Physical Custody Definition: The right to organize and administer the day to day care of a child or a thing. A child custody decision which grants the right to organize and administer the day to day residential care of a child. This is usually combined with legal custody. May also refer, in correctional law, to the responsibility given to the state for a person incarcerated, imprisoned or otherwise detained. Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!