Quick start

This guide takes you from sign-up to a working case file. Every new account starts with a 14-day free trial of the tools (Mediation Coach excepted), with no card required. When the trial ends you keep your account and everything in it on the free plan.

1. Create your account#

1. Sign upGo to app.custodycommander.com/signup. Enter your email and a password of at least 10 characters with at least one letter and one number. Your name is optional.
2. Choose your state of residenceThis is the state you live in (or "Outside the United States"). It decides which terms apply to you and which document features are available where you live.
3. Accept the Terms of UseRead and accept the terms, then click Create account.
4. Verify your emailOpen the link we email you. It works once and expires after 24 hours — use Resend email if it doesn't arrive (check spam, too). Case tools stay locked until your email is verified; your account and billing pages work before then.

2. Finish the setup wizard#

After you verify, the setup wizard opens. It has five short steps, and you can skip any of them (or all of them with Skip setup) and come back later from Getting started in the sidebar.

1. WelcomeA quick overview. Click Let's start.
2. About your caseGive your case a name you'll recognize (for example Smith custody) and say who started the court case: you, the other side, or nothing filed yet.
3. The court casePick the type — custody/visitation, protective order, child support, divorce/separation, changing an order, or something else. Add the case number if you have one, and the state the court is in.
4. Meet your assistantExamples of what the Assistant can do for you. Try one if you like.
5. Pick where to startChoose a path: Upload evidence, Import text messages, Start a document, Tell your story (the assistant interviews you and builds your timeline), or Just ask the assistant.

Whichever path you pick, a step-by-step guide card appears at the top of the page to walk you through it. Mark steps done as you go, minimize the card, or end the guide whenever you like.

3. Work through the Quick Start checklist#

On the Cases page, the Let's set up your case checklist tracks four things. Each one checks itself off when you actually do it:

1. Name your matter & your role — give your case a real name (not "My Case") and choose petitioner, respondent, plaintiff, defendant, or other.
2. Add your court case — the court file with its case number and court state. See Cases & court cases.
3. Upload your first evidence — a screenshot, photo, or PDF. See Evidence Helper.
4. Create your first document — blank, from a template, or drafted with AI. See Documents & templates.

The sidebar shows "Setup 2/4" (or wherever you are) until you're done. The checklist disappears once all four are complete, or when you dismiss it.

4. What to do in your first week#

Once the basics are in, these habits make the biggest difference:

• Get your messages in. Export your texts or chats and import them. Searching a log is far faster than scrolling a phone.
• Date your evidence. Give each item an event date — when it happened — so your Timeline builds itself.
• Add your hearings and deadlines. Put every court date in Hearings and every deadline in To-Dos.
• Define your issues. Issues are the points your evidence supports (for example, "missed exchanges" or "school involvement"). You name them — the software never decides your arguments for you.
• Invite your attorney or advocate if you have one. See Sharing.

Getting around the app#

On a computer, the sidebar holds Cases, Overview, Comms Guard, To-Dos, Timeline, Mediation, Sharing, and API & MCP, plus Assistant and My account near the bottom. Evidence, Documents, Binders, and Preparation live inside each court case — open Cases, choose a case, and use its tabs.

On a phone, the bottom bar has Cases, Overview, Comms, To-Dos, and More, which holds everything else.

Next: How the app is organized.