Our most important tool to assure payment of child support is the wage assignment.

The law requires that child support payments be withheld from a non-custodial parent’s wages unless the court approves an alternate method. This withholding is a wage assignment, also called an Order and Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support. The amount is shown in the most recent court order.

Employers are required by law to honor wage assignments, and they must give a copy of the wage assignment to the employee. It becomes effective within ten days of the date the employer receives it.

When you change jobs, you must notify DCSS so that a wage assignment can be sent to your new employer.  If you don''t notify us when you change jobs, your account will show that you have arrears due unless you make child support payments on your own. The law requries that ten percent interest be charged on overdue accounts.

For more information about wage assignments, see Questions and Answers About Wage Assignments,  and "Collecting Child Support" in the California Child Support Handbook.