Get help arranging child maintenance
This service will give you information about the different options available to make a child maintenance arrangement. These are:
- making your own arrangement
- using the Child Maintenance Service
Contact Child Maintenance Choices if you live in Northern Ireland
Using the Child Maintenance Service
If you already have an active case
If you have a case with the same parent you should report a change of circumstances instead of making a new arrangement. You can use this service if you want to set up a new arrangement with a different parent.
Fees
If you decide to use the Child Maintenance Service the application fee is £20 and cannot be refunded. You’ll need a debit or credit card to pay this. It does not guarantee an arrangement.
You will not have to pay the application fee if you:
- are under 19 years old
- have experienced domestic abuse
Get help if you have experienced domestic abuse
If you’re worried about contacting the other parent
If you decide to use the Child Maintenance Service, we will try to contact the other parent about setting up child maintenance – you do not need to.
We will share the following details with the other parent:
- your name
- your child’s name and date of birth
- the number of days your child stays with the parent who will be making payments - the other parent will need to confirm this
If you are the parent who will be paying child maintenance, we will also share the following details with the other parent:
- your income information
- whether any additional children are taken into account in the calculation - we will not share identifying details about these children, only how many have been taken into account
I do not know if I have an active case
I need to change from paying to receiving child maintenance
You will need to close your existing Child Maintenance case and open a new one.
If you were the original applicant, you can close your case in MCMC (opens in new tab), or you can contact child maintenance (opens in new tab).
If you were not the original applicant, you will need to contact child maintenance (opens in new tab).
I need to change from receiving to paying child maintenance
You will need to close your existing Child Maintenance case and open a new one.
If you were the original applicant, you can close your case in MCMC (opens in new tab), or you can contact child maintenance (opens in new tab).
If you were not the original applicant, you will need to contact child maintenance (opens in new tab).
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