Child Maintenance Service: information to gather

A Child Maintenance Service enquiry is easier to assess when the child's circumstances, the parents' details and any existing arrangement are recorded separately. Maintenance concerns financial support for the child; it is not a mechanism for deciding contact. ^[1]

Assemble the application information

Record the child's full name, date of birth, usual home and relevant education details. Add the parents' names and the identifying information you lawfully hold. Explain if an address is unknown rather than substituting an old address as though it were current.

Identify any existing CMS case, private agreement or court order. Provide the reference and document, not just the monthly amount. The route available can depend on what is already in place.

Separate calculation facts from payment history

Keep overnight care information apart from money already paid. A calendar helps explain the care pattern; a payment list shows dates, amounts and references. Review shared care records if the overnight pattern is disputed.

Raise safety concerns before agreeing how contact or payments will be handled. Do not supply a protected address through a shared document. If a parent lives outside the UK, check the overseas maintenance route before assuming the ordinary CMS process applies. Northern Ireland has its own service and application information.

Start with the service's application route For a Great Britain application, the government directs parents to its Get help arranging child maintenance tool, with telephone contact available where the online tool cannot be used. Keep the reference generated by that process. The application guidance identifies bank details and a National Insurance number among the information needed, with further employment and income questions for a parent without day-to-day care. Use the official service to supply these details rather than placing them in a general website enquiry. [2]

Before starting, check that you can safely access the contact details and account used for the application. If another person helps complete it, agree their role and check every answer yourself where possible. Tell CMS about any need for someone else to deal with the case through its recognised process. Assistance with typing does not necessarily authorise that person to receive later information or make decisions. Keep the application reference distinct from a solicitor's file number or an earlier private arrangement.

Explain which children and households are involved Record each child's details separately, including their usual living arrangements and any relevant education or training. Where siblings have different patterns or circumstances, avoid a single household description that hides those differences. Identify a recent change and its date rather than presenting a proposed arrangement as already established. If the child has moved abroad or the main carer has changed, flag that immediately because it may affect which route or information is required.

Explain other relevant maintenance cases or children supported by the paying parent, so the service can ask the appropriate calculation questions. Provide the information you know accurately and mark anything uncertain. A reference to another child should not be accompanied by unnecessary private documents obtained without permission. The purpose is to enable the service to identify relevant circumstances, not to assemble a complete dossier about another household. CMS applies its own calculation rules to the information it establishes. ^[3]

Reconstruct an existing arrangement before replacing it If payments already occur, identify the basis: a private understanding, an existing CMS case or a court provision. Give the date, people covered and a copy of the relevant document where available. Explain whether the amount has changed and whether the current issue concerns new support, a missed payment or a disagreement about the calculation. A list of bank transfers alone cannot show what legal or administrative arrangement produced the obligation.

Ask how an application would interact with what is already in place. The date from which a new obligation applies and the treatment of earlier payments or shortfalls need clarification through the correct process. Do not describe every historic unpaid private contribution as an established CMS arrears balance. Keep those periods identifiable so the receiving professional can assess them. If another application or challenge is pending, disclose it to avoid creating an incomplete picture of the case's procedural position.

Give useful information where a detail is missing An unknown current address should be identified as unknown, with any last-known address clearly dated. Lawfully held employment or identifying details may help CMS make enquiries through its powers and procedures. Avoid guessing an employer or presenting an old workplace as confirmed current information. The application guidance explains that the service can seek information from specified organisations when it cannot obtain what it needs from the parents. [2]

For any gap, state what you know, how you know it and what remains uncertain. Keep a copy of the information submitted and the service's requests for clarification. If a correction becomes necessary, make it promptly through the official route and retain confirmation. Raise confidentiality concerns before sharing details that could expose a changed name or location. Completing an accurate application means making the available facts usable and the gaps visible; it does not require personal investigation, unsafe contact or access to another person's private accounts.