Starting child support cases
Children need and deserve basic support - financial, medical and child care - from both parents. County child support offices can help get an order for support, establish parentage, enforce an existing order, collect payments and more.
Child support is money a parent is court-ordered to pay to their child's other parent or caregiver for the support of the child. The support may be part of an interim, temporary, permanent or modified court order in a:
- Divorce or legal separation
- Parentage action
- Order for protection
- Child custody action
- Separate child support action.
A person can receive child support if all of the following apply:
- The person is the parent of a minor child or is the person who has court-ordered custody of the minor child.
- The minor child lives in the person's household.
- The child is financially dependent on that person.
- One or both of the child's parents are absent from the home.
- A court has ordered a child's parent to pay child support.
Child support services are available to:
- Parents of minor children, if one parent does not live with the child
- Parents who pay child support through court-ordered income withholding
- People who have court-ordered, physical custody of a minor child
- People who receive public assistance for a minor child who lives in their home.
Learn more about options for child support services for which you can apply.
Child support offices provide services for:
- Locating parents
- Establishing parentage
- Establishing court orders for basic support, medical support and child care support
- Enforcing court orders for support
- Reviewing and modifying court orders for support
- Working with other states to enforce support when one parent does not live in Minnesota
- Collecting and processing payments.
Child support offices do not help with:
- Divorces
- Parenting time and custody
- Spousal maintenance (alimony) establishment
- Legal advice or counsel.
Child support offices and county attorneys do not represent either parent in child support court actions. Instead, they represent the best interests of the child according to the requirements of child support statutes and guidelines. In Minnesota, parents can also use an expedited process to resolve child support matters where they can represent themselves.
Parents' rights and responsibilities
Appendix A is a court document attached to every child support order in Minnesota. It tells parents their rights and responsibilities under the law. More information about working with your child support office, reporting changes in your circumstances and other responsibilities is online.
Private information
Anyone can ask for public child support data. Case-specific information is classified as private data under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. The Act restricts child support workers from sharing case information unless they are authorized.
Private data on individuals or nonpublic data not on individuals can be given to:
- The person who is the subject of the data
- Others who the law says can see the data
- Anyone the person who is the subject of the data says, in writing, can see the data.
Releasing private information
If you want the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the county child support office to give private information about your child support case to a third party, such as your current spouse, attorney, relative or friend, you must authorize it. Complete the Authorization for Release of Child Support Information to a Third Party (PDF) to allow private information to be released. Fax or mail the authorization to the child support worker you want to release the information.
Visit the Minnesota Child Support Guidelines Calculator to estimate the amount of child support the court may order on a case.
The court has the final authority to determine the amount of a child support order. The calculator provides an estimate only and is not a guarantee of the amount of child support the court will order. The calculator is only able to calculate a basic support amount for six or fewer joint children. If there are more than six joint children, the court may determine a support order without specifically following the guidelines.
Minnesota’s child support program helps parents establish a financial partnership so children receive the financial, medical, and child care support they deserve.
Child support is money parents pay to their child’s other parent or caregiver to support their child. Minnesota’s Child Support Division and county child support agencies work with both parents to provide child support services.
Services we provide
- Locating parents
- Establishing parentage
- Establishing child support court orders
- Collecting, recording, and sending or depositing support payments
- Enforcing support orders for basic, medical, and child care support
- Reviewing and asking the court to modify support orders when appropriate
- Working with other states and countries on these services
People who can sign-up for services
- Parents of minor children if one parent does not live with the child
- Fathers or alleged fathers of a minor child
- Parents who receive court-ordered child support
- Parents who pay court-ordered child support
- People who have court-ordered, physical custody of a minor child
Safety
We take the safety of families receiving child support services seriously, and we can modify some of our processes to help with safety concerns. If you have concerns that seeking our service will create a risk of harm to you or your child, contact your county child support agency.
Income withholding only services
Income withholding-only services are generally limited to processing support payments and keeping track of what is owed. A monthly $15 fee is paid by the parent paying support. It is deducted through the income withholding in addition to the support payment.
The child support office or a parent may ask the court to issue a support order. The support order may be an interim, temporary, permanent or modified court order. It may be part of a divorce, paternity, child custody, or separate child support action, legal separation or order for protection.
The court reviews both parents' abilities to provide financial support for their children when ordering a child support obligation. Child support includes basic support, medical support and child care support.
Support orders may also address birth-related expenses and past child support for up to two years. In these situations, a parent may owe past due support, called arrears, when the order is signed.
Basic support
Basic support is for expenses relating to the child's basic needs, housing, food, clothing and transportation. The amount is determined by applying the parents' combined parental income for determining child support (PICS) and the number of joint children to the basic support guidelines table. PICS is a calculated amount of gross income minus deductions for nonjoint children.
The basic support obligation does not include payment towards arrears.
A court may consider the parents' circumstances and the child support guidelines when determining how much basic support a parent should pay.
Medical support
In Minnesota, the court must address medical support. The court may order a parent to do one or more of the following when ordering medical support:
- Provide health care coverage, which may include dental and vision coverage
- Pay support each month toward the cost of health care coverage, medical and dental expenses, or costs paid by Medical Assistance
- Pay a portion of uninsured or unreimbursed medical or dental expenses.
Child care support
The court must review child care costs incurred when the child lives with a parent who works or goes to school. The court decides each parent's portion of financial responsibility for child care.
To establish, modify or enforce a support order, the child support office must have a current address or employment information for both parents.
If the child support office does not know where a parent lives or works, the office can gather information from the other parent and many other sources including:
- Child support agencies in other states
- Credit reporting agencies
- Current and past employers
- Federal Parent Locator Service
- New Hire directories
- U.S. Postal Service
- Utility companies
State resources
Some information available from Minnesota government agencies includes:
- Birth records
- Drivers' licenses
- Employer reports
- Hunting and fishing licenses
- Occupational licenses
- Prisoner information
- Public assistance
- Student grants
- Unemployment compensation
- Vehicle registration
- Workers' compensation
Federal resources
The Federal Case Registry contains state child support case data and may be used to help locate parents across state lines. Data in the federal registry are matched daily against quarterly wage information and unemployment insurance records submitted by each state to the National Directory of New Hire Reporting.
Federal law requires all employers to report information about newly hired and rehired employees. Employers report all of their information to one state even if they have employees in multiple states. Each state reports the information to the National Directory of New Hire Reporting.
Parents' responsibilities
Parents have a role in location activities. Parents are responsible for reporting changes to the other parent, the court and the child support office within 10 days of a change of:
- Residential and mailing address
- Phone number
- Driver's license number
- Social Security number
- Name, address and phone number of the employer
Contact your county child support worker if you have changes to report. Parents must also comply with requests for information from the county child support office.
When setting a support obligation, the court uses the Minnesota child support guidelines that are in state law. The guidelines are a formula used to calculate support obligations. They are reviewed every four years and they help determine support amounts using the:
- Income of both parents
- Number of children
- Cost of raising a child at different income levels
- Availability and cost of medical support.
The guidelines are used to determine basic, medical and child care support. The court may deviate from the guidelines in certain circumstances.
Child support guidelines calculator
You can estimate the amount of child support that may be ordered on a case using the Child Support Guidelines Calculator. The estimate is informational only. The court has the authority to order child support.
The calculator can estimate a basic support amount for six or fewer children. If you have questions about items on the calculator, click on the links in each numbered line for an explanation of those items.
If you have any questions about your child support amount, contact your county child support worker or an attorney.
Minnesota courts use the child support guidelines in the law to set child support amounts by considering the incomes of both parents and the number of children. The guidelines include a parenting expense adjustment that may reduce the basic child support to offset the costs of caring for the children during parenting time.
Courts use the parenting expense adjustment law to adjust the basic child support amount for parenting time expenses, based on the number of overnights parents have in their court order. Parenting time expenses include the costs of caring for a child, like food, transportation, and clothing, during parenting time. The parenting expense adjustment only affects parents with court-ordered parenting time.
The parenting expense adjustment:
- Reduces conflict between parents over parenting time
- Acknowledges that more parenting time means higher expenses for parents who pay support
- Recognizes a child's need to have the "basics" in both homes
If you want more information, read the FAQ: Child Support Parenting Expense Adjustment Law document in the Department of Human Services eDocs library or click on the links below.
Minnesota's parenting expense adjustment history
- Prior to 2007, Minnesota statutes did not include a parenting expense adjustment. Before 2007, courts determined child support based on a percentage of the non-custodial parent's net income and the number of joint children. The courts did not consider the custodial parent's income.
- Starting in 2007, Minnesota courts started using the Parental Income for Child Support (PICS) which included BOTH parent's gross income and the number of joint children. Minnesota's child support guidelines also included three levels of a parenting expense adjustment based on parenting time for child support calculations:
- Under 10 percent parenting time = No adjustment to guidelines support
- 10 - 45 percent parenting time = 12 percent reduction to guidelines support
- 45.1 - 50 percent parenting time = Equal parenting time formula
- These levels created abrupt changes in child support obligations between 9.9 - 10 percent and 45 - 45.1 percent parenting time sometimes referred to as "the cliffs".
- In 2016, Gov. Mark Dayton signs legislation changing the formula for determining a parenting expense adjustment effective Aug. 1, 2018. The new formula increases the adjustment for each overnight parents spend with their children and eliminates "the cliffs".
- For example, if Pat, the noncustodial parent earns $3,000 per month and Chris, the custodial parent, earns $2,000 per month and they have one child together. If the court order for parenting time says:
- Pat has the child for 95 nights a year, the obligation under the parenting expense adjustment effective prior to Aug. 1, 2018 is $439 per month; under the adjustment effective Aug. 1, 2018, Pat would pay $464 per month
- Pat has the child for 161 nights a year, the obligation under the parenting expense adjusmtne effective prior to Aug. 1, 2018 is $439 per month; under the adjustment effective Aug. 1, 2018, Pat would pay $225 per month
- Pat has the child for 163 nights a year, the obligation under the parenting expense adjustment effective prior to Aug. 1, 2018 is $125 per month; under the adjustment effective Aug. 1, 2018, Pat would pay $212 per month
- Notice, using the adjustment effective Aug. 1, 2018, Pat's monthly obligation went up in two scenarios and down in the other. Applying the new formula could result in a higher monthly obligation.
Q: How do Minnesota courts determine child support?
A: The courts use the guidelines in Minnesota law to set child support amounts by considering the incomes of both parents and the number of joint children.
Q: What does a parenting expense adjustment do?
A: Minnesota courts use a parenting expense adjustment to offset the costs of caring for the children during parenting time.
Q: What are the changes to the law?
A: Starting Aug. 1, 2018, the parenting expense adjustment law changed how courts adjust the basic child support amount for parenting time expenses, based on the number of overnights parents have with their children in their court order.
Q: Does my child support amount change automatically if I have parenting time?
A: No. Child support amounts do not change automatically when parents have parenting time. The parenting expense adjustment only affects parents with court-ordered parenting time. See the question 'What should I do next?' below for more information.
Q: How will this new law affect my child support?
A: It depends on the amount of parenting time ordered and the incomes of both parents. After Aug. 1, 2018, if you file a Motion to Modify Child Support, the court will apply the new law to the basic child support. The court may modify the basic child support if the new amount is at least $75 or 20 percent higher or lower than the current order.
The basic child support could go up, down, or stay the same in the new court order.
Before filing a motion, you can contact your county child support office for more information or use the Minnesota Child Support Guidelines Calculator online, to estimate the new amount of child support the court may order.
Q: What should I do next?
A: If you have a court order with a number of overnights or with language you can use to determine the number of overnights (for example a parenting time schedule, a percentage of parenting time or the number of overnights per year), you may file a Motion to Modify Child Support after Aug. 1, 2018 and the court will apply the new parenting expense adjustment law. The court may modify the basic child support if the new amount is at least $75 and 20 percent higher or lower than the current order.
If you have a court order for parenting time but overnights are not stated in the order (for example reasonable parenting time, parenting time as agreed by the parties, or reserved parenting time), you may file a Motion for Parenting Time Assistance. The court will review your request under Minnesota law and issue an order on parenting time.
If you do not have a court order for parenting time, you may file a Petition to Establish Custody and Parenting Time. The court will review your request under Minnesota law and issue an order on custody and parenting time.
Q: Where can I find the forms I need? Is there a filing fee?
A: The forms are online at www.mncourts.gov/getforms.aspx. Yes, courts will charge a filing fee unless the court approves a fee waiver. The amount may vary by county. Contact your local court administrator's office for more information.
Q: How can I get more information?
A: Contact your county child support office, your local court self-help center, or consult a family law attorney.
Q: Where can I read the statutes about the parenting expense adjustment?
Minnesota Child Support Online is a secure website that allows registered participants to review and exchange information with DCYF.
Search our glossary of common terms used in child support and family law.