Enforce Child Support from an Ex-Spouse

The Clerk’s Office can provide you with some assistance in enforcing the court-ordered child support obligation.  If a payment becomes due and is unpaid for 15 days, the Clerk’s Office can send a Notice of Delinquency.  If the delinquency plus fees are not paid within 20 days, a judgment is entered against the respondent.  The judgment becomes a lien against any real property owned by the respondent.  Assistance can also be given to obtain an Income Deduction Order. This court order requires an employer to deduct a specified amount from the obligated parent’s payroll.

How can I ensure that I get support payments on time?
At the request of the custodial parent, the Clerk of the Court may suspend a non-custodial parent’s Florida Driver’s License when child support payments become delinquent.

How can I have my child support enforced?
The State of Florida has designated the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) as the primary public agency to provide public child support enforcement activities.  However, the Clerk’s Office is required to send out Notices of Delinquency upon request.  

Links to the Department of Revenue's child support section:

• Applying for Child Support Enforcement: http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/childsupport/apply.html

Other alternatives:

• Hire an attorney to represent you
• Represent yourself without the services of an attorney

How is my child support collected and disbursed?
In 1999, federal law required the State of Florida to collect child support through a state disbursement unit (SDU). All payments are mailed to the State Disbursement Unit and are rapidly disbursed. To find out the status of a payment, you can either call the SDU’s customer service line at (877) 769-0251 or go online to www.myfloridacounty.com to view the last three transactions on your case, or you can always call the Clerk office in the county in which your support was ordered.

Can I pay child support online?
The ability to make an online payment is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for all child support cases paid through the SDU through www.myfloridacounty.com.