Applying for child maintenance

To apply for child maintenance through the Child Maintenance Service (CMS), you will first need to contact Child Maintenance Choices. The team will talk you through all of the options available to you.

Child Maintenance Choices

Child Maintenance Choices is a free, impartial service. The team will talk you through all the facts, in confidence, about child maintenance, whatever your circumstances. It will provide support and advice to help you decide how to make the best child maintenance arrangement for you and your family.

Child Maintenance Choices

If after your discussions, you decide not to arrange child maintenance yourself, the Choices team will help you to apply to use the Child Maintenance Service. All new applications for maintenance with the CMS are made under the 2012 Child Maintenance Scheme and charges could apply.

Information you need to give CMS

When speaking with the Choices team about applying to CMS for making or receiving payments, you will need to provide information about you and your family. This includes:

your National Insurance number
bank account details
details about the child you’re applying for - including the full names of their mother and father

A full list of what you need to provide is included in the child maintenance application checklist:

Child maintenance application checklist

How the information is used

The information you give can be used to set up and manage child maintenance payments. It can also sometimes find the paying parent.

CMS won’t give out names and addresses unless ordered to by a court, but information might be shared with other government organisations, debt collection agencies or the courts.

If CMS can’t get information it needs from either parent, it might ask other people or organisations, such as:

the paying parent’s employer
government organisations like the Social Security Agency
prison services or local councils
the paying parent’s bank or building society

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and data protection laws controls how your information is used. Contact the Child Maintenance Service for information about how it uses and stores your information.

Contact Child Maintenance Service

How long does it take

You will usually get a response from CMS about your application for Child Maintenance within six weeks. However, it can take up to 26 weeks if there is a problem with contacting the paying parent.

If the contact details for the paying parent aren’t known, CMS will try to find them - but if it can’t, the Child Maintenance application will stop.

The first child maintenance payment is usually made within six weeks of making payment arrangements with the paying parent.

Child maintenance payments

Help improve this page - send your feedback

What do you want to do?

report a problem

leave feedback

ask a question

Report a problem

Which problem did you find on this page? (Tick all that apply)

A link, button or video is not working

There is a spelling mistake

Information is missing, outdated or wrong

I can't find what I'm looking for

Another issue

You will not receive a reply. We will consider your feedback to help improve the site.

Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

Tell us more about the problem you're having with the nidirect website.

Enter your feedback

What is your question about?

Choose a topic for your question:

What to do next

Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk

If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit. Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

Employment and Support Allowance

Call 0800 587 1377

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

Personal Independence Payment

Call 0800 587 0932

If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

For queries about your GRONI account, email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme, email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

For queries about:

Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

For queries or advice about 60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly. We don't have access to information about you.

Extra comments (optional)

Translation help

Select a language