Child support in Vermont
Vermont 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 Office of Child Support (OCS), Vermont Department for Children and Families at 1-800-786-3214.
Checked against official sources: Oct 25, 2026. · Free letters and checklist ↓
How much child support in Vermont?
Both parents' 'available income' (gross income minus taxes, FICA, spousal or prior child support actually paid, and the child's health insurance cost) is combined and looked up in the state guideline table. Child care and extraordinary expenses are added, and the total is split in proportion to each parent's income.
Law: 15 V.S.A. 653-657
We don't estimate Vermont'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 Vermont
- Phone
- 1-800-786-3214
- Apply
- Apply online
- How to open a case
Apply to the Office of Child Support online, or get an Application for Child Support Services from OCS or the Family Division of Superior Court. Use a separate application for each other parent. Families getting public assistance or Medicaid are usually referred automatically. You can also ask the Family Division for support in a divorce or parentage case.
- Application fee
$0. Child support services are free for parents and guardians who sign up.
Source: DCF Child Support Services page; OCS Parent Handbook
- Yearly fee
The OCS Parent Handbook says there is no fee for full services. Registry-only (payment processing) cases pay $5 for each month a payment is recorded.
- Forms
- Paternity (legal fatherhood)
Married or civil-union parents are presumed parents. Unmarried genetic parents can sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP) in front of a witness age 18 or older and file it with the Office of Vital Records (usually at the hospital). If the child has a presumed parent who is not the genetic parent, that person must also file a Denial of Parentage. If parentage is in doubt, file in the Family Division of Superior Court, which can order genetic testing. (Vermont Parentage Act of 2018; DCF Establish Legal Parentage)
Vermont child support by topic
How support is calculated in Vermont
The model, the percentages or the official calculator, and low-income rules.
Change child support in Vermont
When you can ask, how to ask, and a review letter.
Collect unpaid support in Vermont
Collection tools, interest and license rules, and a letter.
When support ends in Vermont
The end age, high school and disability rules.
How child support is figured in Vermont
- Model
- Income shares
- How it works
Both parents' 'available income' (gross income minus taxes, FICA, spousal or prior child support actually paid, and the child's health insurance cost) is combined and looked up in the state guideline table. Child care and extraordinary expenses are added, and the total is split in proportion to each parent's income.
- Low income
A self-support reserve protects the paying parent: $1,596 a month (effective Feb. 2, 2026). If the guideline amount would push the parent below it, support is the difference between income and the reserve; if income is below the reserve, the court sets a nominal amount.
Law: 15 V.S.A. 653(7), 656
Source: OCS calculator page
- Official calculator
- Official Vermont child support calculator
- Health insurance and medical costs
The court must order medical coverage or a cash contribution. Coverage is presumed reasonable if adding the child costs 5% or less of the parent's gross income; if none is available, the court can order a cash contribution of up to 5% of gross income. Uninsured medical costs over $200 a year count as extraordinary expenses added to support.
Law: 15 V.S.A. 653(4), 658(f)
Law: 15 V.S.A. 653-657
Change a child support order in Vermont
- When a change is allowed
You must show a real, substantial and unanticipated change of circumstances. A guideline amount that differs by more than 10% from the current order counts, as do workers' compensation, disability or means-tested benefits, unemployment (unless it was planned for in the order), and incarceration over 90 days (unless it is for not paying support). If the order has not been changed by the court for at least 3 years, the court may waive the change-of-circumstances requirement. Changes apply only to payments due after the motion is filed.
Law: 15 V.S.A. 660
- How to ask
File a Motion to Modify Child Support with an affidavit and your calculations in the Family Division, or ask OCS to help with the forms. If both parents agree, you can file a completed child support order and both income and asset affidavits.
Can I ask for a change? Check your situation
Collect unpaid child support in Vermont
Arrears means support that is past due. The child support agency can use these tools to collect it:
- Collection tools
- Wage withholding (and increased withholding for arrears)
- State and federal tax refund offset
- Lottery offset
- Liens on property
- Trustee process on bank and retirement accounts
- Passport denial (at least $2,500 owed)
- Driver's, professional and recreational license suspension or non-renewal
- Civil penalty up to 10% for deliberate non-payment
- Assets held in escrow
- Contempt of court
- License suspension
By statute, a license can be suspended after a finding of noncompliance with a delinquency of at least one-quarter of the yearly support amount. OCS says it may also ask licensing agencies not to renew a professional or recreational license when payments are at least one month overdue and you are not following a repayment plan. OCS must give notice and 21 days to contest before an administrative suspension (798(b)).
Law: 15 V.S.A. 798(c)
- Contempt of court
If the court finds you could pay but willfully did not, it can hold you in contempt and order you to pay arrears or face jail.
Law: 15 V.S.A. 603
Source: OCS Parent Handbook
- Interest on unpaid support
No interest; instead a surcharge of 0.5% a month (6% a year), not compounded, is added to past-due support (since Jan. 1, 2012). Payments go first to current support, then arrears, then surcharge. A court can forgive surcharge if the paying parent proves they were unable to pay.
Law: 15 V.S.A. 606(d)
Law: 15 V.S.A. 606, 781-799
When child support ends in Vermont
- Support ends
18 (age of majority), or when the child finishes secondary school (high school), whichever is later
- Exceptions
Parents can agree to add an amount for college (postsecondary education) to the order; the court does not order it on its own. Consent to adoption ends future support.
Law: 15 V.S.A. 658(c), 658(e), 659(b)
When does support end? Check your situation
Free help in Vermont
- Vermont Legal Help (VTLawHelp.org)
- Vermont Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
- Find free legal help at LawHelp.org
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 Vermont's agency contact.
Good to know in Vermont
- Vermont charges a 6% yearly surcharge on overdue support instead of interest. (15 V.S.A. 606(d))
- Each support payment becomes a judgment on the date it is due, and it can be enforced up to 6 years after the youngest child reaches the age of majority. (15 V.S.A. 606(b), (c))
- The guideline tables were updated on Jan. 2, 2024; the next update is due by Jan. 2, 2028. (OCS calculator page)
Changes in 2024–2026
New guideline calculation tables took effect Jan. 2, 2024, based on the 2023 guidelines review. The self-support reserve is updated each year ($1,596 a month from Feb. 2, 2026).
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 Vermont
How is child support calculated in Vermont?
Both parents' 'available income' (gross income minus taxes, FICA, spousal or prior child support actually paid, and the child's health insurance cost) is combined and looked up in the state guideline table. Child care and extraordinary expenses are added, and the total is split in proportion to each parent's income.
Is there an official child support calculator for Vermont?
What if the paying parent has a low income in Vermont?
A self-support reserve protects the paying parent: $1,596 a month (effective Feb. 2, 2026). If the guideline amount would push the parent below it, support is the difference between income and the reserve; if income is below the reserve, the court sets a nominal amount.
How do I apply for child support in Vermont?
Apply to the Office of Child Support online, or get an Application for Child Support Services from OCS or the Family Division of Superior Court. Use a separate application for each other parent. Families getting public assistance or Medicaid are usually referred automatically. You can also ask the Family Division for support in a divorce or parentage case.
Does it cost money to open a child support case in Vermont?
$0. Child support services are free for parents and guardians who sign up.
Is there a yearly fee for child support services in Vermont?
The OCS Parent Handbook says there is no fee for full services. Registry-only (payment processing) cases pay $5 for each month a payment is recorded.
When can child support be changed in Vermont?
You must show a real, substantial and unanticipated change of circumstances. A guideline amount that differs by more than 10% from the current order counts, as do workers' compensation, disability or means-tested benefits, unemployment (unless it was planned for in the order), and incarceration over 90 days (unless it is for not paying support). If the order has not been changed by the court for at least 3 years, the court may waive the change-of-circumstances requirement. Changes apply only to payments due after the motion is filed.
How do I ask to change child support in Vermont?
File a Motion to Modify Child Support with an affidavit and your calculations in the Family Division, or ask OCS to help with the forms. If both parents agree, you can file a completed child support order and both income and asset affidavits.
What happens if child support is not paid in Vermont?
Arrears means support that is past due. The child support agency can use these tools to collect it: Wage withholding (and increased withholding for arrears); State and federal tax refund offset; Lottery offset; Liens on property; Trustee process on bank and retirement accounts; Passport denial (at least $2,500 owed); Driver's, professional and recreational license suspension or non-renewal; Civil penalty up to 10% for deliberate non-payment; Assets held in escrow; Contempt of court.
Can a license be suspended for unpaid child support in Vermont?
By statute, a license can be suspended after a finding of noncompliance with a delinquency of at least one-quarter of the yearly support amount. OCS says it may also ask licensing agencies not to renew a professional or recreational license when payments are at least one month overdue and you are not following a repayment plan. OCS must give notice and 21 days to contest before an administrative suspension (798(b)).
Can a parent be held in contempt for not paying in Vermont?
If the court finds you could pay but willfully did not, it can hold you in contempt and order you to pay arrears or face jail.
Is there interest on unpaid child support in Vermont?
No interest; instead a surcharge of 0.5% a month (6% a year), not compounded, is added to past-due support (since Jan. 1, 2012). Payments go first to current support, then arrears, then surcharge. A court can forgive surcharge if the paying parent proves they were unable to pay.
When does child support end in Vermont?
18 (age of majority), or when the child finishes secondary school (high school), whichever is later
Does child support continue while my child finishes high school in Vermont?
18 (age of majority), or when the child finishes secondary school (high school), whichever is later
Can child support continue past the usual age in Vermont?
Parents can agree to add an amount for college (postsecondary education) to the order; the court does not order it on its own. Consent to adoption ends future support.
How is paternity established in Vermont?
Married or civil-union parents are presumed parents. Unmarried genetic parents can sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage (VAP) in front of a witness age 18 or older and file it with the Office of Vital Records (usually at the hospital). If the child has a presumed parent who is not the genetic parent, that person must also file a Denial of Parentage. If parentage is in doubt, file in the Family Division of Superior Court, which can order genetic testing. (Vermont Parentage Act of 2018; DCF Establish Legal Parentage)
Who pays for the child's health insurance in Vermont?
The court must order medical coverage or a cash contribution. Coverage is presumed reasonable if adding the child costs 5% or less of the parent's gross income; if none is available, the court can order a cash contribution of up to 5% of gross income. Uninsured medical costs over $200 a year count as extraordinary expenses added to support.
More help on our sister sites
Sources
- 15 V.S.A. ch. 11 (Vermont Statutes)
- 15 V.S.A. 606
- 15 V.S.A. 656
- 15 V.S.A. 658
- 15 V.S.A. 660
- 15 V.S.A. 798
- OCS Child Support Calculator page
- DCF Child Support Services
- DCF Establish Legal Parentage
- OCS Parent Handbook
- Vermont Judiciary: 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)