Child maintenance in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, child maintenance is arranged separately from the rest of the UK, through the Department for Communities. You can agree it privately, through a court order, or through the statutory Child Maintenance Service.

The nidirect guides explain your options and how to apply, and you can estimate amounts with the UK child maintenance calculator.

Northern Ireland runs its own Child Maintenance Service, with guidance on nidirect rather than gov.uk, though the sums are worked out in much the same way as in Great Britain. As elsewhere, a private arrangement between the two of you is always an option, and it is the one with no fees attached.

• You have three routes in Northern Ireland: a private arrangement between yourselves, a Consent Order made by a court (which involves solicitor, mediator and court costs), or the Child Maintenance Service (nidirect.gov.uk).
• The CMS works out the amount in six steps from the paying parent's gross yearly income, supplied by HMRC, with adjustments for pension payments, other children and overnight stays (nidirect.gov.uk).
• Direct Pay carries no collection fees, but on Collect and Pay the paying parent is charged 20% on top of their maintenance and the receiving parent has 4% taken off what they receive (nidirect.gov.uk).
• Easy to miss: missed or late payments can trigger separate enforcement charges on the paying parent, such as £300 for a liability order application, £200 for a lump sum deduction order and £50 for a deduction from earnings order (nidirect.gov.uk).
• You apply through the free, impartial and confidential online service Get Help Arranging Child Maintenance, which also helps you weigh up whether a family-based arrangement would work first (nidirect.gov.uk).

Checked August 2026 against nidirect.gov.uk.

Child maintenance is money towards a child's everyday living costs, usually paid by the parent the child lives with less of the time.

• You can agree an amount privately, use an online calculator as a guide, or apply to the statutory service if you cannot agree.
• Amounts are based on income, the number of children, and how many nights they stay over.
• Keep a clear record of what is agreed and paid.
• ParenThing can log payments so both of you have the same record.