Child Support Enforcement in North Carolina

If you're not receiving the money you're owed under your North Carolina child support order, you can get help from the state and its courts. And if you're the one who owes child support, you should know the consequences of not keeping up with the payments.

Income Withholding for Child Support

The easiest and most effective way of collecting and paying child support is to have the money taken out of the paychecks of the parent who owes support. The employer will send the money to the North Carolina Child Support Collections, which will then forward it to the other parent. Child support can also be withheld from other types of regular income besides employment, such as:

• unemployment benefits
• workers' compensation benefits,
• Social Security benefits, and
• veterans' disability benefits.

Under North Carolina law, all child support orders must include income withholding unless:

• both parents have agreed to another payment arrangement, or
• the judge finds there's a good reason for not requiring income withholding—such as when there's another reasonable and workable plan for ensuring that the support payments will be consistently on time.

(Those exceptions don't apply in cases when the custodial parent is receiving public assistance for the child.)

If income withholding hasn't been in place, and the payments are late or erratic, the recipient parent may file a request with the court for a withholding order.

(N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 110-136.2, 110-136.3, 110-136.5 (2024).)

Getting Help From North Carolina's Child Support Services

Even though most child support is paid through income withholding, you might need help collecting payments—for instance, if your co-parent is self-employed or unemployed (and not receiving benefits). If you're in this situation, you can apply online for enforcement assistance from North Carolina's Child Support Services (CSS). You'll need to pay a $25 application fee unless you qualify for a reduced fee.

Like similar agencies in other states, North Carolina's CSS has several ways of enforcing child support orders. Depending on how much a parent owes in back support ("arrearages") or how late the payments are, those enforcement tools may include:

• intercepting income tax refunds or state lottery winnings
• seizing the money from the delinquent parent's bank accounts
• filing liens on the delinquent parent's property, so the parent can't sell or borrow money on the property without paying the child support debt
• reporting the debt to consumer credit agencies, which can hurt the parent's credit rating
• having the delinquent parent's driver's license, professional or occupational license, recreational licenses, or passport suspended or revoked, and
• filing a court action to have the parent found in contempt (more on that below).

Enforcing Child Support in North Carolina's Courts

If the CSS hasn't already done so, you may file an affidavit (a sworn statement) or a motion for an order to show cause to ask a judge to find your co-parent in contempt of court for willfully failing to obey the child support order, despite having the ability to do so. Your co-parent will have the right to appear at a hearing and try to convince the judge that there was a good reason they couldn't pay the support.

Parents who are found in contempt of court may be jailed until they "purge" the contempt by paying the child support arrearages. (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 5A-21, 50-13.9(d) (2024).)

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

Under North Carolina law, it's a misdemeanor to "willfully neglect or refuse" to support your minor children. Parents may also be charged with a felony when they have:

• abandoned their children for at least six months
• willfully failed or refused to support the children during that time, and
• tried to hide their whereabouts to avoid their support obligation.

Willful refusal to pay child support is also a federal crime if the delinquent parent:

• lives in a different state than the child or has traveled to another state to avoid paying child support, and
• owes at least $5,000 in back support or hasn't paid in more than a year.

(N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 14-322, 14-322.1; 18 U.S.C. § 228 (2024).)

When Do You Need a Lawyer to Enforce Child Support?

Because of the services provided by North Carolina's CSS, most parents won't have to hire a lawyer to get help collecting child support. Along with the application fee, the agency charges a small annual fee after it has collected at least $550 in support.

If you decide to go directly to court to enforce your child support order, you can download the form for a motion and order to show cause from the North Carolina Judicial Branch. Check with your local court clerk to make sure you understand and follow all of the proper court procedures. If possible, it's a good idea to speak with a family lawyer who can help you navigate the legal process. That's especially true if you expect the other parent to claim they can't pay—or if you're the one facing contempt charges.