Collect A Child Support Payment

Either parent can Open a Child Support Case online, call the DCSS office at 1-844-MYGADHS (1-844-694-2347) or print, fill out and mail in their application packet. You can also complete the application online, then print it out and bring it with all required and supporting documents to your local Child Support Office.

However, to get a support order, establish paternity, or enforce a support order, DCSS must know where the noncustodial parent (NCP) lives and/or works. There is no guarantee the other parent will be found, but the more information you provide, the easier it will be.

DCSS will order a paternity test to be conducted if paternity has not been established or if it is disputed.

• One form of government-issued picture ID (Valid driver’s license, passport, Green Card, Visa)

• Birth certificates for children born OUTSIDE of Georgia

• School enrollment verification

• Photocopy of all existing support orders, including the divorce decree that contains spousal with child support

• Paternity Acknowledgement- Unwed parents are given a chance to sign a Voluntary Paternity Acknowledgement form at or near the time of the child’s birth

There are three types of printable applications:

• Packet I (Paternity establishment/order establishment) - A child support order is a court document that can be opened by either parent stating when, how often and how much a parent is to pay. Use this application to open a case with no prior child support orders.

• Packet II (Enforcement/Review Modifications) - Use this application to open a case if you have previous child support orders on record and the NCP lives in Georgia.

• Packet III (Paternity Establishment/Order Establishment, Enforcement/Review Modifications) - Use this application to open a case if the NCP lives in another state.

Fill out the application completely, then mail it and any applicable fees to the child support office in your county. Call the DCSS Communications Center at 1-844-MYGADHS (1-844-694-2347) if you need further information on the application process.

You can receive payments through either a debit card or direct deposit. State law requires income withholding, and in most cases the support amount can be deducted from the NCP's paycheck.

If a parent does not obey a support order, he or she may be found in contempt of court. A contempt action may be filed against the NCP who fails to make support payments or does not maintain the required medical insurance. NCPs found in contempt of court may be fined, sentenced to jail, or both. 

The judge may order the NCP who is unable to pay to be enrolled in the Fatherhood Program or in the Parental Accountability Court program. In addition to being enrolled in one of these programs, the NCP is still obligated to pay the full amount of current and past-due support. The child support order may also be enforced through one of the following actions:

• Withholding child support from paychecks, unemployment or weekly worker's compensation benefits

• Offsetting federal and/or state income tax refunds

• Reporting the parent’s delinquent child support payments to the three credit reporting bureaus

• Suspension or revocation of a NCP’s drivers’, professional, occupational or recreational hunting or fishing licenses for their failure to pay child support as ordered

• Intercepting lottery winnings when they exceed $2,500

• Filing contempt actions in the superior court which may result in a jail sentence if the NCP is found to be in contempt of court

• Filing of liens to seize matched bank accounts, lump sum worker's compensation settlements and real or personal property

• Denial, suspension or revocation of the passport of someone who owes more than $2,500 in child support