How to Fill Out and File a Texas Child Support Termination Form

To end court-ordered wage withholding in Texas, you file a Petition to Terminate Withholding for Child Support — the standard Texas child support termination form — with the district clerk in the county that issued your original support order. The form packet is free through Texas Law Help, and the filing fee runs from $0.01 to $15 depending on the county.¹ Filing the paperwork is what actually stops the deductions; your employer is legally required to keep withholding until it receives a court order or an updated withholding notice telling it to stop.²

Confirm You Qualify to Terminate

Texas law ends the duty to pay child support only on specific triggers. The most common is the child turning 18 or graduating from high school, whichever comes later.³ If your child turns 18 in March but graduates in June, you owe support through June.

The other qualifying events under Texas Family Code 154.006 are:⁴

The child marries at any age.
A court removes the child’s disabilities of minority (emancipation).
The child dies.
The child enlists in the military and begins active service.
The child is 18 or older and stops attending high school or fails to meet the enrollment requirements described in the order.

None of these events stops your paycheck automatically. You have to file.

Get the Free Forms

The petition and its companion orders are available at no cost through Texas Law Help.⁵ The complete packet includes four documents:

Petition to Terminate Withholding for Child Support — your formal request to the court.
Order to Terminate Withholding for Child Support — the proposed order the judge signs.
Order to Employer to Terminate Withholding for Support — the document that goes to your payroll department.
Waiver of Service — a form the other parent can sign if they agree, so you don’t have to formally serve them.

Blank forms are also available at your district clerk’s office. Print or download the full set at once.

If your case runs through the Texas Attorney General’s Office (a Title IV-D case), call your regional AG office before you head to the courthouse. In some situations they can process the termination administratively, which can save you the filing entirely.⁶

Gather Your Case Information and Proof

Pull these details from your original support order before you start filling anything out:

The cause number
The court number and county where the order was issued
The date the judge signed the original order
The child’s full legal name and date of birth
Your employer’s name and address

You also need documentation proving the qualifying event. Match the proof to the trigger:

Child turned 18 and graduated: high school diploma or transcript, plus a certified birth certificate.
Marriage: certified copy of the marriage license or certificate.
Emancipation: the court order removing disabilities of minority.
Military enlistment: documentation of the active-duty start date.

Fill Out the Petition and Orders

The petition is a fill-in-the-blanks form. At the top, enter the cause number, court number, and county exactly as they appear on your original support order. You are the movant; the other parent is the respondent.

In the body, state why withholding should end. Select or write in the qualifying event — the child’s age and graduation, marriage, emancipation, or another trigger from the statute. Enter the child’s full name and date of birth. If the order covers more than one child and you’re only ending support for one of them, say so clearly so the court doesn’t terminate withholding across the board.

The proposed Order to Terminate Withholding mirrors the petition. Copy the same case information across the top and leave the judge’s signature line blank. On the Order to Employer to Terminate Withholding, fill in your employer’s name, address, and the details of the existing withholding arrangement. That last document is the one that ultimately reaches your payroll department.

File With the District Clerk

File the completed packet with the district clerk in the county where the original support order was issued.⁷ Each district clerk sets its own fee for a termination request, and the range is $0.01 to $15.¹ Call ahead to confirm the exact amount and accepted payment methods.

Filing in Person

Bring your original signed petition, the proposed orders, and your supporting documents to the clerk’s office. The clerk stamps the paperwork with the filing date and returns copies to you. Hold onto those stamped copies as your proof of filing.

Filing Electronically

Self-represented filers can submit family law documents through eFile Texas at efiletexas.gov.⁸ Upload signed PDFs, enter the case information the system prompts you for, and pay the filing fee online. Use the site’s auto-redact tool to strip Social Security numbers before you submit.

What Happens Next Depends on the Other Parent

If the Other Parent Agrees

Have them sign the Waiver of Service and the proposed Order to Terminate Withholding. The Waiver of Service must be signed in front of a notary.⁹ With both signatures in hand, you can skip formal service and only need a brief appearance before the judge to get the order signed.⁷

If the Other Parent Won’t Sign

You’ll need formal service of process. Ask the district clerk to issue a citation when you file, and arrange for a constable, sheriff, or private process server to deliver the petition and citation to the other parent in person.⁹ The server files a Return of Service with the court as proof of delivery. The other parent then has time to respond. If the case stays disputed, the court sets a hearing. Bring your originals and copies of the diploma, birth certificate, marriage license, or other proof of the qualifying event.

Get the Signed Order to Your Employer

The judge’s signature does not stop the deductions on its own. Your employer keeps withholding until it receives either the signed Order to Employer to Terminate Withholding or an official termination notice from the court or the Attorney General’s Office.²

How that notice gets to your employer varies by county. Some clerks send it themselves once the judge signs. Others require you to buy a certified copy of the signed order and deliver it to your employer.⁶ Ask the clerk’s office which procedure applies. If the burden is on you, act quickly, because every pay period without the notice means another deduction from your check.

If You Owe Back Support

Ending current support does not end withholding when arrears remain. The existing withholding order will typically be replaced by an updated one that redirects the full deduction amount to the past-due balance. An order that once withheld $300 for current support and $150 for arrears might become a straight $450 arrears deduction.²

Some district clerks won’t send the termination notice to your employer until the Child Support Office confirms no arrears exist.⁶ If your records disagree with the AG’s, resolve that with the Child Support Division before you expect the clerk to act. For Title IV-D cases, the AG’s office follows its own procedures for reducing or terminating withholding once arrears are paid off, and overpayment of past-due support alone is not a valid reason to terminate withholding.¹⁰

If Your Order Covers a Disabled Child

Support does not automatically end at 18 for every child. A court can order support to continue indefinitely for a child whose mental or physical disability requires substantial care and personal supervision and existed on or before the 18th birthday.³¹¹ If your order includes indefinite support for a disabled child, filing this petition based on the child reaching 18 or finishing high school will not succeed, because the obligation has no scheduled end date. Read the language of your current order before filing.

1
Texas Judicial Branch. District Court Civil Filing Fees
2
Texas Office of the Attorney General. Income Withholding Frequently Asked Questions
3
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 154.001 – Support of Child
4
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 154.006 – Termination of Duty of Support
5
Texas Law Help. Petition to Terminate Withholding for Child Support
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Texas Law Help. Terminating Income Withholding for Child Support by Agreement
7
Texas Law Help. How to Stop Child Support Withholding
8
Texas Law Help. How to E-File
9
Texas Law Help. How to Serve the Initial Court Papers (Family Law)
10
Texas Public Law. Texas Family Code 158.401 – Modifications to or Termination of Withholding by Title IV-D Agency
11
State of Texas. Texas Family Code – Child Support Guidelines