Program Information

North Carolina Child Support Services (NCCSS) administers the North Carolina child support program under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. Services are available to a parent, alleged fathers, non-parent caretakers, minor children, social services agencies and judicial officials. The child support program's goal is to provide the best possible services to families for children. Whether you are making an application for child support services as a recipient of assistance from other social services programs (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Foster Care and/or Medicaid) or requesting child support services as a non-public assistance applicant, your involvement, information, and contributions are important and required.

NORTH CAROLINA CHILD SUPPORT SERVICES INFORMATION

PROGRAM SERVICES

NCCSS provides services to families to assist in meeting financial obligations for children. There is no residency or citizenship eligibility requirements for services. Depending on the circumstances of each family, one or more of the following services may be appropriate:

• Location of noncustodial parent - State, federal, local and national resources are used to assist in collecting information about a parent, such as their residence, employment and/or financial assets.


• Paternity establishment - A determination of parental legal responsibility for the child(ren) is necessary before a parent can be required to pay support. If a child's parents were not married to each other at the time of the child's birth, arrangement of paternity testing may be offered to the parties, if appropriate.


• Support establishment - In North Carolina, support is determined using the guidelines established in state law. NC Child Support Guidelines considers both parent's monthly gross incomes, the amount of time the child spends with each parent and various expenses. NCCSS seeks to establish a court order requiring a parent to provide child and/or medical support for child(ren) based on the NC Child Support Guidelines.


• Collection of support - Child support payments (either bank draft, money order or check) are sent to NC Child Support Centralized Collections (NCCSCC). A large amount of child support payments are deducted from a parent's wages and sent to NCCSCC by an employer. North Carolina Child Support Services (NCCSS) records and disburses all collected child support payments to families by direct deposit (into a bank account) or debit card.


• Enforcement of an established or existing child support, spousal support, and/or medical support court order is met by wage withholding, tax refund offset, liens, professional license/passport revocation, credit reporting, court action or other collection remedies. Support orders may be reviewed for modification (increase/decrease) every three years or more often, if warranted.

NCCSS does not provide the following services: custody, visitation or the establishment of spousal support obligations.

Please read Program Fees and Policies and Privacy and Security in the help section before applying for the child support.