Types of Child Maintenance & How to Apply

This section is about the different types of child maintenance arrangements and how to apply for support from the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) which is a government service within the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The CMS is responsible for calculating and, where required, enforcing payment.

Types of Arrangements

  • A Family Based Arrangement is often referred to as a private arrangement made directly between parents with no involvement from the CMS.

    Some useful resources to begin this conversation are Your parenting plan and planning your child maintenance conversation (opens in new tab)

    Good to know

    Family Based Arrangements are private between separated parents. If the arrangement breaks down (e.g. missed payments) then parents can progress to access the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) for support. However, it is important to note that the CMS has no legal powers to recover any missed Family Based Arrangement payments.

    Visit Child Maintenance Service: Make a private arrangement (gov.uk) (opens in new tab) for further information.

  • Direct Pay is an arrangement where a parent (or young person over 12 years in Scotland) can apply to the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) for support with calculating and recovering missed payments. Once an application is made, the CMS will calculate amounts and payment schedules. The CMS will keep both parents informed. There are no fees for this service. Under this arrangement, the paying parent makes payments directly to the receiving parent.

    Good to know

    The CMS does not track or monitor Direct Pay payments. If payments are not paid in full or on time the receiving parent can report this and request to move the arrangement to use the Collect & Pay.

  • Collect & Pay is an arrangement where the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) both calculates and recovers unpaid child maintenance. In these arrangements, the payment is made to CMS who will then transfers the money to the receiving parent. There are fees connected to this service; The paying parent is charged an additional 20% on top of the calculation for the paying parent, and the receiving parent has 4% deducted from calculated amount.

    For example: Where the CMS has calculated the payment to be £100, this would mean the paying parent would pay £120 and the receiving parent would receive £96.

    Good to know

    Collect & Pay includes payment methods such as Deductions of Earnings and Bank Account Deductions.

How to Apply

  • When making an application you will be asked if you are the ‘receiving parent’ or ‘paying parent. The receiving parent is the person with ‘main day to day care’ of the child/young person or the person who the child lives with the majority of the time. This can also include a kinship carer. Either parent or (a young person aged 12yrs and over in Scotland) can make an application to the CMS.

    Applications can be made either:

    Online: (opens in new tab)

    Or by phone: 0800 171 2345

  • The online application process takes approximately 15 mins to complete.

    If both parents make an application, the receiving parent’s application will be prioritised.

    You will be asked if you have experienced domestic abuse. Your answer will not be shared with the other parent.

    During the application process you will be asked to create a Personal Identification Number (PIN) and password to allow you to manage your case online.

    Once you have completed the application you will be sent an email with a 12-digit CMS reference number . You will need this along with your PIN number and national insurance number to log into the online portal.

    Visit ‘How to navigate the portal’. for more information.

    Both parents will receive different reference numbers to access their individual accounts.

    Child maintenance is still applicable if a paying parent lives abroad. The process is a little different, and you visit Child maintenance if a parent lives abroad: Overview (opens in new tab) for more information

    • Your National Insurance number

    • Bank details

    • Details of children/young person

    • Information about the other parent, where possible, such as date of birth, address and/or last known previous addresses, contact number and employment or last known employment. You do not need to know all the information, but the more information you can provide the quicker your application will be processed.

      If you are applying as a paying parent you will also need your employment details including income amount and details of any other children you are financially support.

  • The CMS has significant powers to trace parents but the parent applying must provide enough basic information for the CMS to begin this process. Where sufficient contact information has been provided for both parents, the CMS will likely contact the other parent within a week to make them aware of the application and give them time to dispute any information they feel is incorrect.

    The CMS will not share your personal details with the other parent. The other parent will be only be informed of the application and the children involved.

    If instructed to do so by the receiving parent, the CMS will, share the receiving parent’s bank details with the paying parent. This option can be selected during the application process.

    Bank account sort codes generally identify the branch in which the account was opened. If this is a concern, parents can open a ‘non geographical’ bank account which is when a bank account has a generic sort code that cannot be identified to specific area. Most banks provide these.

Some of the language and terms used to describe child maintenance can be confusing so we’ve created a terminology page where we do our best to explain terms.