How the Family Responsibility Office Collects Child Support in Ontario

The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is the Ontario office that collects, tracks and enforces support. For many families it is the main link between the paying parent and the receiving parent.

This article explains how a case gets to FRO, how payments move, what enforcement looks like and what to do if the account looks wrong. Fees and procedures can change, so confirm current details before you act.

How a case gets to FRO

Court-ordered support and support set up online are automatically filed with FRO. If you have a written agreement instead, it can be filed with the court with a Form 26B affidavit, and a copy sent to FRO, for FRO to enforce it.

Ontario's online Child Support Service issues a Notice of Calculation or Recalculation that is sent to FRO for enforcement.

The online service charges a non-refundable $80 each time, with a fee waiver possible for low-income households. It is not available in every situation. For example, you cannot use it if parenting time is shared or split, a parent or child lives outside Ontario, or the payor is self-employed, earns over $150,000 or under $12,000, earns cash income, or is a partner or majority shareholder in a business. Fees can change, so confirm the current amount.

If you have no order or written agreement, FRO has nothing to enforce. Speak with a lawyer about the right route for your situation.

How payments are collected

Once FRO has a case, payors must pay FRO only, not the recipient. With a support deduction order, the employer or other income source deducts support and sends it to FRO. Self-employed or unemployed payors pay FRO directly.

If a payor pays the recipient directly anyway, FRO charges $100 each time it must adjust an account because of a direct payment. Fees can change, so check the current amount.

Payors also have income disclosure duties. Under the federal Guidelines, if the other parent makes a written request, no more than once a year, the paying parent must provide updated income documents within 30 days, or 60 days if living outside Canada and the U.S.. Ontario's guidance also says the paying parent should give the other parent or caregiver proof of income, such as the last tax return and notice of assessment or reassessment, every year within 30 days of the original order or agreement date, unless they agree on another timeframe.

What FRO can do when support is unpaid

• Garnish bank accounts: 100% of a sole account and up to 50% of a joint account.
• Deduct from federal tax refunds (up to 100%) and from EI, CPP and OAS (up to 50%).
• Report to credit bureaus after more than 60 days without payment.
• Suspend driver's licences and passports, register property liens, seize lottery prizes over $1,000 and report to professional bodies.

At a default hearing, the payor must explain the arrears to a family court judge. The judge may order payment, a change to the order or jail of up to 180 days. FRO may charge a $400 administrative fee when it takes enforcement action.

A payor can avoid a driver's licence suspension by paying all arrears, entering a voluntary payment plan with FRO, or getting a court refraining order requested before the notice deadline.

Fixing errors in the account

Recipients use a Statement of Arrears to tell FRO about unpaid support, special expenses or court costs not received before registration or that came due later. This is how missing amounts get onto the record.

Payors should keep proof of every payment. If your account does not match your records, gather those records and confirm with a lawyer how best to raise the problem. But remember that FRO cannot change the amount owed; only a judge can, and arrears keep building under the existing order until it is changed.

If you need the amount itself changed, Ontario court forms include Form 15 to ask for a change without the other parent's consent and Form 15D where both parents consent. Which route fits depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

Leaving FRO is possible. If payments are up to date, both parties must agree in writing. If the case is in arrears, the recipient may withdraw without the payor's consent.

What to do next

• Confirm how your support was set up: court order, online service or filed agreement
• Keep records of every payment, including dates, amounts and how you paid
• Recipients: send a Statement of Arrears for anything missing
• Payors: contact FRO right away if you lose your job, and ask a court to change the order
• Speak with a family lawyer before withdrawing from FRO or if enforcement has already started

Frequently asked questions