Once a parent has applied for child support services, all payments must go through the Minnesota Child Support Payment Center.
A parent should not send payments directly to the other parent when a child support office is enforcing the order. If a parent pays the other parent directly:
The parent making the payment may not get credit for it
The parent receiving the payment must notify their child support worker and may be asked to send the payment to the Child Support Payment Center so it can be disbursed according to federal guidelines.
Parents can get up-to-the-minute information about payments online or by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Learn more about what you need to use the website and phone line to get case information.
Phone
The Child Support Information Line is a secure automated line.
651-431-4340 Twin Cities metro area
800-657-3512 outside the metro area
TTY users: use your preferred relay service
Parents who pay support may receive refunds by check. Refunds are issued for various reasons, such as overpayment of support or excess tax refunds that have been intercepted.
Funds collected through certain tax refund offsets may be held for up to six months before payment is sent to the other parent. This is to make sure the refund was properly intercepted.
Income withholding: Most payments paid on cases come from employers through income withholding.
IMPORTANT: If income withholding ends for any reason or is not enough to meet the monthly obligation, the parent who owes support must make payments and send them to the payment center.
Online payments: Parents can make payments using Minnesota Child Support Online (MCSO) at www.childsupport.dhs.state.mn.us. Payments are made from their checking or savings account to the Minnesota Child Support Payment Center through a secure online application.
Cash payments: Parents can pay their child support with cash by using PayNearMe or MoneyGram at a variety of retail locations across the country.
To make a payment using PayNearMe:
Find a participating location at stores nationwide, including 7-Eleven, Casey's General Store, CVS Pharmacy, Family Dollar and Walmart
Get a PayNearMe barcode, or PayCode, using your name and 10-digit Minnesota child support participant number (also called MCI number) by going to PayNearMe.com/Minnesota or by contacting your county child support office
Go to any participating store, show the cashier your PayNearMe barcode, or PayCode, and make a payment with cash.
PayNearMe charges a $1.99 fee per transaction and it may take four business days for your payment to post to your child support case. For technical issues or problems making payments, please contact PayNearMe at 1-888-714-0004.
To make a payment using MoneyGram:
Find a participating location at http://www.moneygram.com/billpaylocations or by calling 1-800-926-9400; nationwide locations include Cub Foods, CVS Pharmacy and Walmart
Go to any participating store, enter Minnesota's MoneyGram child support receive code, 14665, and your 10-digit Minnesota child support participant number (also called MCI number) in the MoneyGram account number field on the MoneyGram ExpressPayment Service form
Give the cashier the form and make a payment with cash.
MoneyGram charges a $3.99 fee per transaction and it may take four business days for your payment to post to your child support case. For technical issues or problems making payments, please contact MoneyGram at 1-800-926-9400.
Mail: Parents may pay their support by check, cashier's check or money order. Parents must identify their payments to ensure that they get credit for them and the payments are applied to the correct case. Parents should include their name on the payment and at least one identifying number, such as:
Minnesota child support participant number (also called MCI number)
Social Security number
Do not send cash. Do not send payments to the other parent directly.
Make checks payable to:
Minnesota Child Support Payment Center
Send payments to:
Minnesota Child Support Payment Center
P.O. Box 64326
St. Paul, MN 55164-0326
Processing time: Payments received at the Child Support Payment Center on Friday, Saturday or Sunday are issued the following Monday. Payments received the day before state holidays are issued the next business day.
Federal and state regulations govern how payments are applied. The child support office applies payments according to these rules:
If a parent owes support to more than one family, the state sends a portion of each payment it receives to each family.
For each case, most payments collected during a month pay current support first. After current support is paid, other payments received that month pay past due support, called arrears.
If a family has been on public assistance, the parent who receives support may or may not receive arrears payments made by the other parent.
Other state's fees: Sometimes other states help Minnesota collect child support and some of these states charge fees for their services. These states deduct their fees before they forward the money to Minnesota. In some situations, Minnesota may also charge a fee, in addition to the other state's fee. Other states may have different rules about when they start charging a fee.
If the state owes you money (if you overpaid child support for example) you would receive the money in the the form of a warrant. In government finance, a warrant is similar to a check but it issued by a state and payable on the state's treasury instead of a bank. In general, warrants and checks function the same way. However occasionally there are difficulties with cashing warrants. Learn more about how to cash a warrant
Parents who owe child support get a monthly billing statement in the mail if:
they do not have their child support payments withheld from their wages or unemployment income
their payments are to be withheld from their wages, but the Minnesota Child Support Payment Center did not receive a payment last month.
The billing statement shows the minimum amount due for the month, the total balance due, and money received by the Minnesota Child Support Payment Center during the last month. Parents with more than one child support case get one billing statement showing activity on all their cases.
Any questions about charges, payments, fees or how the state applies payments to a case should be directed to the county child support worker handling the case.
