When child support ends in Hawaii

When payments stop, when they can continue, and why past-due support is still owed.

Checked against official sources: Oct 25, 2026.

Short answer

18. Orders usually continue support while the child is in high school, or until 23 while the child is a full-time student at a college, university or vocational school, as the order provides.

Usual end age
18
Latest age in the rule
23
Law
HRS 580-47(a); CSEA order termination page

Hawaii's rule on the end of support

18. Orders usually continue support while the child is in high school, or until 23 while the child is a full-time student at a college, university or vocational school, as the order provides.

Law: HRS 580-47(a); CSEA order termination page

Orders usually also end support on death, emancipation or other listed events. For an adult child in school, the custodial parent must send CSEA proof of full-time enrollment every term, or CSEA stops collecting current support.

When does support end? Check your situation

Hawaii's rule: 18. Orders usually continue support while the child is in high school, or until 23 while the child is a full-time student at a college, university or vocational school, as the order provides.

Law: HRS 580-47(a); CSEA order termination page

Your own order may set a different end date, for example when the parents agreed to one. Read it.

Orders from another state

How long support lasts follows the law of the state that made the order, even if you move.

Law: 28 U.S.C. 1738B(h)(2)

A state must enforce another state's child support order. The state that made the order keeps the power to change it while a parent or the child still lives there.

Law: 28 U.S.C. 1738B(a), (d)

Past-due support doesn't end

Support that was due before it ended is still owed. Each unpaid payment became a judgment on the day it was due, and the agency can keep collecting it.

Law: 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(9)

In nearby states

  • Texas: 18, or high school graduation if later
  • New Mexico: 18
  • Alaska: 18, or until 19 if the child is unmarried, still working on a high…
  • Arizona: 18

Steps as support ends in Hawaii

  1. Look at the end date

    Your order may name an end date or event.

  2. Compare with the law

    Hawaii's rule: 18. Orders usually continue support while the child is in high school, or until 23 while the child is a full-time student at a college, university or vocational school, as the order provides.

  3. Tell the agency

    Ask the agency how and when payments stop: Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA), Hawaii Department of the Attorney General ((808) 207-9915)

  4. Pay or collect arrears

    Past-due support is still owed after the end date.

Free legal help in Hawaii

Questions about when support ends in Hawaii

When does child support end in Hawaii?

18. Orders usually continue support while the child is in high school, or until 23 while the child is a full-time student at a college, university or vocational school, as the order provides.

Is there support during the last year of high school in Hawaii?

Orders usually continue support while the child is in high school, or until 23 while the child is a full-time student at a college, university or vocational school, as the order provides.

Can child support continue past the usual age in Hawaii?

Orders usually also end support on death, emancipation or other listed events. For an adult child in school, the custodial parent must send CSEA proof of full-time enrollment every term, or CSEA stops collecting current support.

Keep reading about Hawaii

Sources

Sources

Last checked: Oct 25, 2026.

Federal sources