If you’ve considered your options and you’re ready to apply, you can start the process:
How long will it take?
- Within four weeks - we will start gathering information
from the non-resident parent if the parent with care can give us current
contact details for them. If we do not have current contact details
for the non-resident parent, we will trace them as quickly as we can.
- Within 12 weeks - we will aim to make an accurate decision on the application, but in some cases it could take up to 26 weeks. If we do not have current contact details for the non-resident parent, we will trace them as quickly as we can.
Payments
- Within six weeks - where we are collecting child
maintenance, we will aim to make the first maintenance payment to the
parent with care once the initial payment arrangements have been made.
- Within one week - we will make maintenance payments
to parents with care within a week of receiving the money from the
non-resident parent.
- Within four months - we will aim to obtain maintenance through a deduction from earnings order if the non-resident parent is employed and either refuses or fails to pay after initial payment arrangements have been made.
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