Frequently Asked Questions

To establish paternity and child support, apply for services with either tribe or state. If neither tribe has a child support office, then apply in the state where you live.  The child support office will work with you to establish paternity and get a support order established. To find out if a tribe in your area has a tribal child support program, visit our contact map that lists all tribal child support programs by state.

To establish paternity and child support, apply for services with your tribe or state. If your tribe does not have a child support program, then apply in the state where you live. Child support agencies work with the military to establish paternity and child support. To find out if a tribe in your area has a tribal child support program, visit our contact map that lists all tribal child support programs by state.

The Handbook for Military Families is a helpful resource.

If the tribe is operating a federally funded child support program, your caseworker should send the income withholding order to the tribal child support agency. The tribal child support agency will process the income withholding order and serve it on the tribal enterprise.

If the tribe is not receiving federal funding to operate a child support program, your caseworker should contact the tribe's administrative office or tribal court to ask about their procedures for honoring an income withholding order.

See our list of federally funded tribal child support agencies.

State child support agencies submit (certify), through OCSE to the Department of Treasury, the names, Social Security numbers, and amounts of past-due support of people who are behind in their payments.

A noncustodial parent whose support debt meets the criteria for Federal Offset or Passport Denial will receive a Pre-Offset Notice that explains the process and shows the amount of past-due support owed at the time of the notice. The Pre-Offset Notice includes information about Federal Tax Refund Offset, Administrative Offset, Passport Denial, and actions the child support agency may take to enforce a support obligation. It also includes information about how to contest the debt amount.

The actual amount that Treasury deducts from the tax refund may differ from the amount on the Pre-Offset Notice based on updated activity on the support obligation. The state updates the debt amount regularly, but may not issue a new notice each time the debt amount changes.

When Treasury processes tax refunds, it identifies those who owe past-due support and intercepts all or part of the tax refund. Treasury forwards the intercepted or offset funds through OCSE to the state child support agency to pay the past-due support.

At the time of the Federal Tax Refund Offset, Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service mails a Notice of Offset to the noncustodial parent stating that all or part of their federal tax refund has been intercepted because of the support debt. The notice explains to contact the local child support agency for further information.

The state that submitted the case typically receives money from a tax refund offset within two to three weeks. If the tax refund offset is from a jointly filed tax return, the state may hold the money for up to six months before disbursing.

Depending on state laws regarding community property, the IRS may intercept all or part of your or your spouse's share of the federal tax refund to pay your support debt.

If you and your new spouse (called a non-obligated or "injured" spouse) file a joint income tax return, your spouse may be able to get back his or her share of the refund. To claim their portion of any refund due, your spouse may file an Injured Spouse Allocation of a Joint Return (Form 8379) with the IRS. The IRS encourages an injured spouse to file the claim at the same time the tax return is filed.

Check with your child support agency for more information.

You must contact your child support agency to make satisfactory arrangements to pay your past-due support. If more than one state reported your name to the Passport Denial Program, you must reach an agreement with all states involved before your passport hold is released.

Once you have paid your past-due support in full or reached a satisfactory payment agreement, the state(s) will request that OCSE remove your name from the Passport Denial Program. After the State Department has processed the withdrawal request from OCSE and cleared its system, you may contact the National Passport Information Center at 1-877-487-2778 or make an appointment at a regional passport agency to complete the process.

Check with your child support agency for more information.

The Passport Denial Program helps child support agencies enforce repayment of debts from noncustodial parents who owe or have owed at least $2,500 in past-due support. A noncustodial parent whose support debt meets the criteria for certification receives a Pre-Offset Notice that explains the process. This notice includes the amount of past-due support owed at the time of mailing and information about the Passport Denial Program, as well as information on the Federal Tax Refund and Administrative Offset programs.

States submit case information of noncustodial parents who meet the criteria for passport denial to OCSE. When the past-due support exceeds $2,500, OCSE will automatically forward the noncustodial parent’s name to the State Department for passport denial unless the state requested that OCSE exclude the noncustodial parent from the Passport Denial Program.

The noncustodial parent is not removed from the Passport Denial Program, even if their arrearages fall below the $2,500 threshold, until one of the following occurs:

• The submitting state specifically requests removal
• The noncustodial parent’s support debt amount is reduced to zero
• The case is deleted

When an individual applies for a passport, the State Department will deny the application based on the passport denial certification. The State Department will send a notice to the noncustodial parent explaining that the passport was denied because of past-due support. The notice informs the applicant to contact the appropriate state child support agency for more information.

Usually the state where the custodial parent lives submits the debt for Federal Tax Refund Offset. In cases where the noncustodial parent owes a support debt to more than one state, each state submits its case for offset. The noncustodial parent receives a separate notice for each state's debt, and has the right to contest each state's debt amount.