Back child support (arrears) in Virginia: interest, enforcement and jail (2026)

What happens when child support is not paid in Virginia?

The unpaid amount becomes a debt with the force of a court judgment. Every Virginia support order must say that support “as it becomes due and unpaid creates a judgment by operation of law” (Code of Virginia § 20-60.3, item 14), and § 20-78.2 makes a support order a final judgment for any sums in arrears. The total owed is called the arrears or arrearage, and it is what people mean by back child support.

A parent owed support, or the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) on that parent’s behalf, can then use the collection tools below. A juvenile and domestic relations district court can also enter a money judgment for the arrears on a motion served on the parent who owes them (§ 16.1-278.18 A; court form DC-625, Motion and Notice and Judgment for Arrearages). When the arrears, not counting interest, equal three months of support or more, that judgment includes reasonable attorney’s fees (§ 16.1-278.18 A; § 20-78.2).

What is the Virginia child support interest rate?

Six percent a year. Section 20-78.2 adds interest to support arrears at the judgment rate set by § 6.2-302, and § 6.2-302 A sets the judgment rate at six percent a year. The rate in effect when the judgment is entered applies to that judgment, even if the statutory rate later changes (§ 6.2-302 C).

Question	What the law says
Who charges interest?	The court order includes it (§ 20-78.2), and DCSE collects it on arrears it enforces and keeps interest balance accounts (§ 63.2-1952)
Can it be waived?	Yes, by the parent owed support, in a writing submitted to the court (§ 20-78.2; § 20-60.3, item 14)
Is it charged to a parent who is a minor?	DCSE does not collect interest from a minor while the minor is under 18 (§ 63.2-1952)
Does it stop while a parent is out of work?	No. DCSE says current support, past-due support and interest stay due under the order
Can interest be compromised?	Only interest on debt owed to the Commonwealth for public assistance, through DCSE’s compromise program (§ 63.2-1952; § 63.2-1908.1)

The monthly amount itself does not change because arrears exist. For one child, with incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month and no shared custody, the guideline is $750.60 a month; arrears and interest are owed on top of the current amount until they are paid.

How does Virginia collect back child support?

The court and DCSE have these tools. DCSE can use most of them without going back to court, in cases it enforces.

Tool	What happens	Law
Income withholding	The employer deducts current support plus an amount toward arrears from pay. A court must order it once the arrears equal one month’s support	§ 20-79.1 B; § 63.2-1925
Liens on property	DCSE can assert a lien on real and personal property, which when docketed has the priority of a secured creditor, and can reach personal injury settlements	§ 63.2-1927
Bank accounts and other property	Orders to withhold and deliver property, and seizure and sale of property under a lien	§ 63.2-1925; § 63.2-1933
Unemployment and workers’ compensation	DCSE can attach both	§ 63.2-1941, item 1
Tax refunds	Federal tax refunds can be offset for past-due support (how the tax refund offset works); Virginia state agencies take part in the state tax refund setoff program	42 U.S.C. § 664; § 63.2-1955; § 58.1-520
Credit reports	DCSE reports arrears to consumer credit reporting agencies, after advance notice and a chance to contest	§ 63.2-1940
Driver’s license	Suspension or refusal to renew at 90 days or 5,000 dollars behind	§ 46.2-320.1; § 63.2-1941, item 2
Professional, business and recreational licenses	A court can order suspension at 90 days or 5,000 dollars behind	§ 63.2-1937
Passport	Denied when arrears exceed 2,500 dollars	42 U.S.C. § 652(k)
Contempt of court	Show cause summons or capias, and up to 12 months in jail	§ 16.1-278.16; § 20-115

DCSE also publishes a list of its most wanted delinquent parents and carries out coordinated arrests with local law enforcement (§ 63.2-1940.1).

How much of a paycheck can be withheld for child support in Virginia?

Section 34-29 C caps withholding for support at a share of disposable earnings, meaning pay after the deductions the law requires:

Situation of the parent who owes support	Maximum withheld
Supports another spouse or child	50 percent of disposable earnings
Does not support another spouse or child	60 percent
Either case, when the support enforced is more than 12 weeks overdue	55 percent or 65 percent

Withholding through DCSE takes the amount in the lien or order, or the maximum under § 34-29, whichever is less (§ 63.2-1925).

When can a driver’s license be suspended for child support in Virginia?

When a parent is 90 days or more behind, or behind by 5,000 dollars or more, or has not complied with a subpoena, summons or warrant in a paternity or child support case. Two routes exist:

• DCSE and the DMV (§ 46.2-320.1). DCSE serves a notice of intent, and the suspension cannot take effect until 30 days after service. The parent can ask DCSE in writing, within those 30 days, for a court hearing; the court authorizes the suspension only if the nonpayment was willful, and the parent carries the burden of showing it was not. The juvenile and domestic relations district court can grant a restricted license for good cause.
• A court petition (§ 63.2-1937). After 30 days’ notice, the parent owed support or DCSE can ask the court to suspend any license issued by the Commonwealth, including professional, business, occupational and recreational licenses. The court does not suspend if another remedy is likely to collect the debt, and can refuse if suspension would cause irreparable harm or the parent has made a good faith effort to reach an agreement.

The DMV restores the license once DCSE certifies that the arrears are paid in full, or that the parent has agreed to pay them over no more than 10 years and has made a first payment of at least five percent of the arrears or 600 dollars, whichever is less, or is taking part in an intensive case monitoring program (§ 46.2-320.1 C). Missing payments under the agreement leads to a new suspension (§ 46.2-320.1 D).

Can you lose your passport for back child support?

Yes. Under 42 U.S.C. § 652(k), when a state certifies that a parent owes more than 2,500 dollars in child support arrears, the U.S. Department of State refuses to issue a passport and may revoke an existing one. DCSE says the State Department began revoking existing passports in 2026, starting with the largest debts, and from 28 September 2026 includes parents who owe 15,000 dollars or more across all their cases. A parent who follows an approved payment plan is not reported for passport action, according to DCSE.

Can you go to jail for child support in Virginia?

Yes, in two different ways.

Contempt of court (civil). When the juvenile and domestic relations district court finds that a parent has failed to comply with a support order, it can issue a civil show cause summons or a capias, order payroll deductions, require a recognizance, and commit the parent to jail. Section 16.1-278.16 allows a sentence of up to 12 months in jail, and § 20-115 caps commitment or a work release assignment for contempt at twelve months. A court that finds a parent in contempt can set a purge payment: DCSE describes it as an amount that, once paid, allows release from jail. A purge payment does not replace ongoing support.

The crime of nonsupport. Under § 20-61, a parent who willfully fails to support a child under 18, or a child of any age who cannot earn a living because of incapacity, while the child is in necessitous circumstances, is guilty of a misdemeanor. The penalty is a fine of up to 500 dollars, up to twelve months in jail, or both, or work release; the court can instead order a forfeiture of up to 1,000 dollars paid for the child’s support.

What is a Virginia child support show cause or warrant?

A show cause summons orders the parent who owes support to come to court and explain why they have not complied with the order. A capias directs that the parent be taken into custody and brought before the court; it is what people usually mean by a child support warrant. The parent owed support or DCSE asks for either with a motion, court form DC-635 (Motion for Show Cause Summons or Capias). Section 16.1-278.16 allows either once personal or substitute service has been obtained.

How much back child support is a felony in Virginia?

Virginia law sets no felony amount. Nonsupport under § 20-61 is a misdemeanor whatever the amount owed. Federal law adds crimes for some interstate cases (18 U.S.C. § 228):

Federal offense	Maximum prison term
Willfully not paying support for a child who lives in another state, unpaid for more than one year or more than 5,000 dollars (first offense)	6 months
The same, unpaid for more than two years or more than 10,000 dollars	2 years
Traveling to another state or country to evade support unpaid for more than one year or more than 5,000 dollars	2 years

An offense with a maximum term of more than one year is a felony under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 3559(a)), so the second and third rows are federal felonies. On conviction, the federal court must order restitution of the full unpaid support (18 U.S.C. § 228(d)).

Can back child support be forgiven or reduced in Virginia?

Not by changing the order afterwards. Section 20-108 says no support order may be retroactively modified: a modification can apply only from the date the other parent was given notice of the petition, and § 16.1-278.18 A says the same for juvenile and domestic relations district courts. Support that fell due before then stays owed. For how a modification works, see changing a Virginia child support order.

What the law does allow:

• Interest can be waived by the parent owed support, in writing submitted to the court (§ 20-78.2).
• Debt owed to the Commonwealth can be compromised. When the children received public assistance, part of the arrears may be owed to the state as reimbursement. DCSE can compromise those arrears and their interest, taking the parent’s ability to pay into account (§ 63.2-1908.1); DCSE calls this the TANF Debt Compromise Program.
• Help with paying. DCSE’s Family Engagement Services work with parents who have trouble keeping up with payments, for example on jobs, training and transportation. This does not change the amount owed.

The statutes cited here do not provide a way to cancel arrears owed to the parent the children live with, other than waiving interest.

What happens to back child support after the child turns 18 or 19?

It stays owed. Support itself ends at 18, or at 19 or high school graduation, whichever comes first, for a full time high school student who is not self supporting and lives at home; see how long child support lasts in Virginia. Arrears do not end with it. Every Virginia order must state that if arrears, interest or fees exist when the youngest child in the order emancipates, payments continue at the total then due, current support plus the amount applied to arrears, until all arrears are paid (§ 20-60.3, item 16). Payments are credited to current support first and then to arrears (§ 20-60.3, item 9).

Is there a statute of limitations on back child support in Virginia?

Each payment becomes a judgment when it falls due and is not paid (§ 20-60.3, item 14). Section 8.01-251 A allows a judgment created by nonpayment of child support to be enforced for 20 years from the date of the judgment. Judgments dated before 1 July 2021 also run for 20 years and can be extended by recording a certificate before the period ends (§ 8.01-251 A and B).

Where are payments and arrears handled?

DCSE’s Customer Service Center is at 1-800-468-8894, and balances, payments and messages are in the MyChildSupport portal. The full list of contacts and payment options is in the Virginia child support guide. When income has dropped, the order can be reviewed for the future; see low incomes.

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not cover how a court decides contempt in a particular case, defenses in criminal cases, bankruptcy, collecting arrears from another state or country, arrears under an order from another state, or the separate rules on spousal support arrears. It does not calculate arrears or interest: the calculator gives the current guideline amount only. The figures are not legal advice.