When a case shows “FSD not collecting,” child support enforcement has gone dormant: the state agency that was garnishing wages, intercepting tax refunds, and tracking payments has stepped back from your case. FSD usually refers to Missouri’s Family Support Division, but every state has an equivalent child support enforcement agency, and they all operate under the same federal rules. The order itself still stands. Any unpaid balance is still legally owed. What has changed is that the government is no longer doing the collection work for you.
Why the Agency Stopped
A state agency can’t simply walk away from a case. Federal regulations require it to point to a specific closure reason and keep documentation in the file.1eCFR. 45 CFR 303.11 – Case Closure Criteria The qualifying grounds include:
- The custodial parent asked the agency to close the case (available if you’re not receiving TANF).
- All children on the order have reached the age of majority and any remaining arrears are under $500 or unenforceable.
- The noncustodial parent can’t be located after documented search efforts lasting six months to two years, depending on what information was available.
- The noncustodial parent has no ability to pay because of incarceration without assets, long-term placement in a care facility, or a permanent disability leaving no income above subsistence.
- The noncustodial parent is deceased and there is no estate to pursue.
- Paternity can’t be established because genetic testing excluded the alleged father, or because the child is now 18 and the statute of limitations has run.
- Both parents are living together with the child and the agency has determined services are no longer appropriate.
States can add their own reasons but can’t close a case without meeting at least one recognized ground.
The 60-Day Notice
Before closing a case, the agency has to send written notice at least 60 calendar days in advance.1eCFR. 45 CFR 303.11 – Case Closure Criteria If you respond within that window with information that could lead to establishing paternity, creating an order, or enforcing an existing one, the agency has to keep the case open. Many parents miss this notice because it goes to an old address or gets buried in the mail. If the 60 days have already passed, you can still reopen the case, but it means filing a new application rather than stopping a closure that’s already in motion.
Arrears Don’t Disappear, and Interest Keeps Running
This is the point that matters most for both parents. Under federal law, every missed child support payment automatically becomes a judgment the moment it’s due. Those judgments carry the full legal weight of any court order, must be recognized in every state, and cannot be reduced or forgiven retroactively.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures The one narrow exception involves a modification petition that was already pending, and even then any change applies only from the date the other parent received notice of the petition.
Most states also charge interest on unpaid child support, with annual rates typically ranging from about 4% to 12%. That interest accrues whether or not the agency is actively collecting. For a parent who owes, treating a non-collecting status as a reprieve is a serious financial mistake; the balance keeps growing in the background.
What Enforcement Stops
Several of the tools that make state enforcement effective go dormant when a case moves to non-collecting status. That’s usually why payments taper off after the change.
Wage Withholding
Income withholding is the single most effective collection method. The agency sends an order to the paying parent’s employer, and deductions come straight out of each paycheck. Federal law allows up to 50% of disposable earnings to be withheld for child support if the paying parent supports another spouse or child, and up to 60% if not, with another 5% available when payments are more than 12 weeks overdue.3U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 30 – Wage Garnishment Protections of the Consumer Credit Protection Act Once the case goes inactive, the agency stops maintaining those orders.
Tax Refund Interception
In non-public-assistance cases, the federal tax refund offset program kicks in once past-due support reaches $500.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 664 – Collection of Past-Due Support From Federal Tax Refunds Non-collecting status means the agency stops certifying the debt, so refunds go through to the paying parent untouched.
Passport Denial
When certified arrears exceed $2,500, the State Department will refuse to issue or renew a passport for the noncustodial parent.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 652 – Duties of Secretary That certification runs through the state agency, so it effectively goes away with the case.
License Suspension, Liens, and Credit Reporting
Federal law requires every state to have procedures for suspending driver’s, professional, and recreational licenses when a parent falls behind, and for liens to attach automatically to real and personal property.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures The agency stops pursuing those remedies when the case is inactive, though liens already recorded against property generally stay in place until the debt is paid. Credit reporting by the agency also pauses; existing negative marks may remain, but new reporting stops.
Enforcing the Order on Your Own
A non-collecting status doesn’t take away any of your legal rights. It just means you have to use them yourself.
The main tool is a contempt motion filed in the court that issued the support order. You ask the judge to find the other parent in contempt for violating the order. You carry the burden of proving the payments weren’t made; the other parent then has a chance to show they genuinely couldn’t pay. If the court finds contempt, possible consequences include jail time, attorney’s fees awarded to you, and fines. You can also ask the court to issue an income withholding order directly to the employer, bypassing the agency entirely.
Contempt motions usually require personal service through a sheriff or process server. Mail service is sometimes allowed, but courts in many places treat it as inadequate notice, which can get the case dismissed before it reaches the merits. An attorney isn’t legally required, but contempt proceedings involve real courtroom advocacy and the cost of mistakes is high.
You can also enforce the debt directly against property. Because each missed payment is already a judgment by operation of law, you can record it against the other parent’s real estate, bank accounts, or other assets. In many states, child support liens take priority over most other debts, so if the property sells, you get paid before most other creditors.
Federal Criminal Penalties Still Apply
Agency inaction doesn’t shield a parent who willfully refuses to pay across state lines. If the obligation has gone unpaid for more than a year or exceeds $5,000, a first offense is a federal misdemeanor carrying up to six months in prison. When the amount exceeds $10,000 or the arrearage stretches past two years, it becomes a felony punishable by up to two years.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 228 – Failure to Pay Legal Child Support Obligations Fleeing across state lines or leaving the country to avoid paying is separately punishable by up to two years regardless of the amount. These penalties exist independently of what the state agency is doing.
If You Receive TANF
Federal law requires TANF recipients to cooperate with child support enforcement as a condition of benefits. Refusing to cooperate results in at least a 25% reduction in cash assistance, and some states cut benefits entirely.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 608 – Prohibitions; Requirements A closure requested by you could be read as non-cooperation and put your benefits at risk, so answer carefully if the agency contacts you about closing. For parents in domestic violence situations, federal law allows a “good cause” exception that lets you avoid cooperation without losing benefits; qualifying generally requires showing that pursuing the other parent would put you or your children at risk.
One more detail worth knowing: while you receive TANF, you assign your right to support payments to the state, so collections go toward reimbursing the government. If the case closes and you later reopen it after leaving TANF, the state no longer has that reimbursement claim against new collections, and the distribution rules shift in your favor.
Reopening the Case
Getting the agency back on your case means filing a new Application for Child Support Services, sometimes called a IV-D application. Every state offers the form through its child support agency website, and most accept online submission through a parent portal. You’ll need Social Security numbers for yourself, the other parent (if known), and the children, plus the other parent’s address and employer information if you have them. A copy of the original court order speeds the process up.
Federal law caps the application fee at $25 for families that have never received public assistance, and states can charge less or nothing. If you previously received TANF or Medicaid, there is no fee.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 654 – State Plan for Child and Spousal Support Once the application is accepted, the agency begins locating the other parent, verifying employment, and setting up income withholding. Timelines vary, but enforcement generally doesn’t resume until the agency has confirmed the other parent’s information. Cases stall most often because the agency can’t locate the other parent or verify where they work, so hand over any current contact details with the application.