Child support in Maine
Maine uses the income-shares model: both parents' incomes count, and each parent pays a share of the child's support. To open a case, contact the Maine DHHS, Office for Family Independence, Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery (DSER) at (207) 624-4100.
Checked against official sources: Oct 25, 2026. · Free letters and checklist ↓
How much child support in Maine?
The parents' annual gross incomes are added together. The state table gives a weekly amount per child for that combined income, which is multiplied by the number of children. Child care, health insurance and extraordinary medical costs are added, and the total is split between the parents by their share of income; the parent without primary residential care pays their share.
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §§2001, 2006, 2007, 2011; 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 351
We don't estimate Maine's amount here: its formula uses both parents' incomes and other facts, and a home-made number could mislead you. The official tool gives the real starting number:
Open a child support case in Maine
- Agency
- Maine DHHS, Office for Family Independence, Division of Support Enforcement and Recovery (DSER)
- Phone
- (207) 624-4100 (Case Initiation Unit); (800) 371-7179 in Maine or (207) 624-7830 (Voice Response System)
- Apply
- Apply online
- How to open a case
If you get TANF, you get child support services automatically. Otherwise apply online through the DSER Customer Portal, or download the application and mail it. Send the child's birth certificate and a complete copy of any court order. You can also file a complaint in District Court for parentage, parental rights and child support.
- Application fee
DSER's application packet lists no application fee; the fee it describes is the $35 annual federal fee. By law DSER may charge a fee for services to non-TANF applicants and may defer or waive it.
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §2103(2)
- Yearly fee
$35 a year for each case where the State has collected at least $550 for a person who has never received TANF cash assistance; it is kept from support collected after the first $550. Separately, a parent who pays through DSER is charged $2 per pay period.
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §2103(3-A); 19-A M.R.S. §2103(3)
- Forms
- Paternity (legal fatherhood)
If the parents are not married, both can sign a voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP). Otherwise the District Court can declare the father, which may involve genetic testing arranged through DSER.
Maine child support by topic
How support is calculated in Maine
The model, the percentages or the official calculator, and low-income rules.
Change child support in Maine
When you can ask, how to ask, and a review letter.
Collect unpaid support in Maine
Collection tools, interest and license rules, and a letter.
When support ends in Maine
The end age, high school and disability rules.
How child support is figured in Maine
- Model
- Income shares
- How it works
The parents' annual gross incomes are added together. The state table gives a weekly amount per child for that combined income, which is multiplied by the number of children. Child care, health insurance and extraordinary medical costs are added, and the total is split between the parents by their share of income; the parent without primary residential care pays their share.
- Low income
If the paying parent's income is below the federal poverty guideline, weekly support can't be more than 10% of that parent's weekly gross income. The table has a self-support reserve for parents earning $22,800 a year or less.
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §2006(5)(C)
- Official calculator
- Official Maine child support calculator
- Health insurance and medical costs
If private health insurance for the child is available at a reasonable cost, its cost (adding the child, or the difference between single and family coverage) is added to the support obligation and split by income. Recurring uninsured medical costs over $250 a year per child are also shared by income.
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §§2001(4), 2006(3)
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §§2001, 2006, 2007, 2011; 10-144 C.M.R. ch. 351
Change a child support order in Maine
- When a change is allowed
If the order is less than 3 years old, a difference of more than 15% from the guideline amount counts as a substantial change and the order is modified. If it has been 3 years or more, the order is reviewed without proof of a change and modified if it differs from the guidelines at all. A change can only go back to the date the other parent was served with the motion.
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §2009
- How to ask
Ask DSER for an order review (through the Customer Portal, by phone to the Case Review Unit at 1-800-371-7179 or (207) 624-7830, online form, email case.review@maine.gov or mail), or file a Motion to Modify in District Court. Mediation is generally required before a contested hearing.
Can I ask for a change? Check your situation
Collect unpaid child support in Maine
Arrears means support that is past due. The child support agency can use these tools to collect it:
- Collection tools
- Income withholding
- Professional, recreational and driver's license revocation
- Passport denial
- Tax refund intercept
- Liens on property
- Bank account seizure
- Lottery and gambling winnings intercept
- Credit bureau reporting
- Court contempt
- Contempt of court
You can file a Motion to Enforce or a Motion for Contempt in court. In extreme cases of chronic nonpayment, a court can send the parent to jail.
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §§2201 and following (licenses); 19-A M.R.S. ch. 65
When child support ends in Maine
- Support ends
18, or until the child graduates, leaves or is expelled from secondary school, or turns 19, whichever comes first, if the child is still in high school at 18
- Exceptions
An order also ends if the child marries or joins the armed services.
Law: 19-A M.R.S. §1653(12)
When does support end? Check your situation
Free help in Maine
Official self-help
Free letters and checklist
Ask the agency to review (change) your order
A letter to the child support agency asking for a review and adjustment.
Ask the agency to collect unpaid support
A letter asking the agency to enforce the order and collect what is past due.
Checklist: what to bring to open a case
IDs, birth certificates, the other parent's details and your papers, with Maine's agency contact.
Good to know in Maine
- Maine's table gives a weekly amount per child, and support is based on gross (not net) income (19-A M.R.S. §2006).
- If parents have equal incomes and substantially equal care, neither pays the other basic support; they split child care and medical costs equally (19-A M.R.S. §2006(5)(D)).
- A parent caring for a child under 24 months old is presumed not available for work, so income is not imputed to them without evidence (19-A M.R.S. §2001(5)(D)).
Changes in 2024–2026
DSER posts a 2023 Maine Child Support Table (after its 2022 guidelines review) and updated its online calculator on September 10, 2024.
Federal rules in every state
- Applying. If you don't get TANF, Medicaid or foster care help, a state may charge an application fee of up to $25 to open a child support case. Law: 42 U.S.C. 654(6)(B)(i)
- Yearly fee. If you never got TANF and the agency collected at least $550 for you in a year, the state charges a $35 yearly fee. It can come out of your support, but never out of the first $550. Law: 42 U.S.C. 654(6)(B)(ii)
- Review every 3 years. If your case is with the child support agency, either parent can ask it to review the order every 3 years and adjust it to the guidelines. Law: 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(10)(A); 45 CFR 303.8
- Past-due support. Each unpaid payment becomes a judgment on the day it is due. It can't be lowered later, except back to the date the other parent got notice of a request to change the order. Law: 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(9)
- Tax refunds. The federal government can take a federal tax refund to pay past-due child support. Law: 42 U.S.C. 664
- Passports. A parent who owes more than $2,500 in past-due support can be refused a passport. Law: 42 U.S.C. 652(k)
- Pay withholding limit. For support, up to 50% of take-home pay can be withheld if the parent supports another spouse or child, or 60% if not. It is 55% or 65% when support is more than 12 weeks behind. Law: 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)
- How long support lasts. 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)
Questions about child support in Maine
How is child support calculated in Maine?
The parents' annual gross incomes are added together. The state table gives a weekly amount per child for that combined income, which is multiplied by the number of children. Child care, health insurance and extraordinary medical costs are added, and the total is split between the parents by their share of income; the parent without primary residential care pays their share.
Is there an official child support calculator for Maine?
What if the paying parent has a low income in Maine?
If the paying parent's income is below the federal poverty guideline, weekly support can't be more than 10% of that parent's weekly gross income. The table has a self-support reserve for parents earning $22,800 a year or less.
How do I apply for child support in Maine?
If you get TANF, you get child support services automatically. Otherwise apply online through the DSER Customer Portal, or download the application and mail it. Send the child's birth certificate and a complete copy of any court order. You can also file a complaint in District Court for parentage, parental rights and child support.
Does it cost money to open a child support case in Maine?
DSER's application packet lists no application fee; the fee it describes is the $35 annual federal fee. By law DSER may charge a fee for services to non-TANF applicants and may defer or waive it.
Is there a yearly fee for child support services in Maine?
$35 a year for each case where the State has collected at least $550 for a person who has never received TANF cash assistance; it is kept from support collected after the first $550. Separately, a parent who pays through DSER is charged $2 per pay period.
When can child support be changed in Maine?
If the order is less than 3 years old, a difference of more than 15% from the guideline amount counts as a substantial change and the order is modified. If it has been 3 years or more, the order is reviewed without proof of a change and modified if it differs from the guidelines at all. A change can only go back to the date the other parent was served with the motion.
How do I ask to change child support in Maine?
Ask DSER for an order review (through the Customer Portal, by phone to the Case Review Unit at 1-800-371-7179 or (207) 624-7830, online form, email case.review@maine.gov or mail), or file a Motion to Modify in District Court. Mediation is generally required before a contested hearing.
What happens if child support is not paid in Maine?
Arrears means support that is past due. The child support agency can use these tools to collect it: Income withholding; Professional, recreational and driver's license revocation; Passport denial; Tax refund intercept; Liens on property; Bank account seizure; Lottery and gambling winnings intercept; Credit bureau reporting; Court contempt.
Can a parent be held in contempt for not paying in Maine?
You can file a Motion to Enforce or a Motion for Contempt in court. In extreme cases of chronic nonpayment, a court can send the parent to jail.
When does child support end in Maine?
18, or until the child graduates, leaves or is expelled from secondary school, or turns 19, whichever comes first, if the child is still in high school at 18
Does child support continue while my child finishes high school in Maine?
18, or until the child graduates, leaves or is expelled from secondary school, or turns 19, whichever comes first, if the child is still in high school at 18
Can child support continue past the usual age in Maine?
An order also ends if the child marries or joins the armed services.
How is paternity established in Maine?
If the parents are not married, both can sign a voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP). Otherwise the District Court can declare the father, which may involve genetic testing arranged through DSER.
Who pays for the child's health insurance in Maine?
If private health insurance for the child is available at a reasonable cost, its cost (adding the child, or the difference between single and family coverage) is added to the support obligation and split by income. Recurring uninsured medical costs over $250 a year per child are also shared by income.
More help on our sister sites
Sources
- 19-A M.R.S. §2001 Definitions
- 19-A M.R.S. §2006 Support guidelines
- 19-A M.R.S. §2009 Modification
- 19-A M.R.S. §2103 Department enforcement; fees
- 19-A M.R.S. §1653 Parental rights; support to 19 in high school
- 19-A M.R.S. §2201 License notice
- Maine DSER Child Support Services
- DSER Application and Guide to Services
- Maine Judicial Branch: Child Support
Last checked: Oct 25, 2026.
- State plan requirements: application fee, annual fee, safeguards, 42 U.S.C. 654
- Required state laws: arrears as judgments, review every 3 years, UIFSA, 42 U.S.C. 666
- Federal tax refund offset, 42 U.S.C. 664
- Passport denial for child support arrears, 42 U.S.C. 652(k)
- Garnishment limits for support orders, 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)
- Full faith and credit for child support orders, 28 U.S.C. 1738B
- Office of Child Support Enforcement (federal)