Child maintenance application checklist

Your details

You should provide CMS with:

• your full name and any other names you use
• your address
• your telephone number (including mobiles)
• your National Insurance number
• if you are a member of the armed services, your BFPO number and HM Forces Service number
• your bank account details (or details of an account you want your child maintenance paid into)
• how often you want to receive maintenance payments (weekly, every two weeks, every four weeks or every month)

You must write your name and National Insurance number on the back of any documents you send to the Child Maintenance Service by post.

Your child or children's details

For each child you are applying for, you should provide the following to CMS:

• their full name and date of birth
• their gender (male or female)
• their National Insurance number if they are over 16 years old
• the full names of their mother and/or father
• if anybody is receiving child benefit for the child
• if there is already a maintenance agreement for the child
• if the child stays overnight with the paying parent each week or at any other periods including school holidays, occasional stays and for how long
• if the child stays overnight in the care of Social Services
• if the paying parent knows you have named them a parent of this child

Paying parent’s details

If there is more than one paying parent, you should provide details of each one separately to CMS:

• their full name and any other names they use
• their address and the last date you knew that they lived there
• their telephone number (including mobiles)
• their date of birth
• their National Insurance number if known
• if the paying parent knows where you live
• if the paying parent is the mother or father of the children you’re applying for
• if they are employed, unemployed or self-employed
• their job title and employer’s name, address and phone number if known

More useful links

• Child Maintenance Service
• Family-based child maintenance arrangements
• How child maintenance is calculated