How to Complete and File the Florida Motion to Terminate Child Support

To end a support obligation in Florida, you file a Florida motion to terminate child support with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county that entered your original order, prove the child has aged out or another qualifying event has occurred, serve the other parent, and appear at a hearing where a judge signs the termination order. Payments do not stop on their own when your child turns 18. Until a judge signs, the obligation stays in force, wage withholding continues, and any unpaid balance keeps growing.¹

When You Can Ask the Court to End Support

Florida Statute 61.13 lists the events that give you a legal basis to terminate. Your motion has to fit one of them.

The child turns 18. Support ends on the 18th birthday unless the child is still in high school, performing in good faith, and reasonably expected to graduate before turning 19, in which case support runs to graduation or the 19th birthday, whichever comes first. A written agreement between the parents to extend support past 18 controls if one exists.¹
The child is emancipated. A minor 16 or older can petition under Florida Statute 743.015 to have the disabilities of nonage removed. Once granted, the child is legally an adult and support ends.²
The child marries.
The child joins the armed services, which Florida treats the same as emancipation for support purposes.³
The child dies. The 2025 version of Section 61.13 lists the child’s death as a basis for termination.³

One exception cuts the other way. Florida Statute 743.07 lets a court require continued support for an adult child whose mental or physical incapacity began before 18 and who remains dependent because of it. If that describes your child, the court can deny termination.⁴

What to Gather Before You File

Pull these items together before you draft anything:

Your case number and division, both printed on the original Final Judgment or support order.
The county where the original order was entered. You file there, not where you live now.
The child’s full legal name and date of birth, copied exactly from the original order. A middle-name mismatch can hold up processing.
The specific termination date: the 18th birthday, expected graduation date, marriage date, date of the emancipation order, enlistment date, or date of death.
Documentary proof of the triggering event: a birth certificate, high school transcript or diploma, marriage certificate, court emancipation order, or death certificate. The judge needs paper, not just testimony.
Whether the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) has been involved in collecting or enforcing your support. If it has, DOR is a party you must serve.

Getting the Right Form

Florida does not publish a statewide Supreme Court Approved form specifically for terminating an existing final support order. The 12.947 series on the Florida Courts site covers temporary support matters, not termination of a final order.⁵ Individual judicial circuits fill the gap with their own packets. The Eighth Judicial Circuit, for example, publishes a motion to terminate packet with the motion, certificate of service, and filing instructions.⁶

Start with the self-help center or clerk’s office in the county where your case was filed. Ask specifically for a motion to terminate child support packet. If your circuit does not offer one, you draft the motion yourself or hire an attorney to prepare it.

What the Motion Must Say

Whatever form you use, the motion needs to contain the same core pieces:

A caption with the court name, case number, division, and the parties’ names as they appear on the original order.
A reference to the existing support order by date, along with the current monthly amount.
The child’s full legal name and date of birth.
The legal ground for termination and the date it occurred: turned 18, graduated, married, was emancipated, enlisted, or died.
A clear request that the court enter an order terminating the obligation as of a stated date.

Florida family law motions generally must be signed in black ink and notarized. The clerk’s office can notarize your documents for a small fee if you bring a valid photo ID. A motion that is unsigned or not notarized will be rejected at the counter or by the e-filing system.⁷

Court filings are public records. Do not include full Social Security numbers, full financial account numbers, or dates of birth beyond the year for anyone other than the child who is the subject of the motion. If your papers contain sensitive identifiers, ask the clerk’s office about the current local rules for filing a separate notice of confidential information.

Filing With the Clerk

File the signed, notarized motion with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the original support order was entered. You can file in person or through the statewide Florida Courts E-Filing Portal, which accepts electronic payment and time-stamps your submission.⁸⁹

Filing fees vary by county. Volusia County, for reference, charges $50 for a petition to modify a dissolution of marriage matter, the category many clerks use for termination motions.¹⁰ Confirm the fee with your local clerk. If you cannot afford it, you can apply for a determination of civil indigent status under Florida Statute 57.082; you qualify if your household income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.¹¹

Serving the Other Parent and DOR

After filing, deliver a copy of the motion to the other parent. Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.080 requires that every document filed after the initial pleading be served in conformity with Rule 2.516 of the Florida Rules of General Practice and Judicial Administration.¹² Service by mail or hand delivery to the other parent or their attorney is standard for this motion. Then complete the Certificate of Service on the motion itself, certifying how and when you delivered the copy.⁶

If the Florida Department of Revenue has been enforcing or collecting your payments, serve DOR too. Missing a required party gives the court a reason to delay or deny the motion and gives the other side grounds to challenge the outcome later.

The Hearing

You need to schedule a hearing before a judge or general magistrate. File a Notice of Hearing using Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.923 and serve a copy on the other parent and on DOR if it is involved.¹³ Contact the judicial assistant for the judge assigned to your case for available dates. Some counties schedule online, some by phone.

Bring your proof of the triggering event: birth certificate, transcript or diploma, marriage certificate, emancipation order, or death certificate. Ask the judicial assistant whether the judge wants a proposed order drafted in advance. Rule 12.080 allows the court to require a party to prepare orders, and many judges prefer having one ready so they can sign at the hearing if they grant the motion.¹²

If the other parent does not object and your documentation supports the ground you claimed, the hearing is usually brief. The judge reviews the papers, confirms the legal basis, and signs the order. Once the clerk records the signed order, the obligation is officially ended.

Stopping Wage Withholding After the Order

The judge’s signature does not stop your paycheck deductions. An Income Deduction Order stays in force “so long as the underlying order of support is effective or until further order of the court,” so someone has to tell your employer to stop.¹⁴ Send a certified copy of the termination order to the Florida State Disbursement Unit, and to DOR if DOR is on your case. Then call your employer’s payroll department to confirm they received the notice and are stopping the deduction.

Arrears Do Not Go Away

Terminating current support does not erase past-due amounts. If you owe arrears from before the termination date, you still owe them. DOR states that even where parental rights are terminated, the court can require you to pay off amounts that accrued beforehand.¹⁵ In Title IV-D cases handled through DOR, the income deduction continues at the same rate that was in effect before emancipation until every dollar of arrears, retroactive support, and costs is paid.¹⁴

Get a payment history before your hearing so you know your balance. If DOR is on your case, call 850-488-KIDS (5437) with your Social Security number and security code. If DOR is not involved, contact the Florida State Disbursement Unit at 877-769-0251. You can also view your last five payments at paykidz.com using your case number and Social Security number.¹⁶ Knowing the exact figure lets you address any disputed amounts in the same proceeding.

Mistakes That Cost You Time

The biggest one is waiting. Parents often assume support ends the day the child turns 18 and only file when they notice the withholding continuing. Every month between the triggering event and the signed order is another month of payments, and recovering overpayments is harder than stopping them on time. If your child’s 18th birthday is close, start gathering documents and contacting the clerk now.

The other frequent problems are filing in the wrong county, forgetting to serve DOR when it is involved, showing up at the hearing without documentary proof, and submitting a motion that was not notarized. Any one of these can add weeks or months.

1
Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 743.015 – Disabilities of Nonage; Removal
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing; Powers of Court
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 743.07 – Rights, Privileges, and Obligations of Persons 18 Years of Age or Older
5
Florida Courts. Temporary Support – 12.947 Forms A – D
6
Eighth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Filing Your (Joint) Motion to Terminate Child Support
7
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. Packet 38 – Motion for Temporary Relief
8
Florida Courts E-Filing Authority. Florida Courts E-Filing Authority
9
Florida Courts Help. Filing Your Forms
10
Volusia County Clerk of the Circuit Court. Fees and Fines
11
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 57.082 – Determination of Civil Indigent Status
12
CourseRules.net. Rule 12.080 – Service of Pleadings
13
Florida Courts. Notice of Hearing (General)
14
Florida Courts. Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form 12.996(a) – Income Deduction Order
15
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Child Support Program – Comply with Orders
16
Lake County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller. How Can I Find Out When the Last Support Payment Was Made?