Texas Child Support Review Every 3 Years: Rules and Filing

In Texas, either parent on a child support case handled by the Office of the Attorney General can ask for a review of the order every three years, and the OAG will recalculate support under current guidelines at no charge. A judge will modify the order if the new number differs from the current one by at least 20% or $100 per month. That is the core of the Texas child support review every three years, and it is the most common path parents use to get an outdated order corrected.¹

Who Qualifies

Two conditions must both be true. The order has to be at least three years old, measured from the date it was entered or last modified. And a fresh calculation under state guidelines has to produce a monthly amount that is at least 20% or $100 different from what you pay or receive now.² If three years have passed but the recalculation only shifts a $600 order by $50, the case does not qualify on this ground.

There is one exception that trips people up. If the current order came from an agreement between the parents that departed from the standard guidelines, such as a lower amount negotiated in mediation, the three-year review is not available. That parent has to prove a material and substantial change in circumstances instead, which is a higher bar.²

The three-year cycle itself is not unique to Texas. Federal rules require every state to offer a review at least every 36 months on request.³ Texas runs its version through the OAG’s Child Support Division.

How the Recalculation Works

To gauge whether you clear the 20% or $100 threshold, you need a rough sense of what a current-guidelines order would look like. Texas uses a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources:⁴

One child: 20%
Two children: 25%
Three children: 30%
Four children: 35%
Five children: 40%
Six or more: not less than the amount for five

Parents earning under $1,000 per month in net resources fall on a lower schedule, starting at 15% for one child and topping out at 35% for five.⁴ If the paying parent is also responsible for children in another household, the percentages step down.

Net resources means gross income minus federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare tax, union dues, and the cost of the child’s health insurance. The guidelines apply to net resources up to a statutory cap, which the Texas legislature raised to $11,700 per month in 2025. A judge can order additional support above the cap based on the child’s proven needs.

A quick example. You pay $500 per month for one child. The other parent’s net resources have risen enough that 20% is now $625. The difference is $125, which clears the $100 threshold. That case qualifies.

How to Request the Review

Pull your financial records first. The recalculation runs on pay stubs from the last two to three months, your most recent federal tax return, and proof of what you pay for the child’s health or dental insurance. If you know the other parent’s employer or believe their income has changed, note that too. You do not need hard proof of the other side’s finances at this stage; the OAG collects that during the review.

The process starts with the OAG’s Request for Review form, available on the agency’s website and through the Texas Child Support Portal.⁵ It asks for the case number, both parents’ names, and a short explanation of why you are asking for the review.⁶ You do not have to prove the threshold is met on the form itself. The OAG determines eligibility after it has the financial data from both sides.

Send the completed form and documents to the OAG online, by mail, or through your local child support office. Submit once. Duplicate requests create processing delays.⁷

What Happens After You File

The OAG aims to contact both parents within 30 days.¹ If the case looks eligible, both parents receive a Child Support Review Questionnaire covering income, assets, and expenses. Both sides have to complete and return it before the case can move.⁸

Once the questionnaires come back, the OAG schedules an in-person meeting called the Child Support Review Process, or CSRP. It runs about 60 to 90 minutes at a local Child Support Division office. A Child Support Officer sits with both parents and tries to reach agreement on the new amount.⁹

If the parents agree, the OAG drafts the new order and sends it to a judge for signature. If they cannot agree, the case goes to a court hearing and the judge decides. Either way, plan on at least six months from request to signed order.¹ The most common cause of delay is the other parent taking their time to return the questionnaire.

If You Cannot Wait Three Years

You do not have to wait for the three-year mark if something significant has changed. Texas allows modification at any time when a parent can show a material and substantial change in circumstances since the order was last entered, affecting either the child’s needs or a parent’s ability to pay.² Common examples:

Involuntary job loss or a significant, lasting income increase
Becoming legally responsible for additional children
A change in which parent the child primarily lives with
A long-term disability that reduces earning capacity
A sustained jump in the child’s medical or educational costs

The bar is higher here than for the three-year review. Material and substantial means real, ongoing, and significant enough to make the current order unfair. A temporary pay cut rarely qualifies; a permanent layoff or serious disability usually does. The parent asking for the change has to prove it.

Incarceration lasting more than 180 days counts by statute as a material and substantial change, and either parent can start the process.² An incarcerated parent can file the OAG’s Incarcerated Non-Custodial Parent Affidavit of Income/Assets to have support recalculated on actual income during confinement.¹⁰

File Sooner Rather Than Later

One timing rule matters no matter which path you use. A modification only takes effect from the date the other parent is served with the petition or appears in the case. Support is never adjusted retroactively to the date circumstances actually changed.² Every month you wait while paying or receiving an unfair amount is money you do not get back.

1
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Modification Journey
2
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 156.401 – Grounds for Modification of Child Support
3
eCFR. 45 CFR 303.8 – Review and Adjustment of Child Support Orders
4
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources
5
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Forms
6
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Request for Review and Child Support Review Questionnaire
7
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Support Modification Process
8
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Child Support Review Questionnaire
9
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Understanding the Legal Process
10
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Incarceration, Re-Entry and Child Support