About arrangement using the CSA

Who can ask for an arrangement using the CSA?

Applications to the CSA can be made by:

• the parent or person with the main day to-day care of the child, or
• the parent without the main day to-day care of the child, or
• qualifying* children (in Scotland).

A person can ask the CSA for an arrangement as long as:

• the child is under 16 (or 16-19 and in full-time education (not higher than A-level equivalent), and
• the person asking to receive child maintenance has the main day-to-day care of the child and lives in the UK, and
• the parent without the main day-to-day care lives in the UK, or works in the civil service, the armed forces or for a UK-based company, and
• no court order is in place from before 2003, or there is a court order from after April 2003 but it was set up more than 12 months before the application.

* There are several conditions.
   For more information, see who can apply to the CSA on the directgov website.

How can I arrange child maintenance using the CSA?

Read our information on arranging child maintenance using the CSA and how to put in place a child maintenance arrangement using the CSA.

How long does an arrangement using the CSA take to put in place?

In around three-quarters of cases, the CSA makes an agreement with the parent without the main day-to-day care, within 12 weeks of the application being received. The CSA's target for 2008/09 is to increase this to over 80% of cases.

How does the CSA calculate child maintenance?

You can see the things the CSA takes into account by looking at our child maintenance calculator. Our calculator can give you an indication of the amount of child maintenance you might pay or receive if you had an arrangement using the CSA. If you'd like more information about how the CSA calculates child maintenance, you can read our Getting started guide [PDF 473KB] or contact the CSA.

What if I have a CSA arrangement and I want to switch to a family-based arrangement?

If you want to close your arrangement with the CSA you need to contact the CSA and tell them you want to close your case. But before you do this, make sure you and the other parent can agree a family arrangement about child maintenance between you. The most important thing is that an arrangement is in place to provide child maintenance for your child.

How can the CSA enforce payments if the parent without the main day-to-day care stops paying child maintenance?

The CSA can put in place a Deduction of Earnings Order (DEO), which means the CSA can instruct the employer of the parent without the main day-to-day care to deduct money from the earnings of that parent. The CSA has a range of other powers it can use to enforce child maintenance payments. You can find details of these on the CSA website.

What happens if the parent without the main day-to-day care of the child has to pay child maintenance to more than one parent with the main day-to-day care?

The CSA can work out the total amount of child maintenance that should be paid for all the children involved. That amount would then be shared between the parents with the main day-to-day care of the children. You can also work it out this way if you have a family-based arrangement about child maintenance. If you make a family-based arrangement it's a good idea to write down the details of your agreement. You can use our family-based arrangement form to do this.

What happens if a person denies they are the parent of a child?

You could ask the CSA to take on the case for you. The CSA would contact the person named as the parent of the child. If that person denies being the parent of the child, the CSA would ask both parents to provide evidence to support their claim. The CSA can order DNA testing where necessary. You can read more about disputed parentage on the CSA website.