Guidance and regulation

This guidance explains what liability orders are in child maintenance cases and how to pay them.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 1 October 2013

This guidance explains how to pay child maintenance using Collect & Pay arrangements and what happens if you do not make a payment.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 6 September 2022

This leaflet explains how the Child Maintenance Service works out how much child maintenance a paying parent must pay.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 30 October 2023

• How we work out child maintenance: a step-by-step guide

  About this leaflet This leaflet explains how the Child Maintenance Service…

This leaflet explains the process for reviewing child maintenance cases every year and how it affects paying parents and receiving parents.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 8 April 2024

This factsheet is about investigating officers from the Child Maintenance Service.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 27 October 2023

This factsheet explains how child maintenance payments are affected when a child stays overnight with the parent who pays child maintenance.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 27 October 2023

This document provides information on the uses and users of the Child Maintenance Service statistics.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 26 March 2024

How payroll software developers should standardise payroll report formats for child maintenance purposes.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 4 April 2017

This leaflet explains how you will receive child maintenance if you have a Collect & Pay arrangement with the Child Maintenance Service.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 23 September 2022

This document provides background information about the separated families statistics and information on how they are compiled.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 21 March 2024

Strategy for the publication of statistical information about the 2012 scheme administered by the Child Maintenance Service.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 30 November 2016

This factsheet explains how we adjust child maintenance payments when children live with different parents ('split care').

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 27 October 2023

This factsheet explains how to ask us to consider certain types of income when working out child maintenance – 'applying for a variation'.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 27 October 2023

This factsheet explains how to ask us to consider certain types of income when working out child maintenance – 'applying for a variation'.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 27 October 2023

Guidance on the different areas of the government's child maintenance compliance and arrears strategy 2018.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 14 December 2018

Information on the quarterly surveys and the annual longitudinal survey of child maintenance outcomes for parents that have spoken to Child Maintenance (CM) Options.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 6 November 2019

Progress measures demonstrate that providers are aware of the specific problems, issues and barriers faced by families in their Contract Package Area (CPA).

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 1 July 2013

Information about the publication of Child Support Agency statistics.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 16 July 2021

This document explains how we will end liabilities under the 1993 and 2003 child maintenance schemes.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Updated: 30 November 2017