How do I get an application for child support services?
Applications may be requested through email (please indicate "Application Request" in the subject line and include your full name and mailing address in body of email; or contact your local DHHS District Office.

DHHS Southern District Office reopens at 3 Pine Street Extension, Suite Q, Nashua, NH on Tuesday, September 6th. The Southern DO main phone number will remain (603) 883-7726 or in-state toll free at (800) 852-0632. TTD Relay is 711. All phone numbers for Southern DO staff are unchanged.

DCSS Child Support Worker and Attorney Responsibilities: The DCSS Attorney or Child Support worker assigned to your case represents the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (Department) and does not represent you or your child(ren). The DCSS attorney or worker acts on behalf of the Department to establish paternity; to establish, enforce, and modify child and medical support orders; and (if applicable) to obtain repayment for TANF provided for your child(ren).

Assignment of Rights to Current Child Support: If you receive public assistance in the form of a TANF cash grant, you are required to cooperate with DCSS in establishing and enforcing support. Some medical assistance programs also require you to cooperate with DCSS. So long as you are receiving benefits, DCSS will retain support collected on behalf of the dependents to reimburse the assistance paid to you.

Upon receipt of a completed application, from either party, even if one party does not live in NH, DCSS can provide the following services:

• Locate the payor.
• Establish
  • Paternity (legal fatherhood) if necessary. It may be established voluntarily with an Affidavit of Paternity (available from DCSS, the hospital where the child was born, or the town clerk's office) or DCSS may arrange genetic testing to assist in establishing paternity.
  • Support orders through NH courts. Orders include:
    • Financial support based on the Child Support Guidelines per NH Statute RSA 458-C.
    • Medical support based on Reasonable Cost as described in RSA 458:C3,V as being 4% of gross income.
• Enforce legal orders
  • Through administrative actions such as income withholding orders, federal tax offsets, License Revocation, Credit Bureau reporting, liens on assets, intercepting lottery winnings and preventing the issuance of passports.
  • Work with the courts to enforce orders when the payor does not comply with a support order.
  • When enforcing an order, DCSS will determine the best actions to be taken.
• Disburse support collected on behalf of the dependents in a support case
  • Payments received for the monthly support obligation and any arrears owed to the family will be released to the family within two business days.
• Modifications can only be processed by the court. DCSS can assist in reviewing the order to determine if the amount is appropriate for both parties. The exact services provided by DCSS may vary depending on the individual case.

Upon receipt of an application for child support services, DCSS will work with other states to perform the same services listed above when the payor does not live in NH.

$25 Annual Fee: Beginning each fiscal year on October 1st, an Annual Service Fee of $25.00 is deducted from payments received in your case(s) after $500.00 has been collected and disbursed to you. The fee is not charged if you have ever received TANF Public Assistance on behalf of the dependents in your care. If you have multiple cases, the fee is charged in each case.

Answers to many of your questions can found throughout this website. If you are unable to find answers to your questions, you may contact a Central Information Unit representative by email for further assistance. Please provide the purpose of your email in the subject line. If you are emailing regarding your specific case, please include the full name of all members in the case, your full mailing address and contact information along with the last four digits of your social security number within the body of the email.

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