Massachusetts Child Support Enforcement: DOR Tools and Contempt

Massachusetts child support enforcement is handled primarily by the Department of Revenue’s Child Support Services Division, which can garnish wages, intercept state and federal tax refunds, seize bank accounts, place liens on property, suspend driver’s and professional licenses, block passports, and report arrears to credit bureaus, all without a new court hearing.¹ When those tools don’t move a parent, the case goes to the Probate and Family Court, where a judge can hold the parent in contempt and, in serious cases, order jail time until a set amount is paid.

Getting the DOR Involved

Any parent with an existing support order can ask the DOR to collect it. Under M.G.L. c. 119A, the Department of Revenue is the single state agency responsible for enforcing child support orders in Massachusetts.²

To open a case, you submit the Child Support Intake Form and Application for Full Child Support Services, available as a PDF on the DOR website.³ You mail the completed form to DOR/CSS, P.O. Box 7057, Boston, MA 02204-7057.⁴ There is no online option for the initial application.

Fill in every field. The form asks for full legal names, Social Security numbers, and dates of birth for both parents and all children on the order, plus the other parent’s current employer name, address, and phone number, health insurance details, and any arrears you know about. When the DOR has to track down basics you could have supplied, the case stalls. Once the application is processed, DOR opens a case, sends letters to both parents explaining what will happen, and lets you track payments through the Case Manager portal at childsupport.mass.gov.⁵

Administrative Enforcement Tools

Most Massachusetts enforcement happens automatically, triggered by the DOR’s systems rather than by a judge. These are the tools working for you (or against you) once a case shows unpaid support.

Wage Garnishment

Income withholding is the workhorse. The DOR sends an order directly to the paying parent’s employer, which deducts support from each paycheck and forwards it to the state.¹ Federal law caps withholding at 50% of disposable earnings when the paying parent supports another spouse or child, and 60% when they don’t. If payments are more than 12 weeks overdue, those caps rise by another 5%.⁶

Tax Refunds and Benefit Checks

The DOR intercepts both federal and state tax refunds to apply against unpaid support, as federal law requires.⁷ It can also seize unemployment benefits, workers’ compensation, lottery winnings, and insurance settlements.¹ Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is exempt, but Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) can be garnished under the same percentage limits that apply to wages.

License Suspensions

Massachusetts can suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew driver’s licenses, professional licenses, business licenses, and trade licenses when a parent falls behind.⁸ The authority sits in M.G.L. c. 119A, § 16 and mirrors the federal requirement at 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(16).⁷ Losing a driver’s license is a hassle; losing the license you need to work is often enough on its own to produce payment.

Liens, Bank Levies, and Credit Reporting

Overdue support creates a lien by operation of law against the non-paying parent’s real and personal property.⁷ The DOR can levy bank accounts and force the sale of property to satisfy what is owed.¹ At higher arrears levels, DOR reports the delinquency to the credit bureaus, which hits the parent’s credit score and shows up in loan applications, apartment screenings, and employer background checks.

Passport Denial

Once arrears pass $2,500, the DOR can certify the case to the U.S. Department of State, which will refuse to issue, renew, or replace a passport and can revoke an existing one.⁹ The hold comes off only after the full past-due balance is paid, or after the parent proves arrears were below $2,500 at the time of certification.

Interest on Arrears

Unpaid Massachusetts child support accrues interest at 0.5% per month, or 6% annually, on balances owed on or after July 1, 2010. The DOR does not charge interest on top of interest or on penalties.¹⁰ On a $20,000 balance, that is $1,200 a year added to the debt.

Taking the Case to Court: Contempt

When administrative tools don’t produce payment, the next step is court. Either the DOR or the custodial parent can file a Complaint for Contempt in the Probate and Family Court using form CJD 103.¹¹ The complaint forces the non-paying parent to appear before a judge and account for the missed payments.¹²

At the hearing, the judge reviews the existing order, listens to both sides, and examines financial statements to decide whether the parent had the ability to pay and chose not to. If the parent fails to appear, the court can issue a capias warrant for their arrest under M.G.L. c. 215, § 34A.¹³

A finding of contempt can produce a structured payment plan that adds amounts toward the arrears on top of ongoing support. In the clearest cases, where the parent has money and refuses to pay, the judge can order incarceration and set a “purge” amount, which is the sum the parent must pay to be released. Jail is the last resort, but it is a real one, and it tends to work.

Federal Criminal Penalties for Interstate Cases

A parent who willfully fails to pay support for a child living in another state can be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. § 228. A first offense carries up to six months in federal prison. A second offense, or a case where arrears exceed $5,000 or go unpaid for more than a year, carries up to two years.¹⁴ These prosecutions are rare and reserved for the most egregious conduct, but the DOR has authority to refer cases.¹

When the Other Parent Moves Out of State

A move across state lines does not end a Massachusetts order. Every state is required to follow the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), adopted in Massachusetts as M.G.L. c. 209D.¹⁵ Under UIFSA, only one order for current support can exist at a time, so a parent cannot shop for a friendlier court in another state.

Massachusetts can also send an income withholding order directly to an employer in another state, without needing to involve that state’s child support agency.¹⁶ If the case does go through the other state, each state keeps a Central Registry to route incoming cases, and the responding state generally must complete service of process within 90 days and establish an order within six months.

What Does Not Make the Debt Go Away

A few things parents commonly assume will reduce or end a support obligation, and don’t:

Deciding on your own to pay less. The only legal way to change a Massachusetts child support amount is a Complaint for Modification filed in the court that issued the order. If you lose your job and stop paying, the old amount keeps accruing, interest keeps running, and enforcement keeps escalating. File the modification.¹⁷
The child turning 18. Under M.G.L. c. 208, § 28, support can continue to age 21 if the child lives with a parent and is primarily dependent on that parent, and to age 23 if the child is enrolled in an undergraduate program (graduate school does not qualify). And when current support does end, arrears remain fully enforceable. The DOR can keep collecting until the balance is paid.¹⁸
Filing for bankruptcy. Under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(5), domestic support obligations cannot be discharged in Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. Bankruptcy may wipe out credit card and medical debt, but it does not touch a dollar of child support arrears, and DOR enforcement continues right through the bankruptcy case.¹⁹

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 119A Section 6
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 119A – Child Support Enforcement
3
Mass.gov. Child Support Intake Form and Application for Full Child Support Services
4
Mass.gov. Learn the Benefits of Child Support Services and Enroll
5
Mass.gov. Parents Who Receive Child Support
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement
8
Mass.gov. Child Support
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 652 – Duties of Secretary
10
Mass.gov. 830 CMR 119A.6.1 – Assessment of Interest and Penalties on Past Due Child Support
11
Mass.gov. Probate and Family Court Complaint for Contempt CJD 103
12
Mass.gov. Request Overdue Child Support Payments
13
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 215 Section 34A
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 228 – Failure to Pay Legal Child Support Obligations
15
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Code Chapter 209D – Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
16
Administration for Children and Families. Working Across Borders
17
Mass.gov. Learn About Changing a Child Support Order
18
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Law About Child Support Over Age 18
19
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge