The short answer
State, county and tribal child support agencies help families get regular support from a parent who lives elsewhere. They locate the other parent, establish legal parentage, set up a support order, collect and distribute payments, enforce the order when payments are missed, and review the order when circumstances change. Either parent can apply, and so can a grandparent or other caregiver. You apply through your state or tribal agency, often online. Federal law caps the application fee for families not on public assistance at $25, and some states pay it. Families receiving TANF or Medicaid for a child are generally referred automatically and must cooperate unless contact with the other parent would put them at risk. Support is set by state guidelines that weigh both parents' incomes, and it is neither taxable to the parent who receives it nor deductible for the parent who pays.
What child support agencies do
Child support agencies are run by states, counties and tribes, with funding and oversight from the federal Office of Child Support Services. The federal office does not handle individual cases, so for help with a case you contact your state, local or tribal agency. Agencies offer six main services:
- Locating a parent, using employment, tax and other records.
- Establishing legal parentage, including genetic testing when parentage is disputed.
- Establishing a support order, which can include health coverage.
- Collecting payments and passing them on through a central payment system, so every payment has a record.
- Enforcing the order when payments are late or missed.
- Reviewing and changing the order when circumstances change.
Who can apply, and when it is automatic
Either parent can sign up for services. That includes a parent who pays support and wants an order set at a fair amount, or wants a record of payments. Grandparents and other caregivers raising a child can apply too.
If you receive TANF cash assistance or Medicaid for a child, you are generally referred to child support automatically and must cooperate, for example by naming the other parent. Families on TANF also sign over their right to support to the state, which can keep some or all collections to repay the assistance; some states pass part of the support on to the family. If contact with the other parent could put you or your child at risk, tell your caseworker, because you can be excused for good cause. Our TANF guide explains the cash program.
How to apply
- Find your state or tribal agency through the federal child support office's contact page. Many let you apply online; others use a paper form.
- Gather documents: the children's birth certificates, any existing order, divorce decree or separation agreement, records of payments, information about the other parent such as an address, employer or Social Security number, and proof of your income and of costs such as child care and health coverage.
- Pay the application fee if one applies. For families not on public assistance, federal law caps it at $25, and some states charge less or nothing.
- Keep your caseworker informed when your address, job or the children's living arrangements change.
Families who have never received TANF may also be charged an annual fee of $35 once the agency collects at least $550 in support for them in a year. Ask your agency what it charges.
Establishing parentage
When parents are not married, a support order usually requires legal parentage first. The simplest route is a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, a form both parents sign, often at the hospital when the child is born or later at a birth records office or child support agency. Once signed, it has the force of a court order after a 60-day period in which either parent can withdraw it. If parentage is disputed, the agency can arrange genetic testing, usually a cheek swab, and a court or agency then decides.
Legal parentage matters beyond support. It can give the child rights to health coverage, inheritance, and Social Security or veterans' benefits through that parent.
How support is set
Each state has guidelines, usually a formula or table, that weigh both parents' incomes, the number of children and often the time the children spend with each parent, plus costs such as child care and health coverage. A court or an administrative process issues the order. Courts can depart from the guideline amount when following it would be unjust, but they must explain why.
Bring accurate income information to the process. If the other parent does not provide theirs, the agency may estimate it, which can produce an order that does not fit either household.
Example (hypothetical): starting a case
Tanya's two children live with her, and their father, who lives in another state, pays nothing regularly. She applies online with her state agency, uploads the children's birth certificates and the father's last known employer, and pays a $25 fee. The agency works with the other state's agency to set up an order, and his employer begins withholding support from his paycheck.
How orders are enforced
Most new orders include income withholding, so support is deducted from the paying parent's wages and sent to the state's payment center. When payments are still missed, agencies can use other tools:
- Intercepting federal and state tax refunds.
- Placing liens on property and seizing some bank accounts.
- Suspending driver's, professional or recreational licenses.
- Reporting past-due support to credit bureaus.
- Denying a U.S. passport when more than $2,500 is owed.
Details vary by state. Cases where the parents live in different states follow a uniform interstate law, so an order from one state can be enforced in another, and your agency handles the contact with the other state. Moving does not end an order; see our guide to moving to another state.
Changing an order
Either parent can ask the agency to review an order when circumstances change, such as a job loss, a large raise, a change in custody or a change in health coverage costs. If the change is large enough under state rules, a new order is entered. A parent who goes to prison can also ask for a review, because incarceration is not treated as choosing not to work.
Until a court or agency changes an order, the existing amount remains owed, and past-due support generally cannot be reduced later. Do not stop paying, and ask for a review as soon as the change happens.
Child support, taxes and other benefits
Child support is not taxable income to the parent who receives it, and it is not deductible for the parent who pays. Which parent can claim the children for tax credits depends on where they live, not on who pays support; see our guide to the child tax credit. Support received generally counts as income for programs such as SNAP, while support a parent is legally required to pay can be deducted when SNAP figures that parent's income.
Common mistakes
- Relying on an informal agreement with no order, which cannot be enforced.
- Paying in cash without a record. Paying through the state payment center proves each payment.
- Waiting months after losing a job to ask for a review.
- Not telling the agency about a new address, so notices and payments go astray.
Common questions
Who can apply for child support services?
Either parent, and grandparents or other caregivers raising the child. Families receiving TANF or Medicaid for a child are generally referred automatically.
Does it cost anything to use child support services?
Often little or nothing. Federal law caps the application fee at $25 for families not on public assistance, and some states pay it. A $35 annual fee may apply once at least $550 is collected in a year.
How do I change a child support order?
Ask your child support agency for a review when circumstances change, and keep paying the existing amount until a new order is entered.
Is child support taxable?
No. Child support is not taxable income for the parent who receives it, and it is not deductible for the parent who pays it.
What this does not tell you
Rules, fees, guidelines and enforcement tools are set by states and tribes, and cases involving more than one state have additional steps. Your agency can tell you what applies to your case.
This article is general information and not legal advice. For complicated custody or safety issues, legal aid or a family law attorney can help.
Official sources
What you can do next
Find your state or tribal child support agency through the federal child support office, gather the documents listed above, and ask about its application process and fees. If your household budget is tight, estimate your SNAP benefit as well.
