When parents fall behind on their child support payments, they may be surprised to learn those delinquent payments can appear on their credit reports. What does that mean for their credit scores? A Credit.com reader asks:
I recently pulled my reports and was shocked to see the State of MO is listing my child support in arrears when it is not. I pay it regularly. Is that harming my credit?
First it’s important to understand why and how child support appears on credit reports. “Child support is generally reported as a tradeline,” says Equifax Senior Director of Public Relations Meredith Griffanti. “It is reported directly from the municipality/agency collecting the debt.”
In fact, this reporting is mandated under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, which requires “states to report periodically to consumer reporting agencies . . . the name of any noncustodial parent who is delinquent in the payment of child support and the amount of overdue support owed by such parent.”
There are procedures in place to try to ensure that this information is accurate. Thomas DeChant, director of client and government relations for Supportkids Services Inc., a private child support collection agency in Texas, explains that the Office of the Attorney General enforces child support in his state. If a parent falls at least 45 days behind on payments, a letter will be sent notifying them that the office intends to report information to the credit bureaus and giving them 30 days to contest it.
Other states follow similar procedures. According to a fact sheet produced by the National Child Support Enforcement Association, before reporting this kind of information to credit bureaus, “states must ensure that such parents have been afforded all due process required under state law, including notice and a reasonable opportunity to contest the accuracy of such information.”
Past-due child support appears infrequently on credit reports, however. “Less than a quarter of 1% of all trades in Experian’s database are child-support related,” says Rod Griffin, Director of Public Education for Experian. But once this information is reported, parents should try to catch up. That’s because child support can be reported for seven years from the original delinquency date (the date the parent fell behind and didn’t subsequently bring the account current). If the parent continues to be behind on payments, that date of original delinquency will renew every month, explains Griffin. “That is the unique thing about delinquent child support.”
Once the child reaches the age of majority, new obligations cease and any derogatory information remains for seven years. There may be state statutes of limitations that apply as well. That means “the date of removal is calculated from whichever comes first: original delinquency date, age of majority or state statute of limitations,” Griffin says.