Child Support Enforcement in Alabama

Unfortunately, getting a child support order in Alabama doesn't necessarily mean that you'll receive the money you're owed. Fortunately, you can get help from the state and its courts if your child's other parent hasn't been paying on time—or at all.

Collecting Child Support Through Income Withholding

Under Alabama law, all child support orders must include an order for income withholding, unless the parents have agreed in writing to another payment arrangement or a judge has found a good reason not to require the withholding. With income withholding, the child support payments are automatically taken out of the paychecks of the parent who owes support. The money is forwarded to the state, which then distributes it to the recipient parent.

(Ala. Code § 30-3-61 (2024).)

Getting Help From Alabama's Child Support Enforcement Agency

Alabama, like all other U.S. states, has an agency dedicated to helping parents collect child support: the Child Support Enforcement Division (CSE) in the Alabama Department of Human Resources. Unless CSE is already handling your case or you're receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), you'll need to apply for services and pay a small fee to request help enforcing child support.

In addition to all the steps CSE can take to collect overdue support (more on those steps below), the agency can also provide other necessary assistance related to child support, including trying to locate a missing parent.

What Can Happen To Parents Who Don't Pay Child Support?

Depending on how much a parent owes in overdue child support ("arrearages"), Alabama's CSE has several enforcement tools, including:

• getting an income withholding order to cover the arrearages as well as current support payments
• reporting the debt to consumer credit agencies, which can hurt the delinquent parent's credit rating
• deducting the arrearages from the parent's income tax refunds
• seizing the money from the delinquent parent's bank accounts or accounts with other financial institutions
• suspending, restricting, or revoking the delinquent parent's driver's license and other state-issued licenses, such as occupational and recreational licenses
• filing a lien on the delinquent parent's property (such as a house or car), so that it can't be sold or refinanced until the debt for child support is paid, and
• asking a judge to have the delinquent parent found in contempt of court (more on that below).

In addition to paying the child support arrearages, delinquent parents must pay interest. For support orders issued on or after September 1, 2011, the interest rate in Alabama is 7.5% per year. If the order was issued before then, the interest rate is 12%. (Ala. Code § 8-8-10 (2024).)

Enforcing Child Support in Alabama Courts

You also have the option of taking matters into your own hands by requesting a hearing to have your co-parent found in contempt of court for willfully disobeying the child support order. The delinquent parent will have the right to appear at the hearing and try to convince the judge there was a good reason they couldn't pay.

Delinquent parents who are found in contempt may be placed in jail until they "purge" the contempt by paying the support arrearages—or at least by starting to pay as ordered by the judge.

(Ala. Rules Civ. Proc., rule 70A (2024).)

Can You Be Charged With a Crime for Not Paying Child Support?

Parents in Alabama who intentionally refuse to pay child support can be charged with criminal "nonsupport," as long as they know about their legal obligation support obligation and have the ability to pay. If found guilty, they could face up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $6,000, or both. (Ala. Code §§ 13A-5-7, 13A-5-12, 13A-13-4 (2024).)

In especially serious cases, parents who refuse to pay child support could be charged with a federal crime if they:

• live in a different state than the child or traveled to another state to avoid paying support, and
• haven't paid child support in more than a year or owe at least $5,000 in arrearages.

(18 U.S.C. § 228 (2024).)

When Do You Need a Lawyer's Help to Collect Child Support?

If you're like most Alabama parents who are having trouble collecting child support, your first step will be to get help from CSE. But if the agency's enforcement efforts haven't worked—or it's taking too long to get results—you can go directly to court by filing a "Request for Contempt Hearing." You can download the form (Form PS-03) from the Alabama Courts Do It Yourself Forms page.

However, you should strongly consider speaking with a lawyer if you decide to go this route—or if you're the one facing contempt proceedings. A local, experienced family law attorney can help you navigate the legal system, gather the kind of evidence you'll need, and represent you at the hearing.