§ 19-6-33.1.Family support registry
Chapter 6. Alimony and Child Support · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2025 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-6-33.1
Plain-English Summary
The family support registry is the central payment point for child support in Georgia. This section tells the child support enforcement agency inside the Department of Human Services to run it under federal Title IV-D rules, either itself or through a contractor. Two kinds of cases flow through it: every case the agency enforces, and every other support order where the paying parent’s income is subject to income withholding, the employer deduction described in § 19-6-32. Any court or administrative order entered or modified that provides for income withholding for child support — alone or combined with spousal support, or for child support arrears or debt — must require payment through the registry.
When payments in a covered case still go to a court, a child support receiver or a private party, federal law requires the agency to redirect them. It sends a notice by first-class mail to the paying parent in a IV-D case whose order doesn’t already name the registry, and to any employer or other payor already withholding under § 19-6-32. A parent or payor who ignores that notice and keeps paying the court or the other parent gets a second notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, or statutory overnight delivery. Failing to pay the registry after the second notice is grounds for contempt.
The section also sets deadlines and fees. Anyone who receives a payment that belongs at the registry — the court, a receiver, the receiving parent or the agency — must forward it within two business days, labeled with the details the registry asks for, such as the court case number, the paying parent’s social security number, the county where the case began and that parent’s name. Except as federal law provides, the registry must pay out support within two business days after it arrives from the payor. The agency may charge a fee for a bounced check and require cash or certified funds after one. The Department may also charge the paying parent an administrative fee equal to the lesser of $2 per payment, 5 percent of the payment, or the actual cost of processing and distributing it. The Department must coordinate the registry with the state case registry under § 19-11-39 to cut duplicate reporting. And nothing in the section allows or requires any reduction in the support a parent or guardian is owed. The legislature last amended the section in 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to pay child support through the Georgia family support registry?
Yes, if the state child support agency enforces your case or your support is subject to income withholding. Every court or administrative order entered or modified that provides for income withholding for child support must require payment through the registry. If the agency sends you a notice to redirect your payments there, you need to follow it. Private orders that the agency doesn’t enforce and that don’t involve income withholding fall outside this section’s redirect rules.
What happens if I keep paying the other parent directly after getting a notice to pay the registry?
You’ll get a second notice, and ignoring that one can lead to contempt. The second notice goes by certified mail, return receipt requested, or statutory overnight delivery. It repeats what the first notice said, states that you failed to make the payments to the child support enforcement agency and tells you to send payments to the registry’s address. Failing to pay the registry after the second notice is grounds for contempt. The same rule applies to an employer or other payor withholding from your income.
How fast does the family support registry send out child support payments?
Within two business days. Except as federal law provides, the registry must distribute support within two business days after it receives the money from the payor. Anyone else who gets a payment that belongs at the registry — the court, a child support receiver, the receiving parent or the agency — must forward it within two business days too, with identifying details such as the court case number and the county where the case began.
Is there a fee for paying child support through the registry?
There can be, and the paying parent bears it. The Department of Human Services may charge the person who owes support an administrative fee equal to the lesser of $2 per payment, 5 percent of each payment, or the actual cost of processing and distributing it. The agency may also charge a fee for handling a bounced check. The section adds that nothing in it allows or requires any reduction in the support owed to a parent or guardian.
What happens if my child support check bounces in Georgia?
The agency may charge you a processing fee and stop taking your checks. Once a check comes back for insufficient funds, the agency may send you a notice saying it won’t accept any more checks from you and that future payments must be made in cash or certified funds. And nothing in this section allows or requires any reduction in the support owed to a parent or guardian.
Amendment History
Laws 1999, p. 1237, § 3; Laws 2000, p. 136, § 19; Laws 2000, p. 1589, § 3; Laws 2009, Act 102, § 2-2, eff. July 1, 2009; Laws 2017, Act 242, § 1-15, eff. July 1, 2017; Laws 2024, Act 428, § 4, eff. July 1, 2024; Laws 2025, Act 371, § 19, eff. July 1, 2025.