§ 19-11-152.Receipt of two or more income withholding orders
Chapter 11. Enforcement of Duty of Support · Article 3. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act · Part 5. Direct Enforcement of Order of Another State Without Registration · Last amended 2024 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-11-152
Plain-English Summary
A parent with children in more than one family may owe support under several orders, sometimes from different states. When an employer receives two or more income withholding orders for the earnings of the same obligor, this section tells it how to comply. The employer satisfies the terms of the orders if it follows the law of the state of the obligor’s principal place of employment for setting the priorities for withholding and for allocating the withheld income among two or more child support obligees.
The section acts as a safe harbor. Different orders may make competing demands on the same paycheck, and the employer can’t meet them all in full when the withholding limit is reached. By following one body of law — the work state’s — the employer satisfies every order. Section 19-11-151(c) cross-references this section as an exception to the general duty to follow each order’s terms, and § 19-11-153 protects an employer that complies with the article from civil liability.
When the obligor principally works in Georgia, Georgia law supplies the rule. Under § 19-6-33(f)(11), a payor that receives more than one income withholding order against the same obligor must give priority to current child support obligations up to the limits imposed under Section 303(b) of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act. This section itself doesn’t set out an allocation formula. It was last amended in 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when a parent has child support withholding orders from two states?
The employer follows the law of the state where the parent principally works. This section says an employer receiving two or more income withholding orders for the same obligor satisfies them all by complying with that state’s law on priorities for withholding and on allocating withheld income among two or more child support obligees.
Which state’s rules decide how withheld child support is split between families?
The state of the obligor’s principal place of employment. Its law sets the priorities for withholding and how income withheld is allocated among two or more child support obligees, regardless of which states issued the orders. Under § 19-11-151(d), that same state’s law also governs the employer’s fee, the maximum amount withheld and the payment deadlines.
With several withholding orders, does current child support come first in Georgia?
Where Georgia law applies, yes, up to the federal limit. Under § 19-6-33(f)(11), a payor that receives more than one income withholding order against the same obligor must give priority to current child support obligations up to the limits imposed under Section 303(b) of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act. This section itself doesn’t spell out a formula.
Does the employer have to pick one withholding order and ignore the others?
No. The section says the employer satisfies the terms of “the orders” — all of them — by complying with the law of the obligor’s principal place of employment on priorities and allocation among two or more child support obligees. Each order is honored according to those rules.
Can an employer be sued for how it divides money among several support orders?
Section 19-11-153 says an employer that complies with an out-of-state income withholding order in accordance with the interstate support article is not subject to civil liability to an individual or agency over its withholding of child support. Following the work state’s priority and allocation rules is how this section defines compliance with multiple orders.
Amendment History
Laws 1997, p. 1613, § 33; Laws 2013, Act 224, § 1, eff. July 1, 2013; Laws 2024, Act 428, § 9, eff. July 1, 2024.