How to Get Child Support in PA: Filing, Conference, and Enforcement

To get child support in PA, file a support complaint with the Domestic Relations Section of the Court of Common Pleas in the county where you live. There is no filing fee.¹ The office schedules a conference where an officer reviews both parents’ incomes and calculates a guideline amount; if the parents agree, a judge signs off on a consent order, and if they don’t, the case goes to a hearing. Whatever the final number, it takes effect back to the date you filed, so filing quickly is the single most important thing you can do.²

Who Can File

Any parent or guardian with physical custody of a child can file for support from the other parent. It doesn’t matter whether the parents were married, divorced, or never together. The duty covers biological and legally adopted children alike.³

Support is owed for children who are unemancipated and 18 or younger.⁴ A child who turns 18 while still in high school stays unemancipated through graduation. Parents can also be responsible for adult children with a physical or mental disability that prevents them from earning a supporting wage.

If You Were Never Married

Paternity has to be established before the court will order support against a father who wasn’t married to the mother. The fastest route is a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity signed by both parents and filed with the Department of Human Services; once filed, it has the same effect as a court order.⁵ If the father won’t sign, the court can order genetic testing. You can file the paternity action alongside your support complaint, and if you’re unsure where things stand, call your county Domestic Relations Section before you file — they handle paternity questions routinely.

Documents to Gather Before You File

Bringing complete records to your conference is what keeps a case moving. Showing up short can push things back by weeks. Pull together:

Full names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers for both parents and each child
Your most recent federal tax return with all schedules, W-2s, and 1099s
Pay stubs covering the last six months
If either parent is self-employed or a business partner, the business tax return with all schedules, including any K-1 forms
Proof of any health insurance currently available to the children
Receipts or documentation of childcare costs
Any existing child support, spousal support, or custody orders involving either parent

These items track what the conference officer is required to look at.⁶ Application forms are available from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services website or your local Domestic Relations Section office.⁷

Filing the Complaint

You can file in person, by mail, or through the Pennsylvania Child Support Program’s online E-Services portal.⁸ There is no filing fee to open or modify a case.¹

Online filing has a wrinkle worth knowing. Hitting submit online doesn’t officially start your case — Domestic Relations has to review and accept the documents first.⁸ Because every support order is backdated to the actual filing date, that delay costs money. If timing matters, filing in person lets you leave the office knowing exactly what date is on the record.²

What Happens at the Conference

Within a few weeks of filing, Domestic Relations sets an office conference. A conference officer, not a judge, runs it. The officer looks at both parents’ income documents, works out the guideline support figure, and recommends an amount.⁶

If both parents accept the number, the officer prepares a consent order and sends it to a judge for signature. No separate hearing is needed. If either parent objects, the case moves to a formal hearing where a hearing officer or judge takes testimony and issues a binding order.

Do not skip the conference. If a parent doesn’t show up, the officer can enter a default order against them, and that order will reflect only the other parent’s version of the finances.⁶

How the Amount Is Set

Pennsylvania uses the Income Shares Model. The idea is that the child should get the same share of parental income they would have received if both parents lived together.⁹ The officer starts with each parent’s monthly gross income from every source — wages, bonuses, commissions, rental income, Social Security benefits, investment returns — then converts it to net income by subtracting income taxes, FICA, unemployment and Local Services Taxes, mandatory retirement contributions, mandatory union dues, and alimony paid to the other party. Voluntary retirement contributions, loan payments, and credit card debt are not deductible.¹⁰

The two net incomes are added together, and a statewide schedule assigns a basic support obligation based on that combined figure and the number of children. Each parent’s share is proportional to their percentage of the combined income.

When the Court Can Deviate

The guideline number is where the calculation starts, but it isn’t always where it ends. A court can adjust the amount up or down for factors including unusual needs or fixed expenses of the child, either parent’s other support obligations, additional income from other household members, the child’s age, each parent’s assets and debts, uninsured medical costs, and the family’s prior standard of living. Best interest of the child is a catch-all.¹¹ Whoever wants a deviation has to make the case that the guideline result is unfair.

Health Insurance and Medical Costs

Every Pennsylvania support order has to address medical support. The paying parent has first responsibility to carry health insurance for the child, as long as it’s available at a reasonable cost — defined as no more than 5% of that parent’s monthly net income. If they can’t get affordable coverage, the same 5% test applies to the other parent.¹²

Premiums are split, with credit in the calculation to the parent who pays. Unreimbursed medical costs — co-pays, deductibles, dental, vision, therapy, orthodontia — get allocated between the parents once they cross $250 per person per year. Cosmetic procedures don’t count unless a court specifically orders them.¹²

When the Other Parent Doesn’t Pay

The default enforcement mechanism is automatic income withholding: support comes out of the paying parent’s paycheck and runs through the Pennsylvania State Collection and Disbursement Unit. You don’t need a lawyer for Domestic Relations to use most enforcement tools.

A parent who willfully ignores a support order faces contempt of court, punishable by up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or up to a year of probation.¹³ Other consequences include:

Suspension of driver’s, professional, and recreational licenses once a parent owes three or more months of support and income withholding hasn’t been ordered¹⁴
Interception of federal and state tax refunds
Seizure of funds held in bank accounts
Reporting of unpaid support to the major credit bureaus
Passport denial by the U.S. State Department once arrears exceed $2,500¹⁵
Automatic liens against real estate the parent owns in Pennsylvania

A parent facing license suspension gets 30 days’ notice, and the only way to contest it is by showing a factual mistake, like a wrong dollar figure or mistaken identity.¹⁴ Inability to pay isn’t a defense to enforcement. That argument belongs in a modification petition.

Changing or Ending the Order Later

Either parent can ask the court to modify a support order by showing a material and substantial change in circumstances. Typical grounds include a significant income change for either parent, a change in the custody schedule, or a shift in the child’s needs. Updated state guidelines that produce a different amount also qualify.¹⁶

A modification follows the same conference-and-hearing process as the original complaint, with no filing fee. Be aware that the court can move the number in either direction based on the evidence, regardless of who filed. If you ask for a decrease and the numbers say you should be paying more, the order can go up.¹⁶

Support usually ends when the child turns 18 and finishes high school, or is otherwise emancipated.⁴ For a child with a disability that prevents self-support, the obligation can continue into adulthood, but the child or custodial parent has to prove the disability warrants it.

1
Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1910.4 – Domestic Relations Section
2
Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1910.17 – Support Order Effective Date Change
3
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Section 4301 – Scope of Chapter
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Section 4321 – Liability for Support
5
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Section 5103 – Acknowledgment of Paternity
6
Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1910.11 – Office Conference Subsequent Proceedings Order
7
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. How to Apply for Child Support Services
8
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apply for Child Support Services
9
Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1910.16-1 – Support Obligation
10
Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1910.16-2 – Support Guidelines Calculation of Monthly Net Income
11
Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1910.16-5 – Support Guidelines Deviation
12
Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1910.16-6 – Support Guidelines Basic Support Obligation
13
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Section 4345 – Contempt for Noncompliance With Support Order
14
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 Section 4355 – Denial or Suspension of Licenses
15
Congressional Research Service. The Child Support Enforcement Passport Denial Program
16
Pennsylvania Code. Pennsylvania Code Rule 1910.19 – Support Modification Termination