The Alabama child support termination form CS-44 is an affidavit you file with the Circuit Court to end an income withholding order once every child on your order has turned 19 and you owe nothing in back support. It’s the shortcut route, published by the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts, and it works only in that specific situation.1Alabama Administrative Office of Courts. Child Support Forms Miss either condition and the affidavit won’t get you there; your employer will keep deducting support until a judge signs an order telling them to stop.
Who Can Use the CS-44
Two conditions must both be true. Every child covered by the support order has to have reached age 19, Alabama’s age of majority. And your arrearage balance has to be zero. If you still owe a dollar of past-due support, or if you have a younger child on the same order, the affidavit isn’t available to you.
The CS-44 also does not cover early emancipation. A child who married at 17 or enlisted at 18 may well be emancipated under Alabama law, but you cannot use this affidavit to say so. Those cases require a separate petition asking a judge to make that finding.2Legal Information Institute. Alabama Admin Code 660-3-16-.08 – Terminating an Income Withholding
One more thing worth knowing before you invest time in the form: the support order does not terminate itself when your child turns 19. The current-support obligation ends, but the income withholding directive to your employer stays active until a court formally lifts it. That’s what the CS-44 is for.
What to Gather Before You Start
You can download the CS-44 from the Alabama AOC’s e-forms page or pick up a paper copy at your local Circuit Court clerk’s office.1Alabama Administrative Office of Courts. Child Support Forms Before you fill anything in, pull together:
- The original domestic relations case number from the court that entered the support order.
- The exact court name and county where the order was entered.
- Full names and current addresses for both parents on the order.
- The child’s birth certificate, to prove the child has reached 19.
- A current statement of your child support account, so you know for certain the balance is zero.
If you’re not sure whether an arrearage still shows on the state’s books, call the Alabama Department of Human Resources or your local court clerk and ask for a payoff figure in writing. You’ll be signing the affidavit under oath, and a stray balance you didn’t know about will sink the filing.
Completing and Notarizing the Form
The heart of the CS-44 is the sworn statement that current support is no longer due because every child on the order has reached 19, and that no arrearage remains. Read those two lines carefully before you sign. Both need to be accurate.
The form must be signed in front of a notary public. Alabama caps notary fees at $10 per notarization.3Alabama Secretary of State. Act 2023-548 Banks, shipping stores, and some courthouses can notarize on the spot.
Filing With the Circuit Court
File the notarized affidavit with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county that issued the original support order. The filing fee for a case on the domestic relations docket seeking to modify or enforce an existing order is $248.4Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code Title 12-19-71 – Circuit and District Court Filing Fee Confirm the current amount with the clerk before you go in, since costs can shift.
If the fee is out of reach, ask the clerk for an Affidavit of Substantial Hardship (Form C-10) and file it with your CS-44. You’ll disclose income, monthly expenses, and any liquid assets. The court can waive the fee if it finds you indigent, or order partial payment if you’re partially indigent.5Alabama Judicial System. Affidavit of Substantial Hardship and Order Receiving benefits like SSI or Medicaid supports the request, but the full financial disclosure is required regardless.
Serving the Other Parent and DHR
Filing alone doesn’t finish the job. You must also serve a copy of the affidavit on the other parent and, if the Department of Human Resources is involved in enforcement on your case, on DHR. Service by first-class mail is typical. This gives the other side formal notice that you’re asking the court to terminate withholding.
After that, they have a window to object. If the other parent believes an arrearage still exists, or disputes that the child has reached 19, they can contest the affidavit and the court will set a hearing. If no one objects and the paperwork is clean, the matter moves to the judge for signature without a court appearance.
Getting the Signed Order to Your Employer
When the judge signs the termination order, get a copy to your employer’s payroll department right away. Until payroll has that signed order in hand, they’re legally obligated to keep deducting support from your wages. The court does not notify your employer for you. Send a copy to DHR as well if they were handling enforcement.
When the CS-44 Is the Wrong Form
The affidavit is built for the cleanest scenario. If your situation is different, you’ll need a formal motion or petition to the Circuit Court instead:
- You’re claiming emancipation. A child who married, enlisted, or is otherwise living independently before 19 may qualify as emancipated, but that’s a determination a judge has to make on evidence.2Legal Information Institute. Alabama Admin Code 660-3-16-.08 – Terminating an Income Withholding
- You still owe arrearages. Current support may be done, but withholding continues while the past-due balance exists. A court can terminate the withholding once you clear the arrearage, and it grants that relief once; if new arrears accumulate afterward and a new withholding order issues, it stays in place for the duration of the obligation.2Legal Information Institute. Alabama Admin Code 660-3-16-.08 – Terminating an Income Withholding
- Your order originated in another state. The issuing state’s age of majority controls, which the affidavit form isn’t built to handle.
Formal petitions carry the same $248 filing fee, require service on all parties, and are far more likely to draw a hearing. Consider an attorney if you expect the other parent to fight it.
Zero Out the Arrears First
This is the part that trips people up. The CS-44 requires a zero balance, and an arrearage doesn’t disappear when your child turns 19. The debt keeps running, and so does Alabama’s enforcement machinery. DHR’s tools for collecting past-due support include:6Alabama Department of Human Resources. Enforcement of Court Ordered Child Support Payments
- Federal and state tax refund interception, triggered at $150 in arrears for TANF cases and $500 for other cases.
- Automatic credit bureau reporting once arrears exceed $1,000.
- Passport denial at $2,500 or more in past-due support, including revocation of an existing passport. Removal from the program requires your balance to reach zero.7Administration for Children and Families. Passport Denial Program 101
- Suspension of your driver’s license and any professional, sporting, or recreational licenses.
- Bank account liens through matches against financial institution records.
Get a written payoff figure from DHR or the clerk and pay it off before you file the affidavit. Once the balance hits zero and no current support is due, the CS-44 becomes available.
A Word on Taxes
Terminating support has no separate tax consequence. Child support you paid during the year isn’t deductible, and support the other parent received isn’t taxable income to them.8Internal Revenue Service. Tax Information for Non-Custodial Parents That treatment doesn’t shift when the obligation ends.