Yes. Click here to go directly to the E-Pay site to pay your child support via Mastercard, VISA, or the Discover Card.

Child support is money paid by parents to meet their child's living and medical needs. The most recent court order is the source of the amount,which is based mainly on the incomes of the parents, number of children, and custody and visitation. The court may also include health insurance coverage and child care payments in a child support order.

DCSS will (1) locate the non-custodial parent; (2) establish paternity (fatherhood) if necessary; (3) obtain a court order for support; (4) Enforce the order through wage assignments, liens, license suspensions, and other means; (5) collect and distribute child support payments, and (6) modify child support orders.

Yes. We obtain health insurance orders on public assistance cases and on non-aid cases at the request of the custodial parent. Health insurance is enforced on all cases unless a parent not on aid verifies that the children are fully covered and requests that a health insurance order not be enforced.

Call toll free 1.888.271.4151. You'll need your Social Security Number and your Participant ID (PAR ID) found on your bill or a check from DCSS.

A disregard is a payment of up to $50 in court-ordered support provided to a CalWORKS custodial parent (a parent on aid) when the non-custodial parent makes a current support payment.  DCSS sends out the disregard within two days of receipt of the payment.

DCSS can suspend or withhold permanent, state-issued licenses to collect past due child support. SLMS stands for State Licensing Match System, which is used to match parents who owe child support with business, professional, and driver's licenses.

Yes. Call us at 408.503.5200, and we will send you an application form.  If you have a CalWORKS (aid) case, the Social Services Agency will refer your case to DCSS.  

No, but the Family Court Clinic in the Court House on 99 Notre Dame Avenue can help you. The information line is 408.882.2900. Press #7 for the Family Law Facilitator.

If the non-custodial parent has missed paying for at least three months in the past 12 months (and meets other criteria), DCSS can review the order and determine if there is a willful failure to pay support.  If DCSS proceeds with a contempt action, an "Order to Show Cause" (a legal document that orders a contempt hearing) is filed with Family Court. DCSS sends the order to the non-custodial parent at least 15 days before the court hearing. The custodial parent is notified of the hearing date and time.

Yes. As long as the child lives in Santa Clara County, DCSS will continue to enforce the support order.

POP stands for Paternity Opportunity Program. It allows unwed parents to sign a Declaration of Paternity, a legal document that says the individuals signing it are the child's natural parents.

You can if you are self-employed or if you are an employer. Also, you can use an ATM Visa card to to set up an automatic payment plan.

If your child support account remains current with no arrears due, your taxes will not be intercepted.

DCSS will not do a refund. Instead, your spouse must file Tax Form 8379 with the IRS to request a refund. FTB provides no process for requesting a refund.

Send a written request for a review to DCSS (or the county department given on the notice).

It means you have been named the father of a child. The S&C seeks to establish paternity and/or child support. It is a legal document and requires a response to the court within 30 days of the date you receive it.

The Summons and Complaint you received contains an "Answer" form. If you believe you are not the father of the child named in the S&C, you must file the Answer with the court within 30 days of your receiving it. It contains a request for DNA tests, which cost approximately $47 per person and will be taken at the DCSS office at 2851 Junction Avenue in San Jose. You will receive the results in six to eight weeks. If the tests show you are not the father, the court action will be dismissed and the DCSS case closed.

The court will name you the father of the child and order you to pay the child and medical support amount given in the S&C. This is called a default judgment.

A wage assignment, also called an Order and Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support (NTW), is a court-ordered deduction from wages for child, spousal or family support.