If you are reading this, something has probably just landed on your doormat. Take a breath. Most problems with the Child Maintenance Service can be fixed, but almost everything has a time limit. These five steps will get you organised in an evening.
1. Find the date that matters
Look at the most recent letter from the CMS, DWP or the tribunal and find the date printed on it. Then put it into the deadline calculator. If you are close to a deadline, deal with that first: a short request on time is better than a perfect one that is late.
2. Work out what kind of problem you have
| If your problem is… | Go to… |
|---|---|
| I do not understand how the amount was worked out | How the calculation works |
| The number of nights is wrong, or care is shared | Shared care and equal care |
| The decision is wrong and I want it changed | Mandatory reconsideration |
| I have a mandatory reconsideration notice | Appealing to the tribunal |
| I have an appeal bundle from DWP | The DWP response |
| Something has changed since the decision | Changes and reviews |
| I have been treated badly, or there are long delays | Complaints and compensation |
| I owe money, or I am not being paid | Arrears and enforcement |
| We cannot agree the children’s arrangements | Child arrangements and the family court |
3. Set up your case file
Create one folder, on paper or on your computer, with these sections:
- Letters: every letter from the CMS, DWP and the tribunal, in date order
- Calls: a log of every phone call (use the call log template)
- Care: your diary of where the children sleep (try the care nights counter)
- Money: payslips, P60s, statements and payment records
- Evidence: documents that support your side, each with a short note of what it shows
- Sent: copies of everything you send, with proof of postage
4. Put everything in writing
Phone calls are quick, but they leave no record you control. After any important call, send a short message through your CMS online account or a letter confirming what was said. “Further to our call today at 10.15am with [adviser], I confirm that I have asked for a mandatory reconsideration of the decision dated…”
5. Get free help early
You do not have to do this alone. Advice is free from Citizens Advice, and other organisations listed on get help can help with forms, hearings and appeals on a point of law.
What I wish I had known at the start
The process rewards organisation more than eloquence. The parent with a tidy, honest, page-numbered file and a clear one-page summary is the one whose case is easiest to accept. You can be that parent, whatever your background.
Every guide, in order
Child maintenance explained
What the Child Maintenance Service is, who counts as the paying and receiving parent, how money changes hands and what happens after someone applies.
How the calculation works
The four steps of a CMS calculation in plain English, with the current rates, worked examples and the mistakes worth checking for.
Shared care and overnight care
How the CMS counts nights, which evidence it accepts when parents disagree, and how to make sure the right shared care band is used.
Equal care and day to day care
When care is shared equally, the question is not just nights. Regulation 50 decides who, if anyone, is the paying parent. Here is how it works and how to evidence it.
Variations: special expenses and additional income
How either parent can ask the CMS to adjust the standard formula for costs such as contact travel, or for income that the standard calculation misses.
Changes of circumstances and the annual review
Which changes you must report, when a recalculation happens, how the annual review works and why a change is not the same as an appeal.
Mandatory reconsideration
The compulsory first step before you can appeal a CMS decision. How to ask, what to include, and what to do when the answer comes back.
Appealing to the First-tier Tribunal
How to complete and send form SSCS2, what the tribunal can and cannot do, and what happens between sending your appeal and the hearing.
The DWP response and directions
How to read the appeal bundle DWP sends, how to reply to it, and what to do with directions from the tribunal.
Evidence and written submissions
How to organise evidence into a bundle a judge can use, and how to write a submission that makes your case in a few clear pages.
The hearing: what to expect
Who will be there, how the hearing runs, how to give evidence and ask questions, and how to prepare in the week before.
After the decision
Decision notices, statements of reasons, setting aside, corrections and appealing to the Upper Tribunal on a point of law.
Arrears and enforcement
How arrears build up, what the CMS can do to collect them, the fees involved, and what to do if you cannot pay or are not being paid.
Complaints, the Ombudsman and compensation
When to complain rather than appeal, the stages of the CMS complaints process, the Independent Case Examiner, the Ombudsman and asking for money back.
Getting your records: subject access requests
How to get copies of what the CMS and DWP hold about you, including call recordings and case notes, for free.
Child arrangements and the family court
How child arrangements orders work in England and Wales, the steps from mediation to final hearing, and how a court order affects the CMS.
Looking after yourself
Representing yourself is draining. Practical ways to protect your time, money and mental health, and where to turn if things feel too much.