Drivers License Suspension for Failing to Pay Child Support?

After a divorce involving children, the non-custodial parent is typically responsible for paying child support. This child support payment is carefully calculated by the court based on a number of pieces of information, including the number of children in the household. The payment is a requirement of the non-custodial parent and there are various ramifications for non-payment of child support. Some of the penalties for non-payment include tax liens, property liens, and wage garnishments. Another penalty to enforce the payment of back back child support is a drivers license suspension.

When Drivers License Suspension Occurs

Every state has different rules about suspension of your driver's license for unpaid child support. For most states, once you are behind approximately four months in payments, the child support office will begin taking steps to make you pay. One of the possible actions they could take against you is to suspend your license until effort is made to pay the back child support. However, if this happens to you, there are steps that you can take to challenge a license suspension and have your driver's license reinstated.

What You Can Do To Get Your License Back?

If your license is suspended due to back child support payments, there are certain things you can do to appeal a drivers license suspension and have it reinstated. To get your license back, you should:

• Contact Your Local Child Support Office: Let the child support office know you are aware of the situation. If there is good reason that you have been unable to make the payments, most likely the office will allow you to reinstate your license as long as you provide them proof of your situation.
• Attempt To Make A Payment: Call your local child support office and make a lump sum payment if you can and work out a payment plan for the rest of the owed child support. Once you have a made a valid attempt to keep up with the payment plan, the Child Support Administration will notify the local motor vehicle office to have your license reinstated.
• Apply for a restricted license: If you have no valid reason as to why you are not paying your child support payments and you cannot make a lump sum payment or agree to a payment plan, the Child Support Administration may reinstate your license with restrictions. These restrictions will typically allow you to travel back and forth to work and to pick up essentials for living. They will then take additional steps to collect the back child support through a wage garnishment.

Getting Help

If you can't pay your back child support, you need to get help from a lawyer so you can avoid drivers license suspension and other penalties. Your attorney can assist you in working out an arrangement to deal with the back child support and can help you to begin the processing of getting your drivers license back.