There are several ways to apply for child support services.
Important information child support services will need from you:
- Address, employer, and social security number of yourself, the other parent, and the child(ren)
- Any child support order, divorce decree, or separation agreement you have
- Your marriage, separation, and divorce dates
- Additional information may be requested from you if the order for support or parentage was established outside of California or the United States. See the intergovernmental page.
Locate a parent
To obtain or enforce a child support order, Child Support Services must locate the non-custodial parent. If you are seeking child support, you can help Child Support Services by providing any information you have about the non-custodial parent’s whereabouts, income, employer and assets.
Child Support Services will make every effort to locate the non-custodial parent. Below are some sources that we will use:
- Motor vehicle registration and driver license records
- Unemployment records
- Credit reporting agency records
- Social services records
- Military records
- State licensing boards
- United States Postal Service
- Current and previous employers
- Law enforcement agencies, parole and probation offices
- Central authority of the International addressee
Enforcement
Once a child support and medical support order is obtained and an employer is known, an Income Withholding Order (Wage Assignment) and National Medical Support Notice is served on the non-custodial parent’s employer. Regular child support payments are withheld from the non-custodial parent’s wages and the child(ren) will be added to the non-custodial party’s health insurance benefits if applicable.
If a non-custodial parent fails to pay court ordered child support amounts due, Child Support Services has many enforcement remedies to collect the support. The enforcement remedy used is at the discretion of the Department and may include:
- Income Withholding Order
- Suspension of driver’s license
- Suspension of other professional license
- Levy on bank accounts
- Liens recorded against real property
- Income tax refund intercept
- Unemployment and State disability intercept
- Prevention of issuance or renewal of a passport
- Contempt of Court proceeding
- Writ of attachment
- Coordination with other states or countries for enforcement. See the intergovernmental page for a list of countries currently working with the United States on child support orders.
