Here are the steps you need to take if you want to set up an arrangement using the CSA.
Step 1) Check whether you're eligible
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.
Step 2) Contact the CSA
You can contact the CSA on 0845 713 3133. The CSA will work out for you how much child maintenance should be paid. The CSA calculates child maintenance based on the income of the parent without the main day-to-day care.
You can use our child maintenance calculator to get an indication of the amount of child maintenance you might pay or receive if you chose an arrangement through the CSA.
You can also read more about child maintenance and using the CSA in our FAQs.
