If you have children, both parents are expected to pay towards the cost of bringing them up until they’re 16, or up to 20 if they stay in approved full-time education or training. There are several ways to arrange child maintenance if you and your partner split.
What’s in this guide
- Options for arranging child maintenance
- Using a family-based arrangement
- Using the Child Maintenance Service
- Applying to the courts for child maintenance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Applying to the courts for child maintenance or child aliment in Scotland
- Changes to child maintenance
- Your next step
Options for arranging child maintenance
There are four options for arranging child maintenance payments with your ex-partner:
- Family-based arrangement: you and your ex-partner arrange child maintenance between you.
- Direct Pay: the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) calculates how much child maintenance should be paid, but you and your ex-partner arrange how it will be paid between you.
- Collect and Pay: the CMS calculates how much child maintenance should be paid, collects the money from one parent and passes it to the other.
- Court-ordered arrangement: while child maintenance agreements are typically handled by the CMS, courts can still get involved in certain situations. For example, when the CMS is unable to deal with a case (such as some involving overseas parents), or when a 'top-up' order is needed because the paying parent earns above the CMS income limit.
In Scotland, parents can record an agreed amount for child maintenance in a ‘Minute of Agreement’ – this is legally binding once it’s signed and registered.
If you and your ex-partner cannot agree or the CMS cannot make a calculation for child maintenance, the Scottish courts may be able to decide child aliment. Find out more in our guide about Arranging aliment in Scotland.
If you live in Scotland, you are aged between 12 and 19 and you're in full-time, non-advanced education or training, you can apply for child maintenance yourself. Speak to the Child Maintenance Service directly and ask for an assessment of child maintenance to be made.
Find out how to apply for child maintenanceOpens in a new window on GOV.UK.
Using a family-based arrangement
Here, you and your ex-partner decide how much child maintenance will be paid and make arrangements to pay it.
Visit GOV.UK to calculate your child maintenanceOpens in a new window - this tool can give you an amount to discuss with your ex-partner based on calculations used by the CMS.
You don’t have to talk to a solicitor or any other professional first. Although you can use a mediator (an independent third party) to help you reach an agreement.
It’s best if the parent paying child maintenance sets up a standing order so that money is paid to the other parent regularly – find out more about setting up a regular payment in our guide Direct Debits, standing orders and recurring card payments.
Pros
-
It’s the quickest and easiest way to arrange child maintenance.
-
You can agree on different types of support – for example, buying school uniforms instead of making a payment.
-
It’s flexible – you can agree to change the arrangements if circumstances change.
-
It maintains lines of communication between you and your ex-partner.
-
You don’t have to pay to set one up.
-
It works well where there’s trust between the parents – so the receiving parent is confident the paying parent has been honest about their income.
-
You can still apply to the Child Maintenance Service later if things don’t work out.
Cons
-
It’s not legally binding – so there’s no-one to collect missed payments or enforce broken agreements.
-
It might not be possible to agree if you have problems communicating with each other, or one person feels intimidated by the other.
If you need help to agree on how much to pay, or how to pay it, you can find a mediator:
|
If you live in: |
Find your local mediator |
For more information about mediation, see: |
|
England or Wales |
||
|
Scotland |
||
|
Northern Ireland |
Find out more about making a family-based arrangement from Citizens AdviceOpens in a new window
Making a family-based arrangement legally binding
You might be able to turn a family-based arrangement into a legally binding agreement. You can do this by:
- asking a solicitor
- going to court and getting a court order, such as a consent order, in England, Wales or Northern Ireland
- recording and registering your agreement in a Minute of Agreement in Scotland.
You can use it to formalise other financial arrangements at the same time – for example, who pays the mortgage.
You and your ex-partner have to agree what’s in the consent order or Minute of Agreement.
Pros
-
It gives the arrangement a legal footing. So if payments stop, for example, you can ask the court to enforce the order or Minute of Agreement (if it has been registered).
-
If you and your ex-partner have agreed the level of child maintenance payments, your solicitor might offer a fixed fee for drafting the consent order and filing it with the court, or for advising and drafting the Minute of Agreement.
Cons
-
It can be expensive if there’s a major disagreement and you’d have to pay legal bills yourself – check if you qualify for legal aid for legal fees.
-
You can’t apply to the Child Maintenance Service for a statutory arrangement until a year after you’ve arranged a consent or court order (or registered a Minute of Agreement in Scotland).
-
It’s not as flexible as an informal family-based agreement, as you would have to go back to court to vary the consent order. This risks a build-up of unpaid child maintenance payments in the meantime. A Minute of Agreement can be varied if you both agree to the new amount, so will need co-operation between you and your ex-partner.
Using the Child Maintenance Service
If you and your ex-partner can’t agree child maintenance payments, you can contact the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).
The CMS can:
- work out how much child maintenance should be paid – there's no charge for this
- arrange and collect payments on your behalf through their Collect and Pay service (fees apply)
- chase any missed payments (arrears)
- take action to recover money if your ex-partner refuses to pay; this can include taking money from their wages, bank account or by sending bailiffs to seize their possessions. They can even get a court order to force the sale of their home.
If you use the Collect and Pay service, a fee applies each time a payment is made or received, so it’s best to try and reach an agreement with your ex-partner first, if you can.
Collect and Pay fees:
- Paying parents have 20% added to their payment.
- Receiving parents have 4% taken off their payment.
Contact the Child Maintenance Service by calling 0800 171 2345 or through the Child Maintenance ServiceOpens in a new window website.
If you’ve experienced domestic abuse
You can get the CMS to collect and make payments on your behalf – without the consent of an abusive ex-partner.
When you contact the CMS, they should ask if you have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse. If you feel like your child maintenance claim will put you in danger, the CMS should help you contact the National Domestic Violence HelplineOpens in a new window or other support.
The CMS can only ask you to pay maintenance if all the following rules apply:
your child needs to be under 16 or under 20 if they are in full-time approved education or training, up to and including A level or equivalent, and
you need to live in the UK as your main home and have the right to live here.
There are two ways to pay: Direct Pay and Collect and Pay.
Using Direct Pay
Direct Pay means the CMS calculates how much child maintenance should be paid. And the paying parent arranges how and when they’ll make payments.
Pros
-
You don’t have to work out how much child maintenance is fair for you to pay or receive.
-
There are no fees to pay when using Direct Pay.
-
If your ex-partner doesn’t keep up the payments, you can ask to move to Collect and Pay. This means the CMS can take action to make them pay.
Cons
-
Involving the CMS might make any bad feeling between you and your ex-partner worse.
-
If you need the CMS to enforce the payments, there will be other chargesOpens in a new window – find out more at GOV.UK
Using CMS Collect and Pay
If your ex-partner won’t pay child maintenance, you can ask the CMS to collect money from them and pass it to you.
You can also use this if you set up a Direct Pay arrangement that your ex-partner isn’t sticking to. But be aware that there is a charge for both parents to use Collect and Pay.
If you’ve experienced domestic abuse, your fees may be waived, and you might be offered one-to-one support from specialist staff with domestic abuse training.
Pros
-
You don’t have to work out how much child maintenance is fair for you to pay or receive.
-
You’re not responsible for making sure your ex-partner pays child maintenance.
-
If they don’t pay, the CMS can take enforcement action – for example, taking money from their wages or forcing the sale of a property or belongings. The paying parent will also have to pay extra charges if, for example, money has to be taken from their wages.
Cons
-
The parent who doesn't live with the child and is paying child maintenance must pay an extra 20%. This is added to the payment.
-
The parent living with and taking care of the child receives 96% of the child maintenance. They need to give 4% of that amount to the CMS as a fee.
-
You don’t have a say in what type of enforcement action the CMS takes or when it takes it.
You can contact CMS to update them about any changes or to discuss child maintenance
Applying to the courts for child maintenance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
If you can reach an agreement for child maintenance with the other parent you can apply to the court to make it a formal legally binding agreement. This is called a consent order. Both parents must agree to the terms of the order.
A consent order is usually used when parents are divorcing and sorting out their finances. So it might include other agreements - for example, who is going to pay the mortgage.
Examples of when the court deals with child maintenance rather than the CMS include:
- if the paying parent lives abroadOpens in a new window – find out more on GOV.UK
- to arrange the payment of private school fees
- to work out how much child maintenance should be paid for stepchildren or disabled children
- if the paying parent earns more than the CMS income limit – currently £156,000 a year – the court can decide if they should pay ‘top-up’ child maintenance.
Pros
-
It can be part of a larger financial settlement negotiated between you, after a separation. For example, it could cover other mortgage payments.
-
A consent order can be enforced through the court if the maintenance isn’t paid.
Cons
-
You have to go through a formal court process and pay fees for the order.
-
You can’t apply to the CMS for one year after a consent order is made.
-
If the payments aren’t made, enforcing the order can be expensive and time consuming.
-
You'll have to go back to court if you want the order changed.
-
It's important to get independent legal advice - which you would have to pay for. There are also court fees for making and enforcing the order.
For help finding a lawyer go to the Resolution website; it's important to get specialist advice before applying to the courts
If you can’t afford legal advice, see our guide Legal aid and other help if you can't afford divorce or separation fees
Applying to the courts for child maintenance or child aliment in Scotland
In Scotland, if you and your ex-partner can't agree on child maintenance payments but you believe you’ll need financial support, you can apply to the court for what’s called ‘aliment’.
The court will consider whether you need the payments and whether your ex-partner can afford to pay them.
A solicitor can advise you on whether to apply.
Read more in our guide Arranging Aliment in Scotland.
Changes to child maintenance
If you or your ex-partner’s income or wealth changes substantially, you might be able to adjust the level of child maintenance payments.
If child maintenance has been agreed through the CMS, you or your ex-partner can ask them to review their calculation. This is called a ‘variation’ if the adjustment is likely to be temporary.
Otherwise, they will check the child maintenance amount every 12 months when managing your case. This is called the annual review, and they’ll look at the paying parent's circumstances to see if the amount needs to go up or down.
If you have a family-based arrangement with your ex-partner, you can talk to them about making changes when needed.
It’s important that you check with a solicitor about updating the court order (if you have one) that contains previous agreements on child maintenance payments.
If you move in with a new partner and you’re receiving child support, this won’t be affected by your relationship – whether or not you marry or enter a civil partnership.
But you can agree with your ex-partner to change the level of payments if, for example, income levels change.
If stepchildren are involved, it might be worth getting legal advice.
Find out more about child maintenanceOpens in a new window on GOV.UK.
Contacting the Child Maintenance Service
You can contact the CMS by calling 0800 171 2345 or you can manage your child maintenance case onlineOpens in a new window
Your next step
Read our guide How much child maintenance should I pay?
