Child maintenance: fees (UK excluding NI)

Up-to-date information can now been found in the Library Briefing CBP 7774: Child Maintenance: Fees, enforcement and arrears

Fees are payable in respect of application, collection (if using “Collect and Pay”) and enforcement under the current statutory child maintenance scheme administered by the CMS.  This note sets out information on the fees and the policy background.

Since 2014, for child support cases dealt with by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), fees have been charged for applications, collection services (where the “Collect and Pay” service is used) and enforcement.  For legacy cases that are dealt with by the Child Support Agency (CSA), there are no fees.

This note sets out the levels of fees, and also notes that any person aged 18 or under or a victim of domestic violence or abuse is exempt from the application fee. 

It also provides policy background and the total amount of receipts paid to the CMS to March 2016.