Can I enforce a child support order from another state in Texas?

Yes. Under UIFSA, Texas can register and enforce child support orders from other states. Once registered, the order is treated as a Texas order for enforcement purposes.

What if the other parent is self-employed or paid in cash?

Self-employment and cash income make enforcement more complex, but options still exist, including liens, bank levies, and contempt proceedings. Courts may also review financial records to identify hidden income or assets.

Can enforcement and modification be done at the same time?

Yes. Enforcement and modification can often be handled together depending on the case facts. An attorney can determine the best legal strategy based on the situation.

Child Support Enforcement in Texas

Q: What if the other parent says they cannot afford to pay?

Inability to pay is a defense to contempt but does not erase the arrearage. The parent must prove true inability, not just claim it. If income was voluntarily reduced or work was not sought, courts may reject this defense. The proper remedy is a modification request.

Texas child support enforcement is the legal process for compelling a parent to pay court-ordered support when they have stopped paying or fallen behind. A child support order is a court order, and Texas Family Code Chapter 157 gives you significant tools to enforce it, including wage garnishment, license suspension, property seizure, and contempt of court.

Waiting rarely helps. Arrears accumulate, the other parent may move assets or change jobs, and the longer enforcement is delayed, the harder recovery becomes. If the other parent is not paying what they owe your child, an enforcement action is your path to getting that money.

What Qualifies as a Child Support Enforcement Matter

Enforcement applies any time a parent fails to comply with the terms of a court-ordered child support obligation. Common situations that trigger enforcement include:

Missed payments or partial payments that leave a balance owed
A lump-sum arrearage that has built up over months or years
A parent who claims inability to pay but has not sought a formal modification
A parent who has changed jobs, gone self-employed, or taken steps to hide income
Health insurance coverage that was ordered but never obtained for the child

Texas does not require the other parent to be completely absent or willfully defiant before enforcement is available. If the order is not being followed, enforcement is appropriate. The obligor’s reasons for nonpayment may affect which remedies are available, but they do not eliminate your right to act.

Texas Enforcement Tools: What the Law Allows

Contempt of Court

Texas Family Code Section 157.065^[1] authorizes a court to hold a parent in contempt for willful failure to pay child support. Contempt can be punitive (intended to punish) or coercive (intended to compel compliance). Coercive contempt can result in jail time that continues until the parent pays or makes acceptable arrangements. A finding of contempt also creates a record that supports further enforcement if nonpayment continues.

Income Withholding Order

Texas Family Code Section 158.001^[2] authorizes an income withholding order that directs the obligor’s employer to deduct child support from each paycheck and forward it directly to the state disbursement unit. This is one of the most effective tools available because it removes the paying parent from the transaction entirely. If the obligor changes jobs, the withholding order follows them to the new employer.

License Suspension

Texas can suspend a delinquent obligor’s driver’s license, professional license, hunting and fishing licenses, and other state-issued licenses when child support arrears reach a threshold level. License suspension creates significant practical pressure on the obligor and is often resolved quickly when the parent needs their license restored.

Liens on Property and Seizure of Assets

Texas law allows the court to place a lien on the obligor’s real property, personal property, and financial accounts to secure unpaid support. In appropriate cases, accounts can be seized and funds applied to the arrearage. This remedy is particularly useful when the obligor is self-employed, holds significant assets, or has been difficult to reach through income withholding.

Credit Reporting

Child support arrears can be reported to consumer credit bureaus, which affects the obligor’s credit score and borrowing ability. This consequence motivates many parents to resolve arrears without requiring the full enforcement process.

Passport Denial

Federal law prohibits the issuance or renewal of a U.S. passport to a parent who owes more than $2,500 in child support arrears. This tool is administered at the federal level through the Office of Child Support Services and does not require separate state court action.

How Texas Child Support Enforcement Works: The Process

Enforcement begins with filing a motion to enforce in the court that issued the original child support order. Here is how the process typically unfolds:

File a motion to enforce. The motion identifies the specific payments missed, the total arrearage, and the relief requested. It must be filed in the court with continuing jurisdiction over the child support order.
Serve the obligor. The other parent must be formally served with the motion and notice of the hearing date. Proper service is required before the court can proceed.
Appear at the enforcement hearing. Both parties present evidence. You present proof of the order and the unpaid amounts. The obligor has the opportunity to respond, including by raising defenses such as inability to pay.
Court issues enforcement order. If the court finds nonpayment, it issues an order granting the requested remedy, whether that is contempt, wage withholding, a payment schedule, or another tool.
Collect and monitor. Once the order is in place, payments are collected and monitored. If the obligor violates the new order, enforcement can resume.

The obligor can raise affirmative defenses at the hearing, including inability to pay. If proven, that defense may affect the contempt remedy but does not eliminate the arrearage. The debt remains, and other enforcement tools remain available.

Attorney Fees in Texas Enforcement Cases

When a court finds that an obligor has failed to pay child support, Texas Family Code Section 157.167^[3] requires the court to order the obligor to pay the enforcing party’s reasonable attorney fees and court costs. This shifts the financial burden of enforcement onto the parent who caused it.

Attorney fee awards are mandatory when nonpayment is established, not a matter of judicial discretion. The strength of your documentation and the conduct of the other party both shape the amount awarded.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office vs. Private Enforcement

The Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) provides child support enforcement services and can pursue collection through income withholding, license suspension, and other administrative tools without requiring you to hire an attorney.

However, OAG enforcement has real limitations. The agency handles a large caseload. It cannot represent your individual interests in court. It cannot pursue contempt on your behalf. And it cannot help you with a child support modification, a custody issue, or any other matter connected to the enforcement situation.

If you need contempt proceedings, attorney fee awards, simultaneous modification of the support amount, or enforcement against a parent who is actively hiding assets or income, private enforcement through a family law attorney gives you tools and attention the OAG cannot provide.

How Scott M. Brown & Associates Handles Enforcement Cases

Our attorneys are Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. That certification means our offices handle these cases every day, in courts across Brazoria County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, Harris County, and the surrounding counties. We know how local courts approach enforcement, and we know how to build the record that gets results.

Here is what you can expect from us:

We review your order, the payment history, and the arrearage before advising on which enforcement tools make sense for your situation.
We file the motion, handle service, and prepare your case for the hearing. You do not have to figure out the procedural requirements on your own.
We pursue attorney fee awards where the facts support them, so the cost of enforcement falls on the parent who created the problem.
If the enforcement situation reveals a need to modify the support amount, we handle both in the same proceeding where possible.

Your child is owed this money. We are ready to help you collect it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far back can enforcement go on unpaid child support in Texas?

Texas law allows enforcement of a child support arrearage through a motion to enforce filed within ten years after the child turns 18, or within ten years after the date of the last order addressing the arrearage, whichever is later. There is no simple statute of limitations that wipes out old arrears. The debt accumulates and remains collectible.

Can the other parent go to jail for not paying child support in Texas?

Yes. A parent who willfully fails to pay child support can be held in contempt and jailed. Coercive contempt allows incarceration until the parent pays or makes satisfactory arrangements. Punitive contempt can result in a fixed jail term. The court considers whether the nonpayment was willful, which is why documenting the pattern of missed payments matters.

What if the other parent says they cannot afford to pay?

Inability to pay is an affirmative defense to a contempt finding, but it does not eliminate the arrearage. The obligor must prove actual inability, not just claim it. If a parent voluntarily reduced their income, quit a job without good reason, or failed to seek work, courts generally do not accept inability to pay as a defense. The appropriate action for a parent who genuinely cannot afford the ordered amount is to file for a modification, not to simply stop paying.

My child support order is from another state. Can I enforce it in Texas?

Yes. Texas courts can register and enforce a child support order from another state under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), which Texas has adopted. Once registered in Texas, the order is treated as a Texas order for enforcement purposes. If the other parent lives or works in Texas, this is often the most effective path.

What if the other parent is self-employed or works for cash?

This is one of the more challenging enforcement situations, but it is not a dead end. Income withholding does not work against self-employment income the same way it does against a paycheck, but property liens, bank account levies, and contempt proceedings remain available. We also have tools to investigate financial accounts and assets when a parent is hiding income. These cases require more work, but they can be won.

Can enforcement be pursued at the same time as a support modification?

Yes, and in many cases it makes sense to do both simultaneously. If the other parent has stopped paying and you also believe the support amount needs to change based on current income, both proceedings can run together. An attorney can advise on whether to combine them or keep them separate based on your specific facts.

Schedule a Consultation With a Board-Certified Texas Family Law Attorney

Every month that passes without enforcement is another month of support your child is not receiving. You have the right to collect what is owed, and you have legal tools powerful enough to do it.

Scott M. Brown & Associates handles child support enforcement across Texas. We are ready to review your case and tell you exactly what options are available. Schedule a consultation with us.