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Have the other parent’s circumstances changed since you made the arrangement?
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Are you in direct pay?
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Are you in the collection service?
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Was your court order made before
3 March 2003?
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If you don’t already have an arrangement for child maintenance in place you might find it useful to look through our factsheet Making arrangements for child maintenance.
Speaking to your child’s other parent about arranging child maintenance can be difficult. If you are finding it hard to come to an agreement our factsheet Help when you can’t agree provides advice on how to come to an arrangement that works.
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If your child’s other parent’s circumstances have changed you might need to renegotiate your agreement so that it works for both of you. Speaking to your child’s other parent about financial issues can be difficult. If you find it hard to come to an agreement our factsheet Help when you can’t agree provides advice on how to come to an arrangement. You might also find it useful to look through our factsheet Making arrangements for child maintenance.
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Yes, I’m in direct pay
If you are in direct pay you’ll need to tell the Child Maintenance Service that you have not received payment from your child's other parent.
The Child Maintenance Service will contact your child’s other parent to request a payment is made. If payment is not made, they can move your case to collect and pay, the collection service.
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Yes, I am using the collection service
If you’re currently using the collection service but payments have stopped the Child Support Agency will know, but you may wish to contact them to find out what action they are taking.
The enforcement action the CSA can take against your child’s other parent can include:
- Taking money from the other parent’s bank account, wages or benefit
- Obtaining a liability order
- Instructing bailiffs to collect the money owed.
If none of the above are successful, the Child Support Agency can use legal enforcement such as disqualifying your child’s other parent from driving, selling any property he or she may own or imposing a custodial sentence. The Child Support Agency can decide which option to use and may need to apply to the court in certain cases.
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Has your order been in place for
more than a year?
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If your child’s other parent has stopped making child maintenance payments or you can’t reach an agreement about how much will be paid and when, you may need to make an arrangement through the Child Maintenance Service.
Our factsheet Using the Child Maintenance Service provides information on how the service works.
You can also visit the Child Maintenance Options website for more information on using the Child Maintenance Service to make formal arrangements.
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In collect and pay, your child's other parent will pay the Child Maintenance Service and the service will transfer the money to you. There is a charge for using this service and it will affect the amount of money you receive. Our website has more information on child maintenance charges.
Once you’re using collect and pay, if payments stop the Child Maintenance Service can take enforcement action against your child’s other parent.
This can include:
- Taking money from the other parent’s bank account, wages or benefit
- Obtaining a liability order
- Instructing bailiffs to collect the money owed.
If none of the above are successful, the Child Maintenance Service can use legal enforcement such as disqualifying your child’s other parent from driving, selling any property he or she may own or imposing a custodial sentence.
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Our factsheet Enforcing child maintenance has more information on what action the Child Support Agency can take. If you feel that the Child Support Agency is failing to enforce payment from your child’s other parent, you can make a complaint via their complaints procedure. Our factsheet How to complain to the Child Support Agency has further information.
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If your court order has been in place for more than a year you can make an application to the Child Maintenance Service, or enforce the payment of child maintenance through the court.
Our factsheet Using the Child Maintenance Service has more information on how to apply to the Child Maintenance Service. You can also visit the Child Maintenance Options website.
To enforce payment through the court you should contact the court where the order was made. You can find contact details for individual courts here.
Enforcing payment through the court can incur additional costs. For more information contact your local court.
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The Child Maintenance Service can decide which option to use and they may need to apply to the court in certain cases.
For more information on using the Child Maintenance Service you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website.
If you feel that the Child Maintenance Service is failing to enforce payment from your child’s other parent, you can make a complaint using the complaints procedure.
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No, I am using maintenance direct
If you are in maintenance direct, you need to tell the Child Support Agency that you have not received payment from your child's other parent.
The Child Support Agency will contact the other parent to request a payment is made.
If payment is not made the CSA can move your case to the collection service.
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If your court order hasn’t been in place for a year you can either enforce the payment of child maintenance through the court, or you can wait until your order has been in place for a year and then apply to the Child Maintenance Service.
To enforce payment through the court you should contact the court where the order was made. You can find contact details for individual courts here.
Enforcing payment through the court can incur additional costs. For more information contact your local court.
Our factsheet Using the Child Maintenance Service has more information on how to apply to the Child Maintenance Service. You can also visit the Child Maintenance Options website.
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No, I’m using collect and pay
If you’re currently using the collect and pay service but payments have stopped the Child Maintenance Service will know, but you may wish to contact them to find out what action they are taking.
The enforcement action the service can take against your child’s other parent can include:
- Taking money from the other parent's bank account, wages or benefit
- Obtaining a liability order
- Instructing bailiffs to collect the money owed.
If none of the above are successful, the Child Maintenance Service can use legal enforcement such as disqualifying your child’s other parent from driving, selling any property he or she may own or imposing a custodial sentence. The Child Maintenance Service can decide which option to use and they may need to apply to the court in certain cases.
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Once you’re using the collection service, if your child's other parent fails to make a payment, the Child Support Agency can take enforcement action against them.
This can include:
- Taking money from the other parent’s bank account, wages or benefit
- Obtaining a liability order
- Instructing bailiffs to collect the money owed.
If none of the above are successful, the Child Support Agency can use legal enforcement such as disqualifying your child’s other parent from driving, selling any property he or she may own or imposing a custodial sentence. The Child Support Agency can decide which option to use and they may need to apply to the court in certain cases.
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If your court order was made before 3 March 2003 you’ll need to enforce payment through the courts.
You should contact the court where the order was made. You can find contact details for individual courts here.
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For more information on using the Child Maintenance Service you can visit the Child Maintenance Options website.
If you feel that the Child Maintenance Service is failing to enforce payment from your child’s other parent, you can make a complaint using the complaints procedure.
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Our factsheet Enforcing child maintenance has more information on what action the Child Support Agency can take.
If you feel that the Child Support Agency is failing to enforce payment from your child’s other parent, you can make a complaint via the complaints procedure. Our factsheet How to complain to the Child Support Agency has further information.