How to get child support

Child support is money one parent pays to help cover a child's costs when the parents live apart. Every state has a child support agency that can help you get it, even if you never went to court. Its services are open to any parent or caretaker who applies, and the agency can find the other parent, establish paternity, set up an order and collect payments.

Two ways to get an order

You can open a case with your state's child support agency, or you can ask a court for support yourself, for example in a divorce or custody case. Many parents use the agency because it does the work of finding the other parent, asking for the order and collecting. You can also do both: a court order can be enforced by the agency once you open a case. Your state page names the agency, its phone number and its online application.

What it costs

If you don't get TANF (cash assistance), Medicaid or foster care help, federal law lets a state charge an application fee of up to $25, and the fee may depend on your income (42 U.S.C. 654(6)(B)(i)). In our 50 state guides, 14 list no application fee ($0) and 6 list $25. There is also a federal $35 yearly fee for families who never got TANF, once the agency has collected at least $550 for them in a year; it is never taken from the first $550 (42 U.S.C. 654(6)(B)(ii)). Some states pay this fee themselves.

Step 1: Find your state's agency

Open your state's page on this site. The first screen names the agency and the number to call, and links its online application. If you live in one state and the other parent lives in another, you still apply in your own state; read child support when parents live in different states.

Step 2: Gather your papers

The agency needs to know who you are, who the children are and how to find the other parent. Use the free checklist below: it lists what agencies usually ask for, such as IDs, birth certificates, Social Security numbers, any existing court order, and the other parent's address and employer. You don't need everything to apply. Give what you have; the agency can search for the rest through state and federal locator services (42 U.S.C. 653).

Step 3: Apply

Most states let you apply online, by mail or at a local office. Keep a copy of your application and write down your case number when you get it. If you get public assistance for the children, ask your caseworker whether a child support case was opened for you already.

Step 4: Establish paternity if the parents were not married

Before support can be ordered, the law must know who the legal father is. Unmarried parents can usually sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, often at the hospital. If the father is not sure, the agency can arrange a genetic test. Federal law lets paternity be established at any time before the child turns 18 (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(5)(A)), and a paternity finding from another state counts in every state (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(11)). Your state page names the form your state uses.

Step 5: The amount is set by the guidelines

Every state has one set of child support guidelines, a formula that turns the parents' incomes and other facts into a number. The guideline amount is presumed correct; a court or agency can order a different amount only with a written finding that the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate (45 CFR 302.56(f), (g)). In our 50 state guides, 40 states use the income-shares model, 7 use a percentage of the paying parent's income and 3 use a version of the Melson formula. Compare them in the guidelines by state table, and use the official calculator linked on your state page.

Step 6: Health insurance and payments

Orders enforced by the agency must include medical support, meaning health insurance or help with the child's medical costs from one or both parents (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(19)). Support orders must also allow income withholding, so payments can be taken straight from the paying parent's wages (42 U.S.C. 666(a)(8)). If payments stop, read what to do if child support is not paid.

If you are afraid of the other parent

Tell the agency. Federal law bars agencies from giving out where you or your child live when there is reason to believe it could lead to harm, and agencies can flag the case for family violence (42 U.S.C. 654(26), 653(b)(2)). The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.

Step by step

1. Find your agency on your state's page.
2. Fill in the checklist below and gather what you have.
3. Apply online, by mail or at an office, and keep your case number.
4. Sign a paternity acknowledgment or ask for a genetic test if needed.
5. Go to every appointment or hearing, and tell the agency when your address or income changes.

This is general information, not legal advice. A legal aid office can help for free; each state page lists free help.