Non-IV-D Private Child Support Payment Cases

The Louisiana State Case Registry (SCR) is a statewide record of all Louisiana child support orders entered on or after October 1, 1998 (R.S. 46:236.10; 45 CFR 302.35). It tracks basic information about the order and the parties — it does not enforce the order. 

Yes. All Louisiana child support orders — whether handled through DCFS or privately between parties/attorneys — must be reported to the SCR. You or your attorney complete(s) the SES 489 form, and the Clerk of Court forwards it to the SCR for entry.

Yes. Anyone with a reported order must notify the SCR of changes to personal information — including address, phone number, Social Security number, driver’s license number, and the name/address/phone number of their current employer (R.S. 46:236.10(D); R.S. 9:313(B); R.S. 9:395).

No. The SCR only stores order and party information. If you want your order enforced, you must either use DCFS Child Support Enforcement (IV-D) services or have your attorney send the approved IWO form to the employer yourself.

A Non-IV-D case is a payment-processing-only case. DCFS opens it so that child support payments withheld by an employer can be sent to the person receiving support (the obligee). It is not an enforcement case — DCFS does not open it because you asked for services; it’s opened because federal and state law require income withholding payments to be processed through the Louisiana State Disbursement Unit (SDU).

• A court ordered income withholding in your case; and 

• You have never applied for CSE services, received FITAP or KCSP, been referred to CSE by Medicaid, or had a case in another state’s IV-D agency. 

Federal and state law require nearly all income withholding orders — including private, attorney-drafted orders — to be paid through the SDU rather than sent directly to the person receiving support. 

• Employers are required to reject an income withholding notice if it does not direct payment to the SDU. 

• Because of this, when a private order requires withholding, DCFS must open a Non-IV-D case simply to receive the employer’s payments and pass them through to the obligee. 

No. A Non-IV-D case is limited to payment processing. DCFS does not: 

• Send withholding notices to employers on your behalf 

• Enforce the underlying court order 

• Modify, monitor, or take legal action on the case 

DCFS simply forwards the payments it receives to the person entitled to support, exactly as the court order directs. 

To enforce an order, you or your attorney are responsible for sending the approved federal Income Withholding Order (IWO) form to the employer. 

An employer may reject a withholding notice that: 

• Is not on the federally approved IWO form 

• Does not direct payment to the SDU 

• Does not have the court order attached 

Department of Children & Family Services

Centralized Collection Unit

P.O. Box 260222 Baton Rouge, LA 70826-0222 

Send the following to the address below: 

• Completed State Case Registry form (SES 489) or Attorney Worksheet 

• The Income Assignment Order 

• All related child support court orders 

Mail to: DCFS – Non-IV-D Unit P.O. Box 94065 Baton Rouge, LA 70804 

Or fax to: 225-342-7397 

On Non-IV-D cases, it’s normally the obligee or obligor (not DCFS) who sends the Income Withholding Order to the employer. Because of this, DCFS may sometimes receive payments from an employer without enough information to identify the case or the parties involved. 

When this happens, DCFS will contact the employer for copies of all documentation it received with the payment. If that documentation still isn’t enough to identify the case, DCFS will contact the obligor or obligee directly for additional information. 

If DCFS is unable to obtain enough information to distribute the payment, it will be returned to the employer. 

To help prevent this delay, submit the State Case Registry form (SES 489) or Attorney Worksheet, along with the Income Assignment Order and all related court orders, to the Non-IV-D Unit as soon as possible (see mailing/fax information above).

If the income withholding notice you received is on the federally approved Income Withholding Order (IWO) form, follow the instructions in the DCFS Employer Guide to withhold and send payments correctly. 

If it is not on the approved IWO form, you may reject it and return it to the sender. 

If the documentation or form doesn’t include a case number, you may contact DCFS at [email protected] with questions.

In most Non-IV-D cases, payments are issued electronically, the same way they are on IV-D cases. You should enroll in direct deposit, or, if you receive a Louisiana child support stored value (debit) card in the mail, activate it as soon as you get it so payments aren’t delayed.   

If you have or previously had a IV-D case and had already enrolled in direct deposit or activated a stored value card, your Non-IV-D payments will be sent using that same method — you don’t need to set it up again.  For more information, see the Receiving Payments page. 

DCFS cannot terminate, cancel, or stop withholding on a Non-IV-D case — DCFS is not providing enforcement services and has no legal authority to act on the order. Termination is a process between the obligor, the obligee, the payor (employer), and the court, under Louisiana Revised Statute 46:236.3.  Any payments received will be forwarded to the payee of the order.   

General steps to terminate an income assignment order (obligor-initiated, per R.S. 46:236.3): 

1. Confirm eligibility to terminate. The obligor may only terminate this way if current support is no longer owed and there are no arrears due. 

2. Complete a termination affidavit. The obligor prepares a sworn affidavit stating that current support is no longer due and that no arrears remain. 

3. Send the affidavit by certified mail. Within 3 days of signing, the obligor must send the affidavit (or a certified copy) by certified mail to the last known addresses of both the payor (employer) and the obligee. 

4. File the affidavit with the court. A copy of the affidavit must also be filed with the court that issued the income assignment order. 

5. Obligee’s objection window. The obligee has 30 days from the date the affidavit was signed to object, by sending a certified-mail objection to both the payor and the obligor. 

6. If no objection is received, the payor must stop withholding no later than the first pay period (or first payment) occurring after that 30-day window closes. 

7. If an objection is received in time, the payor must continue withholding under the existing order until the court orders otherwise. 

8. If an objection arrives late (after withholding has already stopped, but within 90 days of the affidavit date), the payor must reinstate withholding no later than the next pay period or payment. 

9. Court costs and fees, if a court proceeding becomes necessary due to an obligee objection, are paid by the party who does not prevail. 

Because this process involves legal deadlines, certified mail requirements, and court filings, obligors and obligees are strongly encouraged to consult an attorney for help preparing and filing the required documents. 

No. Under R.S. 46:236.11.3, DCFS does not track or calculate arrears on Non-IV-D cases. Tracking arrears and determining whether a debt is owed is the responsibility of the parents (obligor and obligee), not DCFS. 

It is up to you to take any necessary legal action — such as filing with the court — to prevent distribution of a payment if you believe there is no arrears debt owed. DCFS will not make that determination or hold payments on its own on a Non-IV-D case. 

Yes. DCFS can provide a copy of the payment record showing all payments the agency received and distributed on the case. Note that this may not be a complete payment history — the obligee owns the full payment record, not DCFS.