year, a third fewer than 2-2-3, because only the Thursday exchange moves week to week.

Document preparation only: not legal advice. Not affiliated with any court.