Paternity is the legal determination of fatherhood. In Ohio, an unmarried woman who gives birth is automatically the sole residential and legal custodian of the child until a court makes a ruling.

There are four (4) ways to establish paternity:

1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PATERNITY AFFIDAVIT – This is a legal document which both the mother and father of the child sign (and have notarized). This document is then filed with the Central Paternity Registry. It is generally provided to the parents by the hospital, however, the Child Support Agency, as well as the Health Department, can administer this Affidavit to the parties for signing. This Affidavit is final 60 days after the LAST signature is notarized. If either parent wishes to rescind (cancel) the Affidavit and ask for Genetic Testing, they may do this, but it must be done within 60 days of the last notarized signature. This option of Paternity Establishment is NOT available if the mother is married to another person or an Affidavit has already been signed and finalized for this child.
2. GENETIC TESTING – DNA genetic testing is performed using the Buccal Swab method. A mouth swab is performed on all parties and is generally done at no cost to the parties. The results will be mailed to the parties within 15-30 days of the last party being tested. Samples are collected on the mother, child, and alleged father. You must bring photo identification with you in order to have the testing completed.
3. PRESUMPTION – If the mother was married at the time of the birth of the child, or the child was born within 300 days of the termination of the marriage, there is a presumption of paternity. The presumption may be disputed by either parent through genetic testing.
4. DEFAULT – A man that has been served with a court order to appear for Genetic Testing, but fails to do so, may have paternity established in his absence by the court. This can be done through the testimony of the mother and any relevant evidence.

Changing Your Child’s Last Name

There is a limited window of opportunity in which to change the child’s last name without the parties needing to file on their own through the court. The Child Support Agency can assist parents with changing the LAST name of the child during the Paternity process ONLY. However, the parents must BOTH agree to the name change. This must be done prior to the agency receiving the results of the genetic tests and is usually required prior to the testing. If the man being tested returns positive DNA results “and” the parties have agreed to change the last name of the child based on “positive” DNA results, the name will be changed on the birth record. However, if “negative” results are returned indicating he is NOT the father, then the last name of the child is not changed.

It is important to know that if both parents cannot agree to change the last name of the child, the father (once determined to be the father through DNA testing), may OBJECT to the Administrative Establishment of Paternity and have the issue brought before the court for consideration. This is done by completing the proper objection form timely

The Child Support Agency can establish a child support (and medical support) order for a child as long as Paternity has been established. Orders must be established prior to a child’s eighteenth birthday.

This process is used after the Administrative Paternity process has been completed and/or when parents are NOT married and wish to seek a child support order. The parents are served to appear before an Administrative Hearing Officer to determine an appropriate amount of child support. Parents will be ordered to bring financial information with them to this hearing. The Hearing Officer will complete and mail to the parties a Recommendation of the child support amount. The parties have objection rights if they are not in agreement that the support was determined properly. If an objection is received, the matter is scheduled before the court. If no objection is received, the Recommendation is filed with the court and becomes a final and enforceable order. It is important to attend all hearings.

The Child Support Agency is responsible for the enforcement of Child Support payments, Spousal Support payments and Health Insurance coverage when one or both parents are ordered to provide coverage through their employer or alternate source (i.e. spouse). It is important to know that our office is unable to enforce the payment of medical bills owed by the other parent. We recommend that parties seek legal counsel or file through Small Claims Court to pursue collection.

The agency has the ability to perform specific Administrative Enforcement actions as well as Legal Enforcement actions to ensure child support payments are paid as ordered.

The first source of collection, is through a mandatory income withholding from the Non-Residential Parent’s employer, unemployment, workers compensation benefits, social security, pensions, bank accounts etc.

At times, it becomes necessary for the Child Support Agency to pursue certain types of Administrative Actions or Legal Actions to ensure a child receives the financial support he/she is entitled to receive.

Administrative Enforcement Actions include;

• An additional payment added to the current support to pay back child support (this is generally ordered at 20% of the current support amount)
• Interception of Federal and State Tax Refunds
• Reporting delinquencies to the Credit Bureau
• Suspending drivers, professional and recreational licenses
• Freezing and seizing assets held in a financial institution
• Placing liens on certain property
• Orders to seek employment and report back to the agency
• Blocking a person’s ability to obtain a Passport (back support must be greater than $2500)
• Intercepting Lump Sum payments such as bonuses, lottery/casino winnings, and insurance settlements

Legal Enforcement Actions include;

• Civil Contempt charge – this may result in either a 30, 60 or 90-day jail sentence depending on the number of prior contempt actions for this case.
• Criminal Non Support charge – this action may be taken at the discretion of the agency on their most difficult cases. This action is an F5 Felony. When the agency has exhausted all Administrative and Legal actions and/or the location of the Non-Residential Parent is unknown, the agency may consider this action.

A Review & Adjustment (commonly known as a Modification) is the process by which a child support obligation is reviewed to reflect the current financial situation and circumstances of the parties. Either party may request a review and adjustment through the child support agency and this process can take several weeks to complete.

There are very specific reasons why the child support agency can modify your support order. If you are looking to modify your order for any other reason than those listed below, you may petition the court on your own or seek private legal counsel to do so for you. This agency is limited to the following reasons;

• It has been at least 36 months since the order was established or last modified
• The existing order established a minimum support order due to the unemployment/underemployment of one of the parties and that party is no longer unemployed/underemployed.
• Either parent’s income/assets has changed by at least 30%
• Either parent has become unemployed or laid off due to circumstances beyond their control and the unemployment or lay off is expected to last more than 30 days
• Either parent has become unemployed due to a plant closing or mass layoff
• Either parent has become permanently disabled
• Either parent has been institutionalized or incarcerated and cannot pay support for the duration of the child’s minority
• Either parent has had an increase/decrease in child care or health insurance costs
• A parent has been called to active military duty for more than 30 days
• The child support obligation has terminated for one or more children of the order and a support obligation still exists for another child(ren) subject to this order
• Either parent requests access to available or improved health insurance for the child
• The child support/medical support order currently in place was issued in accordance with old statute and private health insurance that was ordered is no longer accessible or reasonable in cost
• The current order which contains a provision for cash medical support is no longer reasonable as the parent’s annual gross income is now below 150% of the federal poverty level

Adjustment & Review Request

To request a Review & Adjustment of your support order, download, complete, print, and return the application to our agency. You will receive notification of whether your request has been accepted/denied within 15 days of receipt. 

The child support agency is responsible for recommending a date in which the child support order should terminate. After the agency performs an investigation, this recommendation is mailed to the parties with an opportunity for objections (within a specific time period). If no objection is received, the recommendation is filed with the courts to make it a final and enforceable order.

It is the responsibility of the Residential Parent to notify the agency of any reason for which the child support order should terminate.

Reasons for termination include;

• The child is 18 and no longer attending an accredited high school on a full-time basis, whichever event occurs last, but shall not exceed the age of 19 (unless the court order specifically states support shall continue past the age of majority).
• The child’s death
• The child’s marriage
• The child’s emancipation
• The child’s enlistment in the armed services
• The child’s deportation
• A change in the legal custody of the child
• The child’s adoption
• The death of the Obligor/Non-Residential Parent
• The parents marry or remarry and are residing together and no other person has legal custody.

If there are other reasons you feel the child support order should be terminated but are not listed above, the agency cannot pursue termination of the order. However, you may petition the court on your own and ask that they consider terminating the child support order.

It may also be possible that the parties enter into an agreement to terminate the child support order and sign a voluntary consent agreeing to do so. You may contact the agency for more information on this option.

OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO PAY CHILD SUPPORT

There are several ways in which to make a child support payment.

If you are employed, payments must be deducted from your earnings. The Child Support Agency will issue an Income Withholding Order to your employer and they are required by law to comply with this order. As the person responsible for child support, you must make these payments on your own UNTIL you see they are being deducted from your earnings.

Here is how to make payments on your own;

• • Mail – You can mail a Money Order, Personal Check or Certified Check to Ohio’s centralized collection and disbursement unit:

OHIO CSPC
PO Box 182372
Columbus, OH 43218

YOU MUST MAKE SURE THAT YOUR PAYMENT CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

1. Your Name & the Name of the other parent

2. Your Child Support Case No. (begins with #7) & the Order No. (if you have this information)

3. Your Social Security Number

4. If you are sending payment for multiple cases/children, you MUST indicate how much is to be applied to each case. Failure to do so will delay the processing of this payment for several days.

• • MoneyGram – You may make your payment at WalMart or CVS via MoneyGram. (USE CODE 14674) Your payment will be sent directly to our centralized collection/disbursement unit in Columbus and will post to your case within 3 days. They accept CASH ONLY for this service and there is a $3.99 fee.
  • Credit or Debit Card – visit https://oh.smartchildsupport.com to pay online using your credit or debit card. You must have a valid email address to use this option. You may also call the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) to make a payment using your card over the phone by calling 1-888-965-2676. THERE IS NO FEE TO MAKE A PAYMENT USING YOUR CREDIT OR DEBIT CARD!!

     

OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO RECEIVE CHILD SUPPORT

If you are new to the child support system, you may receive a PAPER CHECK for a short period. However, all child support payments are required to be either disbursed by direct deposit into a checking or savings account or on a child support debit card. You should receive communication from Ohio Child Support Payment Central requesting that you choose a method to receive payments. Failure to respond will automatically result in a debit card being issued to you.

• • Direct Deposit – Payments are deposited directly into your bank account. This is a quick and convenient method to receive your payments. To enroll in direct deposit, visit https://oh.smartchildsupport.com.
  • Debit Card – A NEW Child Support Debit Card is now available.  The smiONE VISA card (which has replaced the e-QuickPay Debit Card) is available as of July 1, 2019.  If you are an existing e-QuickPay Debit Card holder, you should have received your NEW replacement smiONE card in the mail as of July 1, 2019.  If you have not – you can call 855-279-2744 to request one.  Balances from the old e-QuickPay card will NOT transfer over to the new card – you must spend the card down.  The new smiONE card has many added features such as;  Better security with the EMV Chip, tap and go feature, Mobile Wallet capability (Apple Pay/Google Pay), make other deposits to your card (such as direct deposit from your employer), a mobile app which will allow you to easily activate your card, check balances, set up alerts, track spending and pay bills.  You can also deposit CASH to this card. To enroll in the smiONE Visa Debit Card, visit https://oh.smartchildsupport.com.

You can get instant access to your child support cases by logging into the Child Support Customer Service Web Portal.
Available 24/7, the Customer Service Web Portal will offer valuable case information to you such as:

• Payment information
• Availability to print your own Payment History
• View address, employment and health insurance information
• Send/Receive messages to your child support Case Worker
• Register to receive email notifications when payments are made or when the agency needs information from you pertaining to your case

Office of Child Support.

Now also available in a mobile app. Download it today from the Apple App Store or from the Google Play Store.

To get the app, just search “Ohio Child Support” and install it on your phone or click the buttons below:

If you are new to the Web Portal, you must first register. To get started, follow the steps below depending on whether you do or do not have an Ohio driver’s license.

Registration for Customers with an Ohio driver’s license:

• Select “Creating an Account” from the Login Page.
• Complete CAPTCHA screen.
• Enter your Ohio Driver’s License Number, SSN, Date of Birth, Last Name and E-mail Address.
• Create User ID Password.
• Select an activation method (email/text) to activate your account. Enter the activation code within 2 hours to activate your account.
• Click the Login Page link and enter your new User ID and Password.

Registration for Customers without an Ohio driver’s license:

• Select “Creating an Account” from the Login Page.
• Complete CAPTCHA screen.
• Select “I don’t have an Ohio Driver’s License, State ID or Key Number”
• Enter your Case Number (beginning with a 7), SSN and E-mail Address.
• If you are ordered to RECEIVE support on ANY case, you will be required to enter the last 4 digits of your smiOne TM card number or your direct deposit account number.
• If you are ordered to PAY support on any case, you will need your 12 digit Web ID/SETS Participant number. The agency can supply this number to you or you may call 1-800-686-1556 M-F 8:00-5:00.
  
• Create User ID and Password.
• Select an Activation method (email/text) to activate your account. Enter the activation code within 2 hours to activate your account.
• Click the Login Page link and enter your new User ID and Password.

Click HERE to view valuable information for Employers/Providers of Income – Get answers to the most common questions employers have!