Lawyer Listings Add, Update, or Remove Listings

Child Support Enforcement

How unpaid child support is collected - income withholding, tax refund intercepts, license and passport sanctions, liens and contempt - and the free help available from state child support agencies.

Informational only - this is not legal advice. These definitions explain general legal vocabulary in plain English. They are not advice about your situation, reading them creates no attorney-client relationship, and the law differs from state to state and changes over time. For advice you can rely on, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of Child Support law firms.

What it means

A child support order is a court judgment, and unpaid support (arrears) does not go away on its own. Federal law requires every state to run a child support agency (often called the IV-D agency, after the part of the Social Security Act that funds it) that will locate a parent, establish paternity, set or modify an order, and enforce it, for anyone who applies, at little or no cost. The agency works across state lines, because all states have adopted the same interstate act for recognizing and enforcing each other's orders.

The main enforcement tool is income withholding: most new orders require the paying parent's employer to deduct support from each paycheck and send it to the state disbursement unit, and a parent who falls behind can have withholding started without a new court hearing. Federal law also requires states to have procedures to intercept federal and state tax refunds, report arrears to credit bureaus, place liens on property, seize some bank accounts and insurance settlements, and suspend driver's, professional and recreational licenses. The State Department denies passports to parents owing arrears above a threshold set by statute. Past-due support generally cannot be erased retroactively, and child support is not discharged in bankruptcy.

A court can also hold a parent who is able to pay and refuses in contempt, which can lead to jail; the Supreme Court has held that a parent facing jail for civil contempt is not automatically entitled to a lawyer but must get procedures, such as notice that ability to pay is the key question, that make the hearing fair. Willfully failing to pay support for a child in another state can be a federal crime. A paying parent whose income has dropped should ask for a modification right away, because arrears that build up before the request is filed usually cannot be reduced. See also child support.

Where this comes from

Social Security Act, Title IV-D, 42 U.S.C. §§ 651-669b: state plan requirements, § 654; mandatory enforcement procedures (income withholding, liens, license suspension, credit reporting, financial institution data matches), § 666(a)-(b); federal tax refund offset, § 664; passport denial, § 652(k) and 22 C.F.R. § 51.60(a)(2); bar on retroactive modification, § 666(a)(9). Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, required by 42 U.S.C. § 666(f). Nondischargeability, 11 U.S.C. §§ 101(14A), 523(a)(5). Civil contempt procedures: Turner v. Rogers, 564 U.S. 431 (2011). Federal crime: Deadbeat Parents Punishment Act, 18 U.S.C. § 228. Regulations: 45 C.F.R. Parts 302-303.

When people hire a lawyer for this

Start with your state's child support agency; it enforces orders without charging the parent who is owed, though it does not represent either parent personally. A family law lawyer is worth hiring when the agency is slow or the paying parent is self-employed, hides income or has moved abroad, when arrears are large and a contempt hearing is coming, or when you are the paying parent and need to modify the order or contest the amount claimed. Legal aid programs handle many support cases for parents with low incomes.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find Child Support law firms in your state

Choose your state to see Child Support law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z. A state marked “Family Law” has no Child Support listing yet and opens the broader page.

Alabama (Birmingham)
+1 other city
- Montgomery
Alaska (Anchorage)
Arizona (Glendale)
+6 other cities
Arkansas (Little Rock)
California (San Diego)
+19 other cities
- Anaheim
- Chula Vista
- Fremont
- Irvine
- Los Angeles
- Modesto
- Oakland
- Oxnard
- Riverside
- Sacramento
- San Bernardino
- San Francisco
- and 7 more with fewer listed firms
Colorado (Aurora)
+2 other cities
- Colorado Springs
- Denver
Connecticut (Bridgeport)
Delaware (Wilmington, Family Law)
District of Columbia (Washington)
Florida (Jacksonville)
+5 other cities
Georgia (Atlanta)
Hawaii (Honolulu)
Idaho (Boise)
Illinois (Chicago)
Indiana (Fort Wayne)
+1 other city
- Indianapolis
Iowa (Des Moines)
Kansas (Kansas City)
+1 other city
- Wichita
Kentucky (Lexington)
+1 other city
- Louisville
Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
+2 other cities
- New Orleans
- Shreveport
Maine (Portland)
Maryland (Baltimore)
Massachusetts (Boston)
Michigan (Detroit)
Minnesota (Minneapolis)
+1 other city
- Saint Paul
Mississippi (Jackson)
Missouri (St. Louis)
+1 other city
- Kansas City
Montana (Billings)
Nebraska (Lincoln)
+1 other city
- Omaha
Nevada (Henderson)
+3 other cities
New Hampshire (Manchester)
New Jersey (Newark)
+1 other city
- Jersey City
New Mexico (Albuquerque)
New York (Buffalo)
+2 other cities
- New York City
- Rochester
North Carolina (Fayetteville)
+5 other cities
North Dakota (Fargo)
Ohio (Cincinnati)
+3 other cities
Oklahoma (Tulsa)
+1 other city
- Oklahoma City
Oregon (Portland)
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
+1 other city
- Pittsburgh
Rhode Island (Providence)
South Carolina (Columbia)
South Dakota (Sioux Falls)
Tennessee (Nashville)
+1 other city
- Memphis
Texas (Arlington)
+12 other cities
Utah (Salt Lake City)
Vermont (Burlington)
Virginia (Virginia Beach)
+3 other cities
Washington (Spokane)
+2 other cities
- Seattle
- Tacoma
West Virginia (Charleston)
Wisconsin (Madison)
+1 other city
- Milwaukee
Wyoming (Cheyenne)

Related terms

Entries on the same subject:

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

AdoptionThe court order that makes a child legally the son or daughter of someone other than the birth parents - the kinds of adoption, whose consent is required, how the birth parents' rights end, the home study and the hearing, and what the order changes about inheritance, records and the child's name.
Annulment (Void and Voidable Marriage)A court judgment declaring that a marriage was never valid, as distinct from a divorce that ends a valid one - the difference between a void and a voidable marriage, the grounds each state recognizes, who may bring the case, and what an annulment does to property, support and children.
Cohabitation Agreement (Unmarried Couples)Why unmarried partners who live together have few of the property and support rights spouses have, what a written cohabitation agreement can cover, and what courts do without one.
Collaborative Divorce (Collaborative Law)A way to settle a divorce out of court in which both spouses and their lawyers agree in writing to negotiate, and the lawyers must withdraw if the case goes to court.
Common-Law MarriageA marriage formed without a license or ceremony by living together as spouses and holding yourselves out as married - which states still allow it, what has to be proved, why every state recognizes one validly formed elsewhere, and what it means for property, support and inheritance when the relationship ends.
Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce (QDRO)How pensions, 401(k) plans and IRAs are divided at divorce without tax or penalty - what a qualified domestic relations order is and why a divorce decree alone is not enough, the difference between a defined-benefit and a defined-contribution split, the plans that need a different order, and the mistakes that cost a former spouse the share the decree awarded.
Divorce MediationA process in which a neutral mediator helps separating spouses negotiate their own agreement on property, support and parenting, instead of having a judge decide for them.
Establishing PaternityThe legal step that makes a man a child's father in law - and signing the hospital form is one of two routes, not a formality.
Grandparent and Third-Party VisitationWhen a court can order that a child spend time with a grandparent, step-parent or other non-parent over a parent's objection - the constitutional limit set by the Supreme Court, the circumstances in which state statutes allow a petition, the special weight a fit parent's decision receives, and what a petitioner must prove.
Grounds for DivorceThe legal basis a divorce is granted on - and in every state today at least one basis requires proving no wrongdoing by anyone.
Guardian ad Litem and Custody EvaluatorThe two neutrals a court most often appoints in a contested custody case - what a guardian ad litem does and does not do, how it differs from a child's attorney and from a custody evaluator, who pays, what they may see, and how their reports are used at trial.
Guardianship of a MinorA court order giving an adult who is not the parent legal authority over a child's care, or over the child's property, without ending the parents' rights - how it differs from custody and adoption, who can be appointed, what the parents keep, and how it ends.
Legal and Physical CustodyTwo different things the word "custody" covers: who makes major decisions for a child, and where the child lives.
Legal SeparationA court status in which spouses live apart with binding orders on support, property and children, while remaining married.
Marital Property DivisionHow a court splits what a couple owns - and "equitable" means fair in that state's judgment, which is not the same as half.
Military DivorceA divorce in which one spouse is a service member, which adds federal rules on where the case can be filed, how military retired pay is divided, and what the civilian spouse keeps after the divorce.
Modifying a Custody or Support OrderChanging an existing family court order - which usually requires proving something has changed, and never happens by the parents' agreement alone.
Parenting Plan and VisitationThe written schedule and decision-making rules for a child after separation - and the document courts increasingly require rather than invite.
Postnuptial AgreementA contract between spouses, signed during the marriage, that decides how property and support would be handled on divorce or death, and why courts scrutinize it more closely than a prenup.
Prenuptial AgreementA contract made before marriage about property and support - enforceable in every state, and set aside more often than most people expect.
Protective Order (Restraining Order)A court order telling one person to stop contacting or coming near another - enforceable by police, and valid across state lines.
Relocating With a ChildMoving a child away from the other parent - the family law dispute most likely to require the court's permission before the move, not after.
Same-Sex Marriage and Family LawHow marriage, divorce, parentage and adoption law applies to same-sex couples after Obergefell, and the places where the rules still differ in practice.
Spousal Support (Alimony)Payments from one former spouse to the other - discretionary in most states, and taxed differently for instruments made after 2018.
Termination of Parental RightsThe court order that permanently ends the legal relationship between a parent and child - the grounds a state must prove, the heightened standard of proof and right to counsel, the difference between voluntary relinquishment and an involuntary petition, and what the order does and does not end.

« All glossary terms

Part of the LawyerLand plain-English legal glossary. Definitions are written from primary sources - statutes and court rules - and each entry states the authority it rests on, or says plainly when the doctrine is state law with no national rule.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, civil legal aid programs provide free help with many of these problems: civil legal aid programs by state.

Related free reference tools: statute of limitations for a personal-injury claim, by state, quoted from each state's official text - part of LawyerLand's legal reference tools.