How Do I Get My Child Support?

Once you have a court order saying someone is obligated to pay you child support, how do you go about getting that money? In Texas, the Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General handles the collection and payment of child support. The first step in the process of getting your child support is that you must set up a case with the Child Support Division. You can apply for Texas child support services by going to the Attorney General’s website [LINK HERE], or you can apply by phone or by mail.

There are several different ways that the Attorney General receives payment of child support: debit or credit card, wage withholding, or automatic bank draft from a bank account. Once the funds are received, money is transferred by either direct deposit to a bank account or to the “Texas Payment Card”. The Texas Payment Card is basically a prepaid Visa card.

The Attorney General’s office also has a Child Support Interactive portal that allows you to look up your child support account and review the payment history.

Do I Have to Go Through The Attorney General to Pay Child Support?

Yes. The Texas Family Code, Section 154.004(a) states that the Court “shall” order payment of child support to the Texas State Disbursement Unit. The SDU is maintained by the Child Support Division and are obligated with receiving, recording, and disbursing Texas child support payments.