How to keep track of child support payments, and what to record when they stop arriving

Written by our research team · Published October 3, 2026This is general information, not legal advice.

What are child support arrears?

Arrears, sometimes called back child support or past-due support, are the payments that came due under a child support order and were not paid, or were paid only in part. The order fixes the amount and the schedule. Everything else about arrears is a comparison between that schedule and what actually arrived.

Federal law requires every state to treat each support payment as a judgment once it falls due, and to bar changing it retroactively (42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(9)). In practice that means a missed payment does not quietly lapse, and an order changed later generally changes only payments that come due after notice of the request to change it was given. How arrears are collected, and whether interest applies, depends on your state.

Why keep your own record of child support payments?

Because memory is a poor ledger, and a support question can come up years after the payments it is about. A missed month is easy to recall at the time. Two years later, with partial payments, a modified order and a few payments made outside the usual channel, it rarely is.

Your own record does three jobs. It lets you check the official payment history for gaps. It covers what the official history cannot see, such as payments made directly. And it gives your attorney a dated summary to start from, instead of a box of statements to sort.

Where is the official record of child support payments?

Usually with your state. Federal law requires each state to run a disbursement unit that collects and pays out support in enforcement cases and in orders paid through income withholding (42 U.S.C. § 654b). Where payments go through that unit, it keeps a payment history showing what was received and when, and most states let both parents view it online or request a copy. In some states the clerk of court keeps the record instead, or as well.

If your payments go through the state, download or request that history now and then, and keep a copy with your own record. It is usually the strongest evidence of what was paid, and comparing it against your own ledger is how you spot a payment that was withheld from a paycheck but never posted.

How do you keep track of child support payments?

With a ledger built from your order, one line for every due date. Start from the order, not from the payments, so a month with nothing in it still has a line. Each line can hold:

• The due date and the amount due under the order in force at the time.
• The date anything arrived, and the amount.
• How it was paid: through the state, by bank transfer, by check, by payment app or in cash.
• The running difference between what was due and what was received.
• A note of any change to the order, with its effective date.

Record a late payment on the date it actually arrived, not on the date it was due, so the ledger stays accurate. When the order is modified, switch to the new amount from its effective date and note the change on that line.

What proof of child support payments should you keep?

Proof that comes from somewhere other than you. Your ledger is the summary; the proof is what stands behind each line.

The last item in that list is the one people skip. Bank records show money moving; the spreadsheet is what ties each movement to a due date in the order. Keep together:

• A copy of the current order and every earlier order or modification.
• The state’s payment history, if payments go through the state.
• Bank statements, deposit records or payment app histories for anything paid directly.
• Receipts or written confirmations for cash, checks and money orders.
• Pay stubs showing income withholding, if support is taken from wages.

What if payments are made directly or in cash?

Then your own records carry more of the weight, because no agency is keeping them for you. Cash is the hardest to prove. A bank transfer or check at least leaves a trail with a date and an amount; cash leaves only what someone writes down.

If your order requires payment through the state and some payments were made directly instead, whether those payments count can be disputed later. Keep the proof of each one, and ask your attorney how your state treats them. This is general information, not legal advice.

Whichever way support is paid, a short dated note that says what a payment was for (“child support, March”) helps separate it from any other money that changes hands between you. Our guide to documenting shared expenses and reimbursement requests covers keeping those other payments in their own record.

What should you record when a payment is late or missing?

The facts, on the day you notice. A short entry for the due date that passed, what arrived (if anything) and when, and how you checked: your bank account, the state’s payment history, or both. If you received a message about the payment, keep it as it was sent.

If you contact the other parent or the agency about it, note the date, how you made contact and what you were told. Keep your own messages brief and factual. The point of the entry is to show what happened, not to argue about it, and a record written that way is easier for your attorney to use.

Whether to ask your state’s child support agency or the court to act on arrears is a decision for you and your attorney. The record is what either of them will ask for first.

What if you are the parent paying child support?

The same record, from the other side, and it matters just as much. If a payment is ever questioned, the parent who paid is usually the one asked to prove it. Keep the ledger the same way: every due date, what you paid, when, and how, with the bank record or receipt behind each line.

If your income changes and you cannot pay the ordered amount, the order stays in force until a court changes it. Because past-due payments generally cannot be changed retroactively, ask your attorney promptly about a modification rather than waiting. Our guide to custody modification covers how changes to an order are usually requested.

Does unpaid child support change parenting time?

Generally not. In most states, child support and parenting time are separate obligations: a parent who is behind on support usually keeps the parenting time the custody order gives them, and a parent who is owed support usually cannot hold back that time to press for payment. Each is enforced through its own process.

So keep following your custody order as written, and keep your record of parenting time separate from your support ledger. Our guide to keeping a contemporaneous record of parenting time covers that half. If you are unsure how your state handles it, ask your attorney.

What should you leave out of the record?

Keep it to dates, amounts and your own contacts. Leave out guesses about the other parent’s income or spending, opinions about why a payment is late, and commentary about them as a person. Your attorney can request financial information through the proper channels if it matters. A record that sticks to what was due and what arrived is hard to dismiss.

Frequently asked questions

References

Law firm pages are cited for the quoted passages only.

• 42 U.S.C. § 666: Requirement of statutorily prescribed procedures to improve effectiveness of child support enforcement
• 42 U.S.C. § 654b: Collection and disbursement of support payments
• Jared W. Pierce, Pierce Law Group: How can I document and prove the child support payments I didn’t receive? NC

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Documented is a private, tamper-evident record of how you show up for your kids. This article is general information, not legal advice, and Documented is not a law firm.