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1. Who can apply for support and collections services?

You can apply for support and collections services if you are:

• The parent or alleged father of a minor child
• A minor child lives in your household and
• At least one parent of the child lives away from the home

2. How do I apply for support and collections services?

Complete the application and return it to the county child support agency with a $25 application fee payable to the Minnesota Child Support Payment Center (CSPC). The application fee is nonrefundable.

• If you are applying for children who have different fathers or mothers, complete an application for each parent who lives away from the home and pay only one application fee of $25.
• If you are not sure who the father of your child is, complete an application for each possible father and pay only one application fee of $25.
• If you are not the parent of the child(ren) for whom you are applying for services, complete an application for each parent and pay only one application fee of $25.
• If you are a non-custodial parent or alleged father, complete an application and pay only one application fee of $25.

3. Do I have to pay the application fee?

Most people who apply for full child support enforcement services must pay a $25 nonrefundable application fee. However, you do not have to pay the application fee if:

• You received public assistance and you are requesting continued services
• You are a minor caretaker
• You are enrolled in a public secondary school, area learning center, or approved alternative learning center
• You had a support case in Minnesota that was closed fewer than 3 months ago
• You currently have an open child support case in which you are the applicant

4. How do I apply for child support services if I get public assistance?

If you get public assistance, your county financial worker will automatically refer your case for child support services. When you receive Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Medical Assistance (MA), MinnesotaCare, Diversionary Work Program (DWP), Tribal TANF, Title IV-E Foster Care, or Child Care Assistance, and a parent lives away from your home; the county child support agency will provide full child support enforcement services.

5. What do child support services include?

Full child support services include:

• Adjusting support orders based on the cost-of-living index
• Enforcing child support orders
• Establishing court orders for child, medical, and child care support
• Establishing parentage
• Locating parents
• Processing income withholding and other payments received by the Child Support Payment Center (CSPC) for child support and spousal maintenance
• Reviewing and asking the court to modify child, medical, and child care support orders when appropriate
• Working with other states to enforce child support orders

6. What services are not provided?

Full child support services do not include:

• Collection of attorneys fees, except in limited circumstances (Minn. Stat. § 518.14, subd. 2)
• Collection of bills not related to support
• Collection of legal advice or counsel
• Collection of property settlements
• Divorce assistance
• Parenting time or custody issues
• Spousal maintenance collection unless child support is also being collected on the same case
• Spousal maintenance order establishment or modification

If you need any of these services, contact an attorney or legal services office.