If you owe back child support or worry that your financial circumstances will cause you to fall behind in the near future, it is critical to go over the various penalties that you could face due to missing payments. Some non-custodial parents who owe support do not understand that back child support can jeopardize their passport, which could deal a devastating blow, especially if you need to travel for work or head overseas for an important event in your family.
If you find yourself in this position, you should familiarize yourself with passport denial due to unpaid child support.
Losing your passport over back child support
The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services reports that parents who have at least $2,500 in child support arrears face the revocation and denial of their passports under federal law. Once a parent’s back child support reaches this threshold, they receive a notice and lose the ability to successfully apply for or renew a passport.
Paying child support and protecting your passport privileges
In order to restore passport privileges, a parent must pay all of the back child support they owe (unless exempted by the Division of Child Support). Aside from paying back support, you could benefit from looking into child support modification. If you have not fallen behind on your obligations but have concerns about your finances due to losing your job or some other major financial change, you might have the option to lower your payments to help you stay current.
It is vital to stay on top of your child support obligations in order to avoid passport denial and other consequences.
