Child Maintenance Service (CMS) - what it is and how it works
737,600 children are covered by Child Maintenance Service arrangements.
The figure is included in the latest release of statistics on the Child Maintenance Service covering the period between January 2015 and March 2020.
Child maintenance is financial support between separated parents to help with the everyday costs of looking after children.
If they agree, separated parents can arrange child maintenance themselves. This is called a ‘family-based arrangement’ and is a private way to sort out child maintenance. Parents arrange everything themselves and no-one else has to be involved.
The Child Maintenance Service, which replaced the Child Support Agency (CSA), is for when parents cannot agree to a family-based arrangement. Parents wishing to use the Child Maintenance Service must first contact Child Maintenance Options (CM Options).
CM Options is a free service that provides impartial information and support to help separated parents make decisions about their child maintenance arrangements.
You can let us know if you need any help or advice on child arrangements, separation, financial arrangements or dispute resolution. We are aware that not one solution will suit all, and are here to help with a solution tailored just to you.