To collect child support arrears, open a case with your state’s child support enforcement agency. That single step unlocks the enforcement machinery built into federal and state law: automatic wage withholding, federal and state tax refund intercepts, bank account levies, property liens, driver’s license and passport holds, and, when needed, contempt proceedings in court. Most of these tools run administratively once the case is active, and under federal law every missed payment becomes an enforceable judgment the moment it comes due.
Start by Opening a Case With Your State Agency
Every state runs a child support enforcement program under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, and these agencies do the heavy lifting on arrears. If you receive public assistance, a case may already be open. Otherwise, contact your local child support office, gather information about both parents, and submit an application.1Administration for Children and Families. Three Steps to Sign Up for Child Support Services Some states accept applications online, and there may be a small fee.
Once your case is active, the agency can locate the other parent, identify their employer and bank accounts, start income withholding, submit the arrears for tax intercept, and pursue liens. Much of this happens through automated interfaces that need no further action from you. Hiring a private attorney to do the same work is possible but slower and more expensive. The state agency is where most successful collections happen.
Wage Garnishment
Wage garnishment is the workhorse. Federal law requires automatic income withholding for virtually all child support orders, so the deduction comes out before the noncustodial parent sees the paycheck.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement When arrears have built up, the withholding can be increased above the current support amount to pay down the balance.
The Consumer Credit Protection Act caps how much can be taken from disposable earnings, overriding state law:3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
- 50% if the noncustodial parent is supporting another spouse or child
- 60% if they are not supporting another spouse or child
- An additional 5% on top of either cap when arrears are more than 12 weeks overdue
So a parent with no other dependents who is more than 12 weeks behind can have up to 65% of disposable earnings withheld.4U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act Employers must comply with withholding orders and face penalties for ignoring them.
Tax Refund Intercepts
When the noncustodial parent files a federal tax return expecting a refund, the Treasury Offset Program can take part or all of it. State child support agencies send names, Social Security numbers, and arrears balances to the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, which passes the file to Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service.5Administration for Children and Families. How Does a Federal Tax Refund Offset Work A matching refund is intercepted and routed to the state agency to apply to the debt.6Internal Revenue Service. Reduced Refund Most states run a parallel program for state tax refunds. On your side, nothing needs to be filed. The intercept runs automatically once arrears are certified in an active enforcement case.
Bank Account Levies
Child support agencies can reach money in the other parent’s accounts through the Financial Institution Data Match program. Banks, credit unions, and similar institutions are required by federal law to match their account records against lists of parents who are delinquent on child support.7Administration for Children and Families. Financial Institution Data Match Overview Matching happens at the state and multistate level, so accounts at large national banks are covered.8Administration for Children and Families. Multistate Financial Institution Data Match – Information for Families
Once a matching account is found, the agency can issue a levy freezing the funds and transferring them to cover the arrears.9Administration for Children and Families. Financial Institution Data Match Freeze and Seize Interstate Processing The account holder gets notice and a chance to contest, usually on exemption or hardship grounds. State law sets the arrears threshold and procedures.
One point worth knowing: Social Security benefits sitting in a bank account are not off limits for child support. Child support is one of the few debts that can reach Social Security payments.10Social Security Administration. Can My Social Security Benefits Be Garnished or Levied
Property Liens
A child support lien attaches to real estate, vehicles, and other property. Once recorded, the property cannot be sold or refinanced without the arrears being paid from the proceeds. State agencies can usually file liens administratively once arrears cross a state-set threshold, without a court hearing. Liens are a slow tool. They don’t put cash in your hand this month, but they wait on the asset. Federal law requires every state to give full faith and credit to child support liens from other states, so the claim doesn’t disappear if the parent moves.
License and Passport Holds
Most states can suspend a delinquent parent’s driver’s license, professional license, or recreational license once arrears reach a set level. Losing the ability to drive or practice a trade tends to move people to the negotiating table quickly. Thresholds and procedures are set by each state.
Federally, the Passport Denial Program blocks passport issuance or renewal for anyone owing more than $2,500 in child support.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 652 – Duties of Secretary State agencies certify qualifying cases to the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement, which forwards them to the State Department.12Administration for Children and Families. Passport Denial Program 101 An existing passport can also be revoked when the holder surrenders it for a routine service like adding pages. For a parent who travels abroad for work, this hold alone often forces action.
Contempt of Court
When the automated tools aren’t producing results, because the other parent works for cash, hides assets, or simply won’t cooperate, the next step is a contempt motion. You or the enforcement agency files a motion asking the court to hold the noncustodial parent in contempt for violating the support order. At the hearing, they have to explain why they haven’t paid.
The legal question is whether the nonpayment is willful. A court won’t jail someone who genuinely cannot pay. If the judge finds income or assets and a choice not to pay, consequences can include fines, mandatory job training or work programs, and jail. Civil contempt jail time is meant to coerce payment rather than punish, so the parent typically can be released by paying or agreeing to a payment plan.
Old Arrears Are Still Collectible
Three features of federal law work in your favor on older debt.
First, every payment becomes a judgment when it comes due, and no court in any state can retroactively reduce or wipe it out.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement This is the Bradley Amendment. The other parent cannot go back now and argue they should have owed less during a stretch of unemployment unless they actually filed a modification petition during that stretch, and even then only amounts accrued after the other parent received notice of the petition can be adjusted. Many states also add interest to unpaid balances, often somewhere between 3% and 12% a year.
Second, there is no federal statute of limitations on child support arrears. State limitation rules vary and often depend on whether you use an administrative or court process, but many states have very long periods or none at all for child support debt. If arrears have been sitting for years, open a case and let the agency tell you what’s available given the age of the debt.
Third, child support arrears survive bankruptcy. Federal bankruptcy law excludes “domestic support obligations” from discharge in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge The full balance remains collectible after the case closes, and a Chapter 13 plan has to pay the arrears in full to be confirmed.
When the Other Parent Lives in Another State
Distance doesn’t block collection. The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, adopted in all 50 states, gives you several routes. The fastest is direct income withholding: a withholding order from your state can be mailed straight to the out-of-state employer without first registering the order in that state’s court. The employer must comply if the order is valid on its face.
For other enforcement, your state’s agency can register the order in the state where the noncustodial parent lives, which makes it enforceable there as if a local court had issued it. The multistate Financial Institution Data Match program locates accounts at banks nationwide.8Administration for Children and Families. Multistate Financial Institution Data Match – Information for Families The system is built to follow a parent across state lines.
What You Receive Is Not Taxable
Child support you collect, whether current support or back payments, is not taxable income to you, and the paying parent cannot deduct it.14Internal Revenue Service. Tax Information for Non-Custodial Parents – Publication 4449 You do not report it on your tax return.