Child Support Enforcement in Florida: Wage Withholding, Liens, and Contempt

If a parent in Florida isn’t paying court-ordered child support, the Department of Revenue can step in at no cost and use a long list of tools to collect: wage withholding, driver’s and professional license suspension, tax refund and lottery intercepts, passport denial, property liens, credit reporting, and, when nothing else works, a contempt motion that can land the non-paying parent in jail. Child support enforcement in Florida is one of the most aggressive programs in the country, and it’s available whether or not you receive public assistance.¹

Opening an Enforcement Case

Enforcement starts with an application for child support services. You can apply online through the Florida Child Support eServices portal, in person at a local child support office, or by requesting a paper form (DOR Form CSE-1) by phone.²

Have the following ready: the other parent’s full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current or last known address, along with their employer if you know it. You’ll also need a copy of the existing support order or final divorce judgment, which gives the state the legal authority to act.³ Missing information slows everything down. Knowing where the other parent works, in particular, speeds up wage withholding dramatically. Families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families are referred automatically and don’t need to apply.

Wage Withholding

The strongest tool in the enforcement system is the income deduction order. Whenever a Florida court establishes or enforces support, it must also enter a separate order directing the paying parent’s employer to withhold the support amount from each paycheck and send it to the state.⁴ In cases the Department of Revenue is managing, the department can issue its own income deduction notice directly to the employer without returning to court.

Employers have real skin in the game. An employer who fails to withhold the correct amount becomes personally liable for what should have been deducted, plus costs, interest, and attorney’s fees. An employer who retaliates against the worker faces civil penalties of up to $250 for a first violation and $500 for later ones, and the worker can sue for reinstatement and lost wages.⁵

License Suspensions

Driving privileges are often the first thing a delinquent parent loses. When the local depository determines a parent is 15 days behind on a payment, it must notify them.⁶ If the parent doesn’t pay or arrange a payment plan, the depository reports the delinquency to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, which suspends both the driver’s license and the registration of every vehicle in the parent’s name.⁷

Reinstatement requires full payment of the delinquency or an approved payment plan. The same program can suspend professional licenses and hunting and fishing licenses.

Tax Refund and Lottery Intercepts

Florida pulls money from several automatic sources. The federal Tax Refund Offset Program diverts federal tax refunds from parents who owe arrears. For TANF cases, the arrears threshold is $150. For non-TANF cases, it’s $500.⁸

Florida lottery prizes of $600 or more are also intercepted. Before paying out a prize at that level, the lottery department checks for outstanding child support debts and deducts them first. When a winner owes multiple state debts, child support is paid before everything else.⁹

Passports, Liens, and Credit Reporting

Once past-due support crosses $2,500, the state certifies the case to the federal government for passport denial. The Secretary of State can refuse to issue a new passport, decline to renew an existing one, or limit it.¹⁰ Parents who travel for work are often caught off guard.

The Department of Revenue also places liens on motor vehicles and boats owned by the delinquent parent, which block any sale or transfer until the debt is cleared.¹¹ Delinquencies are reported to the credit bureaus, which can damage credit scores and make it harder to get loans, housing, or jobs.¹

Contempt of Court and Arrest

When administrative tools fail, the next step is court. Either the Department of Revenue or the custodial parent can file a Motion for Civil Contempt (Florida Supreme Court Form 12.960) in the circuit court where the original case was decided, asking a judge to hold the non-paying parent in contempt.¹²

The original support order creates a legal presumption that the parent can pay. At the contempt hearing, the burden shifts to the non-paying parent to prove they genuinely cannot pay, not just that paying is inconvenient. If they can’t meet that burden, the judge finds willful contempt.¹³

The court can issue a writ of bodily attachment, which functions as an arrest warrant. Law enforcement takes the parent into custody until they come before a judge, who sets a “purge amount,” a specific dollar figure the parent must pay to avoid jail or secure release. The judge can also order the non-paying parent to cover the other side’s attorney’s fees and court costs.¹² Incarceration is the system’s last resort, and the court can only use it when the parent actually has the ability to pay.

If You’re the Parent Who Can’t Pay, File for Modification

If you’ve lost a job or had a medical emergency, do not simply stop paying and plan to sort it out later. Florida does not forgive arrears because circumstances changed. Every missed payment becomes a judgment by operation of law, with interest accruing on the unpaid balance.¹³

File for modification before the debt grows. To qualify, you must show a change in circumstances that is substantial, permanent, and involuntary. “Substantial” has a specific meaning in Florida:

Less than three years since the order was issued or last changed: the new circumstances must produce at least a 15 percent change in the support amount, and no less than $50.
More than three years since the order was issued or last changed: the threshold drops to 10 percent, and no less than $25.

The change must also be permanent and involuntary. A layoff from a long-term job can qualify. Quitting or getting fired for misconduct does not. Severe illness, disability, or retirement at normal retirement age are examples the Department of Revenue recognizes as meeting the standard.¹⁴ You can request a review through the Department of Revenue if the state manages your case, or file a supplemental petition directly with the circuit court. Either way, modification is retroactive only to the date you file, not before. Delay only means more arrears you can’t undo.

When Enforcement Ends (and When It Doesn’t)

Florida support orders entered after October 1, 2010, must include a termination date. Support generally ends on the child’s 18th birthday. If the child is still in high school at 18 and making reasonable progress toward graduation, support continues until graduation or age 19, whichever comes first. Support can also extend past 18 if the child has a mental or physical disability that began before they turned 18.³

The ongoing obligation ends on that date; the arrears do not. If a parent owes $10,000 when the child turns 18, the state keeps collecting. Wage withholding, intercepts, license suspensions, passport denial, and all the other tools remain available until the balance is paid in full.

Address Confidentiality for Domestic Violence Survivors

If you need to pursue enforcement but fear the other parent learning where you live, Florida’s Address Confidentiality Program, run by the Attorney General’s office, gives domestic violence survivors a substitute address that state and local agencies must accept in place of a real home address. There is no fee, certification lasts four years and can be renewed, and the Attorney General acts as the participant’s agent for mail and service of process.¹⁵

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 409.2557 – State Agency for Administering Child Support Enforcement Program
2
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Child Support eServices
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.1301 – Income Deduction Orders
5
Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.1301 – Income Deduction Orders
6
Justia Law. Florida Code 61.14 – Enforcement and Modification of Support, Maintenance, or Alimony Agreements or Orders
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 322.058 – Suspension of Driving Privilege Due to Support Delinquency; Reinstatement
8
Administration for Children and Families. When Is a Child Support Case Eligible for the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program?
9
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 24.115 – Payment of Prizes
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 652 – Duties of Secretary
11
Florida Department of Revenue. Complying with Child Support Orders
12
Florida Courts. Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.960 – Motion for Civil Contempt/Enforcement
13
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.14 – Enforcement and Modification of Support, Maintenance, or Alimony Agreements or Orders
14
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Child Support Program – Changing Support Orders
15
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 741.403 – Address Confidentiality Program; Application; Certification