Maintenance Enforcement Program in Alberta: How Child Support Is Enforced

If you are owed child support, chasing payments yourself can be stressful. If you owe support, you may want to know how payments are handled and what happens if you fall behind. Alberta's Maintenance Enforcement Program, often called MEP, is the government service that deals with this.

This article explains who can use MEP, how to register, how payments work and what enforcement steps are available. Your situation may have details that change the picture, so a lawyer can confirm how this applies to you.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

What the Maintenance Enforcement Program does

MEP collects court-ordered child, spousal and partner support from payors and enforces the order as needed. Payors set up payment timing with an Authorized Bank Withdrawal or Payor Voluntary Pay Deduction form and must pay on time. Recipients commonly receive their money by direct deposit, and they must tell MEP about any payments they receive directly from the payor.

MEP also times support recalculations around the anniversary date of the court order, based on the most recent tax return.

Who can use MEP

Either the payor or the recipient must live in Alberta, and there must be a filed maintenance order or maintenance agreement that sets an enforceable amount. People living outside Alberta should register with the enforcement program where they live.

MEP cannot enforce terms that are not in a court order or an eligible agreement. Examples it lists are Reasons for Judgment, Endorsements, Minutes of Settlement and "Separation Agreements". Arbitration awards are unenforceable unless a court order confirms them. If your arrangement is only one of these documents, you may need a court order first.

Support for a child who is 18 or older is not automatically cut off at a fixed age. MEP continues enforcing past the age of majority only where the child is financially dependent as a full-time student.

How to register

Either the payor or the recipient may register, and only one needs to. The ministry responsible for income support can also register where the recipient collects income support.

• Online: use MEP Online Registration, which requires an Alberta.ca account.
• By mail: send Registration Request form MEP13371 with either the Direct Deposit form MEP2389 or the Authorized Bank Withdrawal form MEP3678.
• Optional: include an Affidavit of Arrears MEP0516 if you want MEP to collect unpaid amounts.

There is no fee to register for the first time. A $205 re-registration fee applies if you previously withdrew or MEP closed the file for non-compliance, and it is added to the file after it reopens.

After registration, MEP notifies the other party by mail and assigns a 7-digit file number. Once the file opens, the payor must stop paying the recipient directly and pay through MEP.

Enforcement tools and limits on collection

MEP can suspend a payor's Alberta driver's licence when the payor is in arrears with no payment arrangement. A payor who wants the suspension lifted must contact MEP to set up payments.

A payor who cannot keep up may ask a court for a stay of enforcement under s. 32 of the Maintenance Enforcement Act, which can last up to 9 months. A stay has real limits, shown below.

What to do next

• Confirm you have a filed court order or eligible agreement that sets an enforceable amount.
• Gather your order or agreement and your banking details for direct deposit or withdrawal.
• Choose online or mail registration and complete the forms.
• Keep records of any payment made or received directly.
• If your circumstances have changed, speak with a lawyer about changing the order rather than simply stopping payment.

Frequently asked questions