How Child Support Is Calculated in Connecticut

Connecticut's Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines are based on the income shares model: the child should receive the same share of parental income as if the parents lived together. The parents' combined net weekly income is applied to the guidelines schedule and the result is prorated by each parent's income. The current guidelines are effective August 1, 2026.

Apply through the Department of Social Services (DSS) Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) field office for the city or town where you live. You can complete the Application for Services online and email it to that office, or ask for an appointment by email or phone; custodial and noncustodial parents use different application forms. There is no application fee, but OCSS deducts a $35 annual fee from payments to a custodial party who has never received Temporary Family Assistance, when at least $550 is paid out to that person in a state fiscal year (July 1–June 30). The Child Support Call Center is 1-800-228-KIDS (5437).

Parents must support a minor child (under 18). For decrees entered on or after July 1, 1994, support continues for an unmarried 18-year-old who is a full-time high school student and needs support, until the child finishes 12th grade or turns 19, whichever comes first. The court may also order support for a child with an intellectual, mental or physical disability who lives with and is principally dependent on a parent: until age 21 for decrees or initial orders entered from October 1, 1997 to before October 1, 2023, and until age 26 for those entered on or after October 1, 2023.

A court may change a support order on a showing of a substantial change in either party's circumstances, or if the order substantially deviates from the child support guidelines (unless the court found when entering it that applying the guidelines would be inequitable or inappropriate). A deviation of 15% or more from the guidelines is presumed substantial; less than 15% is presumed not substantial. Either parent can ask for a review of the order through the local Judicial Branch Support Enforcement Services office.

DSS and the Judicial Branch's Support Enforcement Services work together to enforce orders. Collection methods include income withholding, interception of federal and state tax refunds, credit bureau reporting, liens on real estate and personal property, seizure of financial assets, passport denial and interception of lottery winnings. Support Enforcement Services handles court-based enforcement, including contempt applications.

Connecticut child support services are provided by the Department of Social Services (DSS), Office of Child Support Services (OCSS), through local field offices. To apply, complete the Application for Services (custodial parents: F0699N; non-custodial parents: F699NCP) and email it to the DSS/OCSS office for your town, request an appointment by email or phone, or apply in person; parents with an existing order also submit a payment affidavit. There is no application fee, but a $35 annual fee is deducted for custodial parties who never received Temporary Family Assistance once at least $550 is disbursed in a state fiscal year. Families receiving TFA have a case opened automatically. Payments go to the State Disbursement Unit (Connecticut-CCSPC, P.O. Box 990031, Hartford, CT 06199-0031) or through the Connecticut Child Support Payment Resource Center (ct.smartchildsupport.com).

Connecticut child support is figured on the Connecticut Judicial Branch's Worksheet for the Connecticut Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines (form CCSG-1, Rev. 5-25), which works from each parent's net weekly income and the Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations to a presumptive current support amount, under C.G.S. 46b-215a and Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies 46b-215a-6.