What YOU don't know about the
Oklahoma Child Support System

The Oklahoma Child Support Enforcement program is here to help. They have a reliable staff that has years of experience in helping people with child support issues. OCSS administers the program with in-house staff and through contracts with local district attorneys and non-profit agencies.

In December 1974 the U.S. Congress amended Title IV of the Social Security Act by adding Part D – Child Support and Establishment of Paternity. Title IV-D required each state to designate an organization to administer a plan for enforcing child support. Services provided by OCSS to parents under this law are called IV-D cases.

Non IV-D cases refer to all child support cases within Oklahoma other than Title IV-D cases. Generally, these cases are enforced privately by the custodial party (obligee) or noncustodial parent (obligor) or their attorney.

Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) acts as an economic advocate for the children of Oklahoma, ensuring that parents financially support their children. OCSS helps families become self-sufficient, and for those who are not receiving public assistance to remain self-sufficient. A financial support paid by a parent to help support a child or children of whom they do not have custody. Child support can be entered into voluntarily or ordered by a court or a properly empowered administrative agency, depending on each State’s laws.

What is paternity?

Paternity means fatherhood. Establishing or setting up paternity is the process used to show who is the legal father of a child. When a woman is married, her husband is legally presumed to be the father of the child. However, if the parents are not married to each other at the start of the pregnancy or at the birth of the child, paternity needs to be established. Paternity can be established if both parents sign an Acknowledgment of Paternity form, 03PA209E. If the mother is married to a man who is not the natural father of the child, the husband must also sign a Denial of Paternity, A judge can also establish paternity.

What information is needed to collect Oklahoma Child Support?

The most important piece of information about the non-custodial parent is their:

• Social Security number
• Date of birth
• Address
• Name of employer
• Bank account numbers
• Names and contact Information for relatives and friends who may have information on the non-custodial parent’s current whereabouts
• Property ownership documents

Not all of this information may be needed in each case. The local OCSS office may be requesting other information from you to work your individual case.

When is my case considered delinquent?

Oklahoma Child Support is considered "delinquent." if it is not received on the date the payments are due, according to the court order. If an income assignment is in effect, the schedule for receiving payments may be affected by the terms of the notice to the employer and the payroll dates of the employer. In those cases, if child support is not received in full by OCSS by the last day of the month, it is considered "delinquent." However, there are certain criteria that must be met before any enforcement action can be taken.

What can I do to get my support increased if I think it is too low?

If the order was not issued in the past 12 months, and your case has not already been reviewed in that time, you can submit a written request for modification to your case worker. The case worker will send financial affidavits to both parties and use those to determine if the support amount should be modified. If the calculated support amount differs by more than 10 percent from the existing support order, the order will be modified regardless of whether the change is an increase or decrease.

Employers

All employers must report new hires to a state agency. Oklahoma Child Support Services (OCSS) uses this data to find people who may owe child support. The Employer Services are designed to assist businesses in meeting the requirements.

Terms that can help

Arrears

Arrearage, or "past-due support" means the total amount of unpaid support obligations that have accrued under a support order."Alleged father" means a man who alleges himself to be, or is alleged to be, the genetic father or a possible genetic father of a child, but whose paternity has not been determined.

Child Support

Financial support paid by a parent to help support a child or children of whom they do not have custody. Child support can be entered into voluntarily or ordered by a court or a properly empowered administrative agency, depending on each state’s laws. Child support can be an issue in the following types of cases:

• IV-D cases -- the custodial person (CP) is receiving federally-funded child support services offered by state agencies or tribal nations such services include locating a noncustodial parent (NCP) or alleged father; establishing paternity; establishing, modifying and enforcing child support orders; collecting, distributing and disbursing child support payments.
• IV-A cases -- the CP is receiving public assistance benefits and the case is automatically referred to the state child support agency so the state can recoup the cost of the benefits from the NCP or defray future costs.
• IV-E cases -- the child(ren) is being raised not by one of their own parents but in the foster care system by a person, family or institution and the case is also automatically referred to the state child support agency to recoup or defray the costs of foster care.
• Medical cases -- the child(ren) is receiving public assistance to receive medical benefits and the case is automatically referred to the state child support agency so the state can enforce child and medical support.
• Non-IV-D cases -- the case or legal order is privately entered into and the state CSE agency is not providing locate, enforcement or collection services; often entered into during divorce proceedings.

Consumer Credit Protection Act

Federal law that limits the amount that may be withheld from earnings to satisfy child support obligations. States are allowed to set their own limits provided they do not exceed the federal limits. Regardless of the number or withholding orders that have been served, the maximum that may be withheld for child support is:

Without arrearage

• 50 percent with a second family.
• 60 percent with no other dependent children.

With arrearage

• 55 percent with a second family and 12+ weeks in arrears.
• 65 percent with no other dependent children 12+ weeks in arrears.

Federal Parent Locate Service

A computerized national location network operated by the federal Office of Oklahoma Child Support Enforcement of the Administration for Children and Families, within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. FPLS obtains address and employer information, as well as data on child support cases in every state, compares them and returns matches to the appropriate states. This helps state and local child support enforcement agencies locate non-custodial parents and alleged fathers for the purposes of establishing custody and visitation rights, establishing and enforcing child support obligations, investigating parental kidnapping and processing adoption or foster care cases. The expanded FPLS includes the Federal Case Registry and the National Directory of New Hires.

Federal Tax Refund Offset Program

A program that collects past due Oklahoma Child Support amounts from noncustodial parents through the interception of their federal income tax refund, or an administrative payment, such as federal retirement benefits. This program also incorporates the Passport Denial Program, which denies U.S. passports at the time of application when the applicant’s child support debts exceed $5,000. In the future, the program will expand to include the revocation and/or restriction of already issued passports. The cooperation of states in the submittable of cases for tax interception is mandatory, while submittable of cases for administrative interception is optional. The Federal Tax Refund Offset Program is operated in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS), the U.S. Department of State and state child support agencies.

Locate

Process by which a noncustodial parent (NCP) or alleged father is found for the purpose of establishing paternity, establishing and/or enforcing a child support obligation, establishing custody and visitation rights, processing adoption or foster care cases and investigating parental kidnapping. This is also the process child support workers use to find an NCP whose whereabouts are unknown. Many of these locate functions are automatic through the Oklahoma Support Information System (OSIS).

Passport Denial Program

Program created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) that is operated under the auspices of the Federal Tax Refund Offset Program. Under the Passport Denial Program, obligors with child support arrearages of at least $5,000 that are submitted to the Federal Office of Oklahoma Child Support Enforcement (Link opens in new window) for Tax Refund Offset are forwarded to the U.S. Department of State. The U.S. Department of State then "flags" the obligor’s name and refuses to issue a passport in the event they apply for one. After the obligor makes arrangements to satisfy the arrears, states can certify them with OCSE, which then requests the state department remove them from the program. This program is automatic, meaning that any obligor that is eligible will be submitted to the state department unless the State submitting the case for tax offset specifically excludes them from the Passport Denial Program.

I am applying for housing assistance and I need child support verification.

You will need to mail or fax a letter to the Center for Customer Services which contains the following information:

• Consent for OCSS to release child support information for housing purposes
• Your social security number
• A copy of your Oklahoma driver's license or ID to verify identity
• Name of the housing representative contact person
• Information on where to send completed forms (mailing address or fax number)
• Your signature

Please allow 5-7 business days for the verification to be completed and submitted to the housing agency. If you have additional questions you may call our CARE Center at 1-800-522-2922 or by e-mail.

Mail letter to:

Oklahoma Child Support Services - State Office
Attn: Center for Customer Services
P.O. Box 53552
Oklahoma City, OK 73152

Fax letter to:

Oklahoma Child Support Services - State Office
Attn: Center for Customer Services
Fax: (405) 522-3685

Customer Services

Send Oklahoma Child Support payments to:

Employers

Oklahoma Centralized Support Registry
P. O. Box 268809
Oklahoma City, OK 73126 8809

Noncustodial Parents

Oklahoma Centralized Support Registry
P. O. Box 268849
Oklahoma City, OK 73126 8849

Oklahoma Child Support Offices and Interstate Payments

Oklahoma Centralized Support Registry
P. O. Box 268954
Oklahoma City, OK
73126 8954

Leave oklahoma child support for division of child support enforcement

Leave oklahoma child support for child support home