Add your custody schedule to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook
SplitDay Team · Updated · Free · Runs entirely in your browser
This free tool turns a custody schedule into a standard calendar file (.ics) that Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook all import. Pick your parenting-time pattern — alternating weeks, 2-2-3, every other weekend and a dozen more, or paint your own — set the start date, the exchange time and how far ahead to go, then download. You get one all-day event per custody block (“Kids with Dana”), optional timed “Exchange” events with a reminder two hours before, and a month preview before anything is downloaded. The file is built by JavaScript on your own device: no account, no email, nothing uploaded.
Nothing is uploaded. The file is built in your browser and the only copy is the one you download. Settings are forgotten when you leave the page unless you tick “Remember these settings in this browser” below.
1 · The schedule
One full week with each parent, starting on the start date. One exchange a week.
The start date is the first day the file covers. For most patterns it is also the first night of the first block; weekend patterns stay on real Fridays and Saturdays whatever date you pick, and odd/even weeks follow the ISO week number (Monday to Sunday).
Paint your own two-week pattern. Each box is one overnight, starting on the start date. Select a box to hand that night to the other parent.
2 · Names, exchange time and how far ahead
3 · Preview — this is what the file holds
Each coloured run of days becomes one all-day event; ⇄ marks a day the children change homes. Step through the months — if you use odd/even weeks, look at January 2027.
4 · Download and import
Show what is in the file
Google Calendar
- On a computer, open calendar.google.com (the phone app cannot import files).
- First create a new calendar called “Custody”, so the whole schedule can be removed in one step later.
- Settings (gear) → Import & export → Select file from your computer → choose the .ics → pick the “Custody” calendar → Import.
Apple Calendar
- iPhone or iPad: open the downloaded file from Files, Mail or Messages and tap Add All, choosing a calendar (make a new “Custody” calendar first in the Calendar app).
- Mac: double-click the file, or File → Import, and pick the calendar.
- With iCloud on, the events appear on all your Apple devices.
Outlook
- Outlook on the web: Add calendar → Upload from file → choose the .ics and a calendar → Import.
- Outlook for Windows: File → Open & Export → Import/Export → Import an iCalendar (.ics) file → Open as New (keeps it separate) or Import.
- Outlook for Mac: File → Import → iCalendar file.
Honest note: a downloaded file does not update itself. When the schedule changes — a swapped week, a new exchange time, a court order — delete the old import (one step if you used a dedicated calendar), come back here, regenerate and import again. Or keep the schedule live and shared in SplitDay, where a change made by one parent shows up for both and exchange reminders follow the real schedule.
The file is a snapshot. SplitDay is the live version.
In the SplitDay app the same pattern runs on as a shared calendar: one parent moves a day, both see it, holidays and overrides stay in place, and handoff reminders go out before each exchange. It works even if only one parent uses it. Free to start.
What this custody calendar export does
It writes your parenting-time schedule as an iCalendar file — the .ics format every mainstream calendar understands — so the custody rotation sits next to work, school and everything else you already keep in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook. Each run of consecutive nights with the same parent becomes one all-day event titled with that parent's name, so a week with Dana is one bar across the week, not seven repeated entries. Every day the children change homes can also get a short timed “Exchange” event at the hour you set, with a reminder two hours before. The file is standards-compliant (RFC 5545), carries a stable identifier per event, and is generated entirely in your browser.
The patterns are the same fourteen the custody schedule planner uses — 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5, 3-4-4-3, alternating weeks, 4-3, every other weekend, every third week, 1st/3rd/5th weekends, extended weekend and the rest — plus odd/even weeks by ISO week number and a two-week grid you paint yourself. If you do not know yet which pattern you want, build it in the planner first; the schedule examples show each one as a two-week grid.
How it works
- Choose the pattern and the start date. The start date is the first day the file covers; for most patterns it is also the first night of the first block, and “Who has the first block” says whose night that is. Weekend patterns stay on real Fridays and Saturdays whatever date you pick, and odd/even weeks follow the ISO week number, Monday to Sunday.
- Name the parents and set the exchange time. The names become the event titles — “Kids with Dana”, “Exchange: Kids to Yoav” — so use the words your children use. The exchange time is when the children move; a 15-minute Exchange event is written there, with a reminder two hours before. Both are optional.
- Pick how far ahead and check the preview. Six, twelve or twenty-four months. The month grid shows exactly what the file holds, with ⇄ on every exchange day. Step through the months before you download — January 2027 is worth a look if you use odd/even weeks.
- Download and import. Import into a new, dedicated calendar (instructions above) so that when the schedule changes you can delete the old events in one step and import the new file.
Dates, time zones and the clocks changing
Custody blocks are written as dates, not timestamps, so a daylight-saving change cannot move them. Exchange events are written as plain local times with no time zone attached: an 18:00 exchange stays 18:00 after the clocks move in March, October or November, which is what a parenting plan means by 18:00. Our guide to daylight saving time and custody handoffs explains why the switch night itself is worth a sentence in your plan. All the day arithmetic in this tool runs on calendar dates rather than on local clock time, so no day is dropped or doubled on a transition weekend.
Frequently asked questions
Will my calendar update when the custody schedule changes?
No. An .ics file is a snapshot: once imported, the events sit in your calendar and nothing refreshes them. When the schedule changes, delete the old import — easiest if you imported into a dedicated calendar called “Custody” — then generate a new file here and import it again. If you would rather not repeat that, SplitDay keeps the schedule live: a change made by one parent shows up for both, and exchange reminders follow the real schedule.
Do the exchange times stay right when the clocks change?
Yes. Exchange events are written as local wall-clock times with no time zone attached, so an 18:00 exchange stays 18:00 after the clocks move. Custody blocks are all-day events keyed to dates, so daylight-saving changes cannot shift them. The one thing to watch is travel: a calendar set to another time zone shows the exchange at 18:00 in that zone.
Which calendar apps can open the file?
Any app that reads the iCalendar standard (RFC 5545): Google Calendar on the web, Apple Calendar on iPhone, iPad and Mac, Outlook on Windows, Mac and the web, plus Thunderbird, Fastmail, Proton Calendar and most others. Custody blocks arrive as all-day events that do not block your free/busy time, exchanges as 15-minute events at the time you set, and each exchange carries a reminder two hours before — some calendars replace file reminders with their own defaults.
Can I send the file to my co-parent?
Yes. Send the .ics by email or message and they import it into their own calendar, exactly as you did. Each import is a separate copy: nothing links the two calendars, so if either of you edits an event the other will not see it. That is the difference between a file and a shared calendar.
Is anything uploaded or stored?
No. The schedule, the names and the file are produced by JavaScript running on your device, and the only copy of the file is the one you download. The tool keeps nothing on our servers and has no account. If you tick “Remember these settings in this browser”, the settings are kept in your browser's local storage on this device only, and clearing the box removes them.
What happens to odd/even-week schedules at week 53?
2026 has 53 ISO weeks, so week 53 (28 December 2026 to 3 January 2027) and week 1 of 2027 are both odd. The tool offers the same two readings the SplitDay app does: “Swap every week”, where the handoff happens every Monday and odd and even swap parents after week 53, and “Follow the week numbers”, where the odd-week parent keeps both weeks in a row. Check the preview for January 2027 before you download.
This tool formats a schedule you already have; it does not decide one. It is general information, not legal advice — if you are unsure what your order or agreement requires on a given day, consult a family-law attorney licensed where your case is heard.
Keep reading
Keep the schedule live instead of re-importing it
Set the pattern once in SplitDay and both parents see the same calendar — day changes, holidays and exchange reminders included. Free to start, and it works even if only one parent uses it.