In this work, we discuss the coupled modified nonlinear Schrödinger (CMNLS) equation, which describe the pulse propagation in the picosecond or femtosecond regime of the birefringent optical fibers. By use of the Fokas approach, the initial‐boundary value problem for the CMNLS equation related to a 3×3 matrix Lax pair on the half‐line is to be analyzed. Assuming that the solution {u(x,t),v(x,t)} of CMNLS equation exists, we will prove that it can be expressed in terms of the unique solution of a 3×3 matrix Riemann‐Hilbert problem formulated in the plane of the complex spectral parameter λ. Moreover, we also get that some spectral functions s(λ) and S(λ) are not independent of each other but meet a global relationship.