Child support in Washington County, Oregon is now handled entirely by the state. The Washington County District Attorney’s child support office closed on June 28, 2025, and every case, new or existing, moved to the Oregon Child Support Program run by the Oregon Department of Justice.1Washington County, Oregon District Attorney. Child Support Division If you previously worked with the county DA on a case, you do not need to re-apply; the file transferred automatically.
You can reach the state program at 1-800-850-0228, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., or by email at ChildSupportCustomerService@doj.oregon.gov.1Washington County, Oregon District Attorney. Child Support Division An online portal at customerportal.oregonchildsupport.gov lets you check your balance, see payment history, and update your address or other personal details.2Oregon Department of Justice. Case Information – My Online Account
Opening a New Case
If you need a new order, or want help collecting under an order from another state, start by enrolling with the Oregon Child Support Program. You can apply online through the Department of Justice website or print and mail the forms. Oregon charges a one-time $1 enrollment fee, taken out of the first support collected on your behalf.3Oregon Department of Justice. Enroll for Child Support Services
Have the basics ready: full legal names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and current addresses for both parents and the children. Knowing the other parent’s employer makes everything move faster, because the agency will eventually need to verify income and set up wage withholding. Include a copy of any existing court order or signed parentage acknowledgment.
One other fee worth knowing: if you have never received public assistance like TANF and the program collects at least $550 for you in a year, federal law requires a $35 annual service fee, which also comes out of collected support rather than being billed to you.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 654 – State Plan for Child and Spousal Support
Establishing Parentage First
No child support order can be issued until legal parentage is settled. If the parents were married when the child was born, Oregon presumes the spouse is a legal parent. When the parents were not married, parentage has to be established on its own track.
The easiest option is a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage, signed by both parents. It carries the same legal weight as a court judgment of parentage. It must be notarized, or witnessed by hospital staff if signed within five days of birth. Either parent can rescind within 60 days by filing a notarized rescission with the state registrar; after that window, undoing the acknowledgment takes a court case.5Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109 – Parentage If one parent disputes parentage, the program can arrange genetic testing.
How the Support Amount Is Calculated
Oregon uses an income shares formula. Both parents’ incomes are combined to estimate what a two-parent household would spend on the child, and each parent is assigned a share based on their portion of the combined income.6Oregon Department of Justice. Establish a New Child Support Order The full guidelines are at OAR 137-050-0700 through 137-050-0765.7Oregon Public Law. OAR 137-050-0700 – General Provisions
Income is defined broadly. Wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and overtime all count, along with Social Security benefits, unemployment and disability, rental income, trust distributions, lottery winnings, and gifts or inheritances. Self-employment income counts, reduced by ordinary business expenses but not by accelerated depreciation or investment tax credits. A few items are excluded: child support received for a different case, food assistance, Social Security or Veterans benefits received for the child, and foster care or adoption subsidies.8Legal Information Institute. Oregon Administrative Code 137-050-0715 – Income
If a parent is unemployed or working below capacity, the agency can impute “potential income” based on work history, education, health, and local job opportunities. For an Oregon resident deemed capable of minimum-wage work, the imputed figure uses the lowest minimum wage rate in any area of the state.8Legal Information Institute. Oregon Administrative Code 137-050-0715 – Income
Once each parent’s basic share is set, the formula adjusts for health insurance premiums and work-related childcare costs. Overnights matter too. Oregon’s parenting time credit is based on each parent’s average overnights over two years divided by 365, and more overnights generally mean a larger credit against the paying parent’s obligation. Without a written parenting plan, the primary custodian is treated as having all the overnights and no credit applies.9Oregon Public Law. OAR 137-050-0730 – Parenting Time Credit
From Application to Final Order
Once the program has enough information to run the calculation, it drafts a proposed order setting the payment amount, assigning who provides health insurance, and spelling out other obligations. Both parents are served with the proposal.
You have 30 days from service to raise objections or ask for corrections. If neither parent responds, the proposed order becomes final on the 34th day. If it gets amended, a fresh 30-day response period starts.10Oregon Department of Justice. Timelines A parent who disputes the numbers can request a hearing before an administrative law judge; this is handled outside the circuit court, so there’s no lawsuit to file. Once the order is final, it is immediately enforceable.
What Happens When Support Goes Unpaid
Oregon has a broad enforcement toolkit, and the program does not need to go back to court to use most of it.
Automatic Wage Withholding
Every Oregon child support order, new or modified, must include an income withholding provision, so the employer deducts support directly from the paying parent’s paycheck.11Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 25.378 – Payment of Support by Income Withholding Payments flow through the Department of Justice as the state disbursement unit before reaching the receiving parent.12Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 25.020 – When Support Payment to Be Made to Department of Justice Most support collected in Oregon moves this way.
Tax Refund Intercepts
If past-due support owed to the state hits $150, or family arrears reach $500, the program can intercept the paying parent’s federal tax refund.13Oregon Child Support Program. Oregon Child Support Program Annual Notice Oregon state tax refunds can also be intercepted, along with certain other federal payments like retirement benefits.
License Suspension
Oregon can suspend driver’s licenses, professional and occupational licenses, liquor licenses, and hunting and fishing licenses when a parent falls behind.14Oregon Department of Justice. Compliance The trigger is arrears equal to the greater of three months of support or $2,500, together with a failure to make consistent voluntary payments or enter into a payment agreement with the program.15Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 25.750 – Suspension of Licenses, Certificates, Permits and Registrations A parent who stays on a compliance agreement is protected from suspension.
Credit Reporting and Passport Denial
Delinquent accounts are reported to the consumer credit bureaus, which can damage credit scores and borrowing ability.16Oregon Secretary of State. Oregon Administrative Rule – Credit Reporting for Child Support At the federal level, once arrears top $2,500, the State Department can deny, revoke, or restrict a passport.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 652 – Duties of Secretary That threshold is low enough that only a few missed months of a typical order can trigger it.
Bankruptcy Does Not Erase Child Support
Filing bankruptcy does not wipe out child support debt. Federal law treats it as a domestic support obligation that survives both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and interest on arrears is also nondischargeable.18Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 USC 523 – Exceptions to Discharge In Chapter 13, past-due support is paid as a priority debt ahead of credit cards and medical bills. The automatic stay does not stop child support enforcement in Chapter 7, so collection keeps running during the case.
Changing an Existing Order
Child support orders are not fixed forever. There are two ways to ask for a change.
The first is a periodic review. Once three years have passed since the order was established or last modified, either parent can ask for a review, no change in circumstances required. If the current order doesn’t match what the guidelines would produce today, it gets updated.19Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 25 – Child Support Services
The second is a change-of-circumstances modification, available any time. The parent asking for the change has to show a substantial change: a significant income shift, job loss, a new disability, or a meaningful change in parenting time.19Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 25 – Child Support Services The agency reviews current finances and, if the standard is met, drafts a new proposed order with notice and a response period for the other parent.20Oregon Secretary of State. Oregon Administrative Rule 137-055-3430 – Substantial Change in Circumstance Modification of Child Support Order Amounts
One wrinkle: if an order was suspended (for example, during incarceration) and later reinstated, the reinstatement itself counts as a substantial change, triggering an automatic review within 60 days.19Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 25 – Child Support Services
Orders From Another State, and Military Parents
When parents live in different states, Oregon follows the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act in ORS Chapter 110. Only one state has jurisdiction over a support order at a time, and other states enforce it. If you moved to Washington County with an existing order from elsewhere, you can register it with the Oregon Child Support Program for enforcement here rather than starting over.21Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 110 – Uniform Interstate Family Support Act
Active-duty service members whose military duties interfere with participating in a child support proceeding can request a 90-day stay under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Any further extension is up to the judge or hearing officer, and these protections apply to civil proceedings only.
A Note on Taxes
Child support is tax-neutral at the federal level. The paying parent gets no deduction, and the receiving parent reports nothing as income.22Internal Revenue Service. Publication 504 – Divorced or Separated Individuals It does not show up on either parent’s return.