Child maintenance changes: Direct Pay to go, new fees and faster enforcement

Big changes to child maintenance are planned, but they aren’t here yet. The government set out its plans in June 2025 after a consultation, and ministers repeated them in Parliament in 2026. As of October 2026, the law needed for the main changes hasn’t been passed.

The CMS covers England, Scotland and Wales. Here’s what’s planned, what’s uncertain and what it means if you owe arrears.

How child maintenance is collected now

If you use the CMS, there are two ways to pay:

• Direct Pay: the CMS works out how much is due and parents arrange payments between themselves. There are no collection fees.
• Collect and Pay: the CMS collects the money from the paying parent and passes it on. The paying parent pays an extra 20% on top, and 4% is taken from what the receiving parent gets.

Applying to the CMS has been free since 26 February 2024, when the £20 application fee was scrapped. If a paying parent on Direct Pay doesn’t pay in full and on time, the CMS can move the case to Collect and Pay. That’s when the 20% fee starts.

What’s changing

Direct Pay to be abolished

The government’s consultation response says it will remove Direct Pay altogether, so the CMS collects and passes on every payment. It argues that missed payments will be easier to spot, because under Direct Pay the receiving parent has to report them.

Families on Direct Pay would get three months’ notice before their case moves. The government has said parents now on Direct Pay could choose to keep a CMS case for a small fee, or move to a family-based arrangement with more support.

Lower fees, except for parents who don’t pay

The planned 2% fee would apply to receiving parents and to paying parents who pay on time. Paying parents who don’t comply would keep paying 20%, ten times the standard fee.

Faster enforcement

At the moment the CMS has to apply to a court for a liability order before it can use bailiffs or a charging order, or ask a court to take away your driving licence or passport. Changes made by the Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 allow the CMS to make administrative liability orders itself, once the power is switched on.

In February 2024, the government said this would cut the time to get a liability order from around 22 weeks to as little as six to eight weeks, and paying parents would keep a right of appeal to a court. The power isn’t in use yet, because it needs regulations. In January 2026, the House of Lords Public Services Committee said none had been laid.

When will this happen?

The House of Commons Library says the government plans to bring in the changes in 2027-28. Removing Direct Pay needs new primary legislation, and ministers have said it will happen as soon as parliamentary time allows. According to the single parents’ charity Gingerbread, the King’s Speech in May 2026 didn’t include it.

The plans have critics. The House of Lords Public Services Committee said it wasn’t persuaded by the case for removing Direct Pay, so the details could still change.

What it means if you’re behind

Nothing in the published plans writes off arrears, and the current enforcement rules still apply. If you owe child maintenance:

• The CMS can already act without going to court. It can take money from your wages or bank account. Read child maintenance arrears: how the CMS enforces them.
• Late payment would cost more. Miss payments on Direct Pay and you can already be moved to Collect and Pay, with its 20% fee. Under the plans, 20% would be kept for parents who don’t pay.
• Enforcement could speed up. Once administrative liability orders are in use, a step that now takes months could take weeks.
• Debt solutions won’t cover it. Child maintenance arrears can’t go into a DRO, IVA, bankruptcy or Breathing Space. They’re a priority debt.

What to do now:

1. Contact the CMS early if you can’t pay. Explain what’s changed and offer an amount you can manage.
2. Report a drop in income. Your maintenance may be recalculated, although arrears you already owe usually stay.
3. Deal with your other debts. A Debt Relief Order or IVA can’t include child maintenance, but it could deal with credit cards, loans and council tax arrears, leaving more money for maintenance.
4. Get help from a free debt advice service.

If worry about money is affecting your health, read debt and mental health: getting help and extra protection.

Frequently asked questions

Is Direct Pay being scrapped?

The government has said it will remove Direct Pay, but it needs new legislation first. For now, Direct Pay carries on as before.

When will child maintenance fees change?

The government is aiming for 2027-28, but no start date has been set. Until then, Collect and Pay fees stay at 20% and 4%.

Will the changes reduce my arrears?

No. The plans change how payments are collected and the fees charged, not what you already owe.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Government response: Child Maintenance: improving the collection and transfer of payments
• House of Commons Library, What fees are charged when arranging child maintenance?
• Hansard, Child Maintenance Payments, written statement, 24 June 2025
• Hansard, Reforming the Child Maintenance Service (Public Services Committee Report), 8 June 2026
• GOV.UK, Government launches new crackdown on parents who refuse to pay child maintenance
• GOV.UK, Child maintenance: paying through the Child Maintenance Service