Court orders

Changing a Child Support Order

An order change can happen if the review finds that:

• The order does not conform to the child support guidelines
• The order does not include medical support.
• The change in the child support amount would be at least 15% of the current order, and the difference would be $50 or more a month.

Please note:  the order change could increase or decrease the amount of support, or could add medical support without changing the amount of support.

How an order is changed:

• If the child support agency staff does the review and finds that a change is warranted, they might draft a legal agreement (stipulation) and ask both parents to sign it. The court must approve the agreement.


• If a parent does not agree to the stipulation, the child support agency might ask the court to change the order.
• If the court reviews the order, the court will decide whether or not to change the order.
• If both parents agree to change the amount of support, they may use the Office of State Court's online form, FA-604 - Stipulation and Order to Amend Judgment for Support/ Maintenance/ Custody/ Placement. The parents can sign and submit the form to the court for approval.
   
• If the parents receive services from their local child support agency, the child support agency must approve the terms of the stipulation before the parents submit the papers to the court.
• Parents must tell their child support agency of the terms approved by the court.

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