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Changes you must tell the CSA about by law

By law, there are some changes that you must tell the Child Support Agency (CSA) about.

The quickest way to report a change is by phone. You will find the contact details you need at the top of any letter the CSA has sent you.

You can also find contact details for your local office using the link below.

• Contact the CSA Opens new window

Changes that non-resident parents need to tell the CSA about

If you are a non-resident parent you must tell the CSA if your address changes within seven days from the date of the change.

A non-resident parent is the parent who the child does not normally live with.

If you pay child maintenance through a deduction from earnings order and you leave your job, you must also tell the CSA:

• the name and address of your new employer (if any)
• how much you expect to earn
• your payroll number (if any)

If you are a parent or person with care

If you’re a parent or person with care, you must tell the CSA if there is a change to:

• the number of children living with you that you get child maintenance for
• the number of nights a child regularly stays overnight with the non-resident parent
• the number of children that you or your partner get child benefit for

You must also tell the CSA if:

• the children you get child maintenance for leave full time non-advanced education
• you or any of the children you get child maintenance for are no longer ‘habitually resident’ in the UK

A parent or person with care is the parent or carer who the child normally lives with. ‘Habitually resident’ means where you usually live.

If you don’t give the right information to the CSA

You could be taken to court and fined up to £1,000 if you:

• fail to give the CSA the information it needs
• give the CSA information that you know is false

This applies to any person or organisation who, by law, must give the CSA information. For example:

• employers
• accountants
• either parent

Changes to the non-resident parent’s income

Either parent should tell the CSA if the non-resident parent’s income changes.

A non-resident parent should also tell the CSA if they:

• start or stop working for an employer
• start or stop being self-employed
• change jobs
• become unemployed
• start work after being unemployed

Changes to benefit status

If you're a non-resident parent, you should tell the CSA if you start or stop getting benefits.

If you're a parent with care, you should tell the CSA if you find out that your children's non-resident parent is coming off benefits.

In the past, a parent or person with care may not have got their full amount of child maintenance. This would happen if they or their partner were getting income-related benefits. But, since 12 April 2010, they have been allowed to keep all of the child maintenance they get without it affecting their benefits.

Changes to where you or the other parent lives

You must tell the CSA if:

• you are moving house
• you know that the other parent has moved or is about to move
• your or the other parent’s telephone numbers change (including mobile numbers)

If the non-resident parent has moved or is about to move abroad, you may still be able to arrange child maintenance.

You can get more information about parents living abroad using the following link.

• Child maintenance if one of the parents lives abroad

Changes to your family circumstances

Changes in your family circumstances can also affect your child maintenance payments. This could be a change in the number of children that either parent (or their partner) gets child benefit for.

When changes could affect your payments

Not all changes will affect your child maintenance payments. The types of things that usually affect child maintenance are:

• income changes
• changes to family circumstance

It also depends on:

• how much the child maintenance amount would change by
• when your CSA case was opened

If your case was opened after March 2003, child maintenance is worked out using the 2003 scheme rules (also known as 'current scheme').

If your case was opened before March 2003, child maintenance is worked out using the 1993 scheme rules (also known as 'old scheme').

For more information about changes affecting child maintenance in 2003 (current) scheme cases download the following leaflet.

• Download 'How is child maintenance worked out' (PDF, 359K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

For more information about changes affecting child maintenance in old scheme (1993) cases download the following leaflet.

• Download 'Your child maintenance assessment and help in meeting exceptional circumstances' (PDF, 360K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files

Changes to how your child maintenance is worked out

Sometimes, a change in your circumstances means that the CSA needs to move a 1993 scheme case onto 2003 scheme rules.

For more information about this, use the following link.

• Changes to child maintenance for old scheme cases

More useful links

• Download 'How is child maintenance worked out' (PDF, 359K) Opens new window

• Download 'Notes for non-resident parents who are self-employed' (PDF, 336K) Opens new window

• Download 'Your child maintenance assessment and help in meeting exceptional circumstances' (PDF, 360K) Opens new window

• Help with PDF files