When child support has been paid but not received in Texas, the money is almost always sitting somewhere in the pipeline between the paying parent’s employer and your bank account. The State Disbursement Unit (SDU) is processing it, the employer hasn’t started withholding, or your deposit information is off by a digit. Start by checking the payment record in the Attorney General’s online portal, then work outward from there.
Check the CSI Portal First
Log into Texas Child Support Interactive, the tracking portal run by the Office of the Attorney General.1Office of the Attorney General. Paying and Receiving Child Support The portal shows what the SDU has received, what it has disbursed to you, and what’s still pending. Reading that record tells you where the problem actually sits.
If a payment shows as received but not yet disbursed, the delay is on the SDU’s side and usually resolves within a few business days. If nothing shows up at all, the money hasn’t reached the SDU — the issue is with the paying parent or their employer. If the portal says the payment was disbursed but your account is empty, the problem is between the SDU and your bank.
For a disbursed-but-missing payment, call your bank. Direct deposits fail for ordinary reasons: closed accounts, holds, transposed routing numbers, rejected transactions. Federal banking rules give you 60 days from the date of the statement showing the error to report it to your financial institution.2eCFR. 12 CFR 205.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors That window is not generous, so don’t sit on it.
While you’re in the portal, confirm your mailing address and bank details are current. Corrections take a few business days to process, and getting them fixed now keeps the next payment from hitting the same wall.
Why Payments Stall
Most gaps aren’t a parent refusing to pay. They’re a break somewhere in the process. The usual causes:
- Outdated banking or address information on file with the SDU. Even a single wrong digit will bounce a deposit.
- The employer hasn’t started withholding yet. Texas law requires them to begin no later than the first pay period after they receive the order and to send funds by the pay date, or within two business days if paying electronically. Smaller employers unfamiliar with the process sometimes drag.3Office of the Attorney General. Income Withholding Responsibilities
- Normal SDU processing time. Weekends, holidays, and the shift between pay periods can add days.
- The paying parent recently changed jobs. There’s almost always a gap while the new employer receives and implements the withholding order. This is one of the most common reasons for a temporary interruption.
Match your situation to one of these before assuming the worst. A one-off late payment right after the paying parent starts a new job looks very different from three missed months in a row.
How Wage Withholding Is Supposed to Work
In most Texas cases the court orders income withholding, meaning support comes out of the paying parent’s paycheck before they see it.4State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 158.001 – Income Withholding The employer deducts the amount like payroll tax and sends it to the SDU, which disburses to you. Employers are bound by the order as soon as it arrives, whether or not they’re named in it specifically.5State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 158.201 – Employer Duty to Withhold
Knowing this matters because it tells you what to demand when things break. If withholding was ordered, the employer’s compliance is not optional.
When the Employer Won’t Comply
Employer noncompliance is one of the more frustrating causes because it’s entirely out of your hands. Texas law holds an employer financially responsible for amounts they should have withheld and remitted.6Texas Office of the Attorney General. Income Withholding Frequently Asked Questions On top of that, an employer who knowingly ignores a withholding order faces fines of up to $200 for each pay period they fail to withhold or remit.7State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 158.210 – Fine for Noncompliance
If you suspect the employer isn’t doing their part, report it to the Attorney General’s Child Support Division. The division has authority to investigate and to work with employers to bring them into compliance, and it’s much faster than court.8Office of the Attorney General. Child Support Enforcement
Don’t Accept Payments Outside the SDU
If the paying parent offers to hand you cash, send a Venmo transfer, or write personal checks instead of paying through the SDU, be cautious. Texas courts generally require support to run through the SDU, and informal payments can be difficult for the paying parent to get credit for later. That cuts both ways: if you accept direct payments and they later stop, you may struggle to prove what was owed versus what was actually paid.
There are narrow exceptions. A direct payment arrangement can be valid if both parents agree, the court approves it in writing as part of the order, and it’s documented properly through the Attorney General’s office. A verbal handshake between parents carries no legal weight. Insisting on SDU processing keeps everyone’s records clean.
Keep Your Own Records
The CSI portal is your official transaction log, and you should download reports regularly. Alongside that, keep bank statements showing deposits, screenshots of any payment confirmations, and any written communication with the SDU or the other parent about missed or late payments. If you ever accepted direct payments, log those separately with the date, amount, and method. Good records protect you if this ends up in court.
Bring in the Attorney General
The Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division is Texas’s primary enforcement agency, and using it costs nothing.8Office of the Attorney General. Child Support Enforcement When payments stop, the division can act without you hiring a lawyer or going to court. Its tools include intercepting federal and state tax refunds, suspending driver’s and professional licenses, blocking motor vehicle registration renewal, placing liens on property, and reporting the debt to credit bureaus.
To open a case or report a problem, contact the Child Support Division or file through the Attorney General’s website.9Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Compliment and Complaint For many families, this route resolves the problem without a courtroom.
Going to Court: Enforcement, Contempt, and Liens
When administrative tools aren’t enough, you can file a motion for enforcement. It’s a formal proceeding where you present the original court order, your payment records, and documentation of missed payments. If the court finds a violation, it can confirm the total arrears and enter a money judgment for back support, which you can use to levy bank accounts or place liens on non-homestead property. The court can also order the paying parent to cover your attorney’s fees and court costs.
For repeat nonpayment, the court’s strongest tool is contempt. A parent held in contempt for violating a child support order faces up to six months in jail and fines of up to $500 per violation — per missed payment, so the exposure adds up fast. As an alternative to jail, the court can place the parent on community supervision for up to 10 years with conditions like a repayment schedule, job search requirements, or counseling. Unpaid support also accrues 6 percent simple interest per year, so arrears grow on their own even without added penalties.
A child support lien is a quieter option that works well. Once filed with the county clerk, the lien attaches to the paying parent’s real property and stays there until all current support, arrears, interest, attorney’s fees, and court costs are paid.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 157.318 – Duration and Effect of Child Support Lien The lien also covers arrears that build up after it’s filed, so the paying parent can’t outrun it by falling further behind. They can’t sell or refinance the property without dealing with the lien first. The Attorney General’s office can file liens on your behalf.
Federal Reach
Texas can hook into federal enforcement when arrears grow. If the paying parent owes at least $500 in past-due support (or $150 if you receive TANF), the case can be referred to the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program to divert their federal refund toward arrears.11Administration for Children & Families. When Is a Child Support Case Eligible for the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program? A parent who owes $2,500 or more can’t get a U.S. passport until the debt is resolved and reported clear, which takes two to three weeks after payment.12U.S. Department of State. Pay Child Support Before Applying for a Passport Child support debt also survives bankruptcy: it can’t be discharged in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, and the automatic stay doesn’t stop enforcement.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge
If the Other Parent Lives in Another State
Moving out of Texas doesn’t put the paying parent out of reach. Under the Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders Act, every state must enforce a valid child support order from another state on its original terms.14GovInfo. 28 USC 1738B – Full Faith and Credit for Child Support Orders The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, adopted in all states, provides the procedure for registering and enforcing Texas orders elsewhere. The Attorney General’s office coordinates with the other state’s child support agency to locate the parent, serve enforcement papers, and garnish wages. You don’t need to hire a lawyer in the other state — the division handles the interstate referral.
Deadlines You Can’t Miss
Texas puts hard limits on how long you have to enforce. To seek contempt, you must file within two years after the child turns 18 or two years after the support obligation ends under the order, whichever applies.15State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 157.005 – Time Limitations, Enforcement of Child Support For a money judgment confirming arrears, you have 10 years from that same date.
The two-year contempt window trips people up. If your child is 16 and the other parent already owes thousands, you still have time, but not unlimited time. Once that window closes, the court can’t use contempt anymore, and collecting a money judgment without contempt is harder. File sooner rather than later, especially if arrears keep growing.
When the Other Parent Genuinely Can’t Pay
Sometimes payments stop because the paying parent has lost their job, become seriously ill, or been incarcerated for more than 180 days. Any of those can qualify as a material and substantial change in circumstances that justifies reducing the support amount.16State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 156.401 – Grounds for Modification of Child Support A modification is also available without proving changed circumstances if three years have passed since the last order and the current amount differs from the guideline amount by 20 percent or $100.
This matters practically. A court can only modify support going forward from the date a modification petition is filed, so simply not paying doesn’t fix anything — it stacks arrears, interest, and contempt exposure. If you know the other parent has genuinely lost the ability to pay, it may be worth pushing them to file for modification instead of letting a paper debt grow that no one can actually collect on.