Child Support in Utah

Where to start

Start with the path that matches your case today. If you already have a court order, your next step may be different from someone who has never had paternity or support established.

For child support basics across states, see ASMOM’s child support guide. For Utah help beyond child support, start with the Utah help guide.

Quick reference

• Open a case: ORS application. Ask what documents are missing and how to get your application number.
• Estimate support: Utah calculator. Ask which worksheet fits your custody or overnight schedule.
• Check payments: ORS Now. Ask for payment status, balance, and whether employer information is current.
• Change an order: ORS or court forms. Ask whether you need a review, motion, or petition.
• Need legal advice: Legal aid or lawyer. Ask about paternity, custody, parent-time, safety, or court strategy.

What Utah ORS can and cannot do

ORS is Utah’s child support agency. It can help parents and caregivers with paternity, child support orders, medical support, payment processing, collection, enforcement, and some reviews for possible changes. If you receive cash assistance or Medicaid, ORS says your case may be referred automatically, but you still need to complete the application information ORS needs for your case.

ORS can set some administrative child support orders, and Utah courts can also set child support orders. Once an ORS order is established, ORS says it begins enforcing that order. If your case is already in court, ask whether ORS, the court, or both are involved.

ORS is not your lawyer. It does not give legal advice, does not represent either parent, and does not decide custody or visitation. Utah Courts have separate pages for court child support, custody, parent-time, enforcement, and modification.

How Utah child support is estimated

Utah child support is usually based on the child support guidelines. The main parts are base child support, medical support, and work-related child care costs. Utah Courts say child support is calculated using both parents’ gross monthly income and the number of overnights the child spends in each home.

Use the official calculator to estimate support and prepare worksheets. The calculator is not a promise. ORS or the court decides the final amount after reviewing the facts and the law.

If you need help paying for child care while your case is pending, see ASMOM’s Utah child care guide.

Low or no income: The court may sometimes use an amount a parent could earn, called imputed income. Utah lists exceptions, such as serious illness or child care costs that are as high as a parent’s likely pay. Ask the court or a lawyer to look at the facts before relying on a calculator total.

Health and child care: Utah generally splits a child’s covered health-insurance premium, uninsured medical expenses, and work-related child care costs between parents under the order and state rules. These costs are not simply extra money that ORS sends without proof. Keep bills and proof of payment.

How to apply for child support in Utah

You can apply through ORS online or with a paper form. ORS says many people find the online application easier. If you have children with different other parents, ORS says you need a separate application for each family group.

After you submit the online application, ORS starts processing it and sends an application number. Write that number on copies of documents you send. You can also use it when you contact ORS about whether your application was received and whether anything is missing.

ORS forms are also available online. The ORS forms page includes the child support services application, Spanish forms, parentage forms, and review request forms.

1. Use the official online or paper ORS form, and send copies of the listed records.
2. Keep the application number ORS sends you. Ask if your packet is complete.
3. Ask which office is handling the order, parentage, payments, and any court case.
4. Write down each next step, due date, and caseworker’s name.

Privacy: The ORS forms page warns against sending Social Security numbers, birth dates, or financial records through regular unencrypted email. Ask ORS for an approved safe way to submit sensitive papers.

Documents and details to gather

ORS asks for copies, not originals. You may not need every item below, but gathering papers early can reduce delays.

For a wider folder list, use ASMOM’s documents checklist. It can help you organize child support, SNAP, Medicaid, housing, child care, and school papers in one place.

Paternity and medical support

If the parents were not married

Paternity means deciding who a child’s legal father is. If the parents were not married when the child was born, paternity may be established through ORS, through court, or through a Voluntary Declaration of Paternity.

If anyone is unsure who the father is, do not sign a paternity form without getting legal help first. ORS says genetic testing is usually free for people with an open ORS case before paternity and child support are established. A later genetic test does not automatically undo a paternity order.

Medical support

ORS says medical support is part of child support. This may include adding a child to a parent’s employer health plan when it is available and legally required. The ORS medical support page explains insurance notices, credits, and documents parents may need to give ORS.

If health coverage is a problem now, do not wait for the child support case to finish. Check Utah Medicaid, CHIP, employer coverage, or ASMOM’s Medicaid guide.

Payments, fees, and enforcement

ORS says most child support payments are required to come from employer income withholding. In some cases, a paying parent pays ORS directly, such as when self-employed or making extra payments. Parents receiving support usually receive payments electronically.

ORS says direct deposit has no ORS fee. The Utah Debit MasterCard is also an option, but some card uses may have fees. Read the ORS receive payments page before choosing a payment method.

Utah processing fee: ORS lists a fee of 6% of each payment, up to $12 per month. That fee is not charged if the person who applied for the case is receiving Cash Assistance or Medicaid. It also does not apply to federal tax intercept payments or support assigned to the state.

Annual federal collection fee: ORS lists $35 per federal fiscal year after at least $550 is collected on the case. This annual fee does not apply if the custodial parent or guardian has ever received Cash Assistance. Receiving Medicaid alone is not the same exception for this annual fee. Other charges may apply for certain payment methods, tax intercepts, or interstate cases. Check the official ORS fee rules for details.

If you have an ORS case, the ORS Now portal lets you check payments and balances, make payments, and submit contact, employer, and insurance updates. ORS lists child support contact information on its contact page.

What happens if you receive public benefits?

Cash Assistance can affect who gets support payments. When a child receives Utah Cash Assistance, some support may be assigned to the state to pay back that assistance. ORS says a person generally cannot get direct child support for the child in the same month as Cash Assistance or Medical Assistance. Past-due support may be owed to the parent, the state, or both. Check the ORS benefit-payment rules or ask ORS how your payments will be split.

Account access: ORS Now may mail a registration code to finish creating an account. ORS says it can take up to 10 business days to arrive. Call ORS if you need a payment update sooner. The Utah debit card may charge fees for some ATM withdrawals or long periods of nonuse; direct deposit has no ORS fee.

Changing a child support order

Either parent may need a change when income, custody, child care costs, medical needs, disability, incarceration, or legal responsibilities change. A private agreement is risky if the legal order is not changed. The amount in the order usually controls until ORS or the court changes it.

Utah Courts explain that there are different ways to ask the court to change child support, including a Motion to Adjust in limited situations and a Petition to Modify in other situations. The court says a change cannot be temporary if you are asking under certain adjustment rules.

If your order is at least three years old: A Motion to Adjust may be available when the new guideline amount differs by 10% or more, the change is not temporary, and the proposed amount follows the guidelines. A Petition to Modify has a different process.

If your order is less than three years old: A petition generally needs a difference of at least 15% plus a listed lasting change, such as a qualifying change in income, custody, medical needs, or work-related child care. Some issues can be raised at other times under specific rules. Utah Courts’ modification guide has the details and forms.

ORS review: You may request a written review through ORS, but ORS will not adjust every case. It lists limits when someone cannot be found, the youngest child will turn 18 within 12 months, or there is a conflicting order. Review can take time. See ORS order-change rules. If another state issued your order, ask which state has the legal authority before filing in Utah.

If problems come up

Child support cases can slow down when the other parent cannot be found, income is hard to prove, paternity is disputed, another state is involved, a protective order exists, or the case also includes custody or divorce. Delays do not always mean you did something wrong.

• Ask ORS what is missing and write down the answer.
• Keep copies of every form, notice, document, message, and payment record.
• Use ORS Now to update contact, employer, and insurance information.
• Ask the Utah Courts Self-Help Center about court forms if your issue is in court.
• Contact ASMOM’s Utah legal help page if you need legal resources.

If a benefit, court, or agency issue is denied, delayed, or closed, save the notice and check deadlines right away. ASMOM’s benefits problem guide can help you organize calls, appeal steps, and documents.

If you get an ORS notice or a court deadline

Do not ignore a Notice of Agency Action, paternity notice, court summons, hearing date, or support worksheet you disagree with. Read the notice for its exact deadline and how to respond. ORS lists different hearing request forms for different notices. Ask ORS or the court which one fits. A legal-aid application does not stop a filing deadline.

If the other parent lives out of state, ask ORS about interstate collection or changing an order. Utah may not have the power to change a support order made elsewhere without the required steps.

When child support may end

Utah Courts say child support generally continues until a child is 18 or has completed high school, whichever is later, unless the child is emancipated. The court may order support after age 18 for a disabled child who remains a dependent.

Do not stop paying only because the child turned 18 unless the order and the law allow it. Ask ORS, the court, legal aid, or a lawyer what applies to your order. You can also read Utah Code Title 81, Chapter 6 for the current child support law.

Past-due payments are different: Support that was already owed does not vanish when a child turns 18 or finishes high school. ORS may keep collecting past-due amounts. Utah law also has rules for an adult child who is unable to support themselves due to incapacity. Read the ORS case-closure guidance and check your order before changing payments.