How Child Support Is Calculated in North Carolina

Child support is set using uniform statewide presumptive guidelines, so that payments meet the child's reasonable needs for health, education and maintenance with regard to the parents' earnings and circumstances.

You can apply for services from NC Child Support Services (CSS) online at ncchildsupport.ncdhhs.gov, by downloading the application from the NC DHHS website, or at a local CSS office; completed applications go to the local child support office in your county with copies of any paternity, support or divorce orders. Applicants not on public assistance must pay a nonrefundable $25 application fee before services begin, which may be reduced for applicants who are indigent or receive government assistance. People who never received public assistance may also be charged a $35 annual fee. Customer service: 1-800-992-9457.

Child support ends when the child turns 18, or earlier if the child is otherwise emancipated. If the child is still in primary or secondary school at 18, support continues until the child graduates, stops attending school regularly, fails to make satisfactory academic progress toward graduation, or turns 20, whichever comes first, unless the court orders it to stop at 18 or before graduation. For a child in a cooperative innovative high school program, support ends after the fourth year of enrollment or at 18, whichever is later. If arrears or fees are owed when support ends, payments continue in the same total amount until they are paid off.

A child support order may be modified at any time on a motion in the cause and a showing of changed circumstances. CSS automatically reviews orders every three years for families receiving public assistance; other orders it enforces can be reviewed every 36 months at either parent's request, or at any time if there has been a substantial change in circumstances affecting the child. CSS then may seek a modification. If a case does not meet CSS review standards, a parent may still petition the court for a hearing.

Income withholding is the main collection method. Other CSS remedies include monthly billing for parents not on withholding, court action against parents who have not paid, credit bureau reporting of all CSS-handled obligations, interception of state tax refunds (past-due support of at least $50) and federal tax refunds (at least $500 in non-public-assistance cases, $150 in public assistance cases), interception of state lottery winnings, passport denial or revocation (arrears of $2,500 or more, released once paid in full), liens on real or personal property, levies on bank and other financial accounts, and revocation of professional, driver's, and hunting and fishing licenses.

North Carolina's child support agency is NC Child Support Services (CSS), part of the NC Department of Health and Human Services. CSS locates noncustodial parents, establishes paternity, sets up and enforces support orders, and collects and distributes payments. Apply at a local CSS office, online, or with a downloadable application; services for families not receiving public assistance carry a non-refundable $25 application fee (a reduced $10 fee may apply). Payments can be made by income withholding, by automatic bank draft set up through the eChild Support website, or by check or money order mailed to NC Child Support Centralized Collections, PO Box 900006, Raleigh, NC 27675-9006, payable to "North Carolina Child Support" with your payment coupon and MPI number; payments cannot be made in person.

The NC Department of Health and Human Services' Child Support Services site provides online North Carolina Child Support Guidelines calculators based on the court's worksheets: Worksheet A (one parent has primary custody), Worksheet B (joint custody) and Worksheet C (split custody). The calculator says it provides an estimate, not a guaranteed amount of what you may receive or pay, and the actual amount set or approved by the court may differ. The NC Judicial Branch says judges must order the guideline amount unless it would not meet or would exceed the child's reasonable needs or would otherwise be unjust or inappropriate, and the guidelines require a minimum order of $50 per month.