Ex Not Paying Child Support in Ontario? How Enforcement Works

When the Support Payments Stop

Two very different people tend to look up this topic.

One could be a parent who checked their account and found no deposit. Rent is due soon, they were counting on that money, and they have no idea whether anyone is going to do anything about it.

The other opened an envelope from a government office and found a notice saying their driver's licence may be suspended. Their hours were cut, or a contract ended, and they have been paying what they could.

Both are dealing with the same agency, the FRO, and both are usually surprised by the same fact: the office that collects support in Ontario has no power to decide what that support should be. That single point often changes what a person does next, and how quickly.

Start Here: Which Side Are You On?

This article covers both sides of a support file. Read below to see what matches your situation.

If you received a First Notice, your situation is time-sensitive. Start there.

What the FRO Can and Cannot Do

In Ontario, the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is a provincial agency created under the Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996 that collects court-ordered child and spousal support from the paying parent and pays it to the receiving parent. Arrears are the unpaid support that accumulates when payments are missed.

The distinction that matters most is between collecting and deciding. The FRO collects. A court decides. When a payor calls to explain that their income dropped and asks for a lower payment, the answer is typically that the FRO has no authority to grant it. The order remains the same until a court changes it.

That goes both ways. A recipient cannot ask the FRO to increase support, and a payor cannot ask it to forgive arrears. Both routes run through the court. Our guide to child support in Ontario covers how amounts are set.

How FRO Enforcement Typically Escalates

A support deduction order is a companion order directing an income source, usually an employer, to send support payments to the FRO instead of to the payor. It is typically issued automatically alongside the support order, which is why FRO involvement often surprises people who never asked for it.

When deductions do not cover what is owed, the FRO may take funds from bank accounts, register a lien against land or personal property, report the default to credit bureaus, and seek federal measures affecting passports and federal licences.

Support enforcement under this Act is a separate process from ordinary civil debt collection, and the rules that apply to an everyday judgment debt do not automatically apply to support. If you have read about how wage garnishment works in Ontario, treat support as its own regime rather than assuming the two operate the same.

If Your Ex Has Stopped Paying: What to Do Now

1. 1
   Confirm the order is filedThe FRO enforces support orders made by Ontario courts, and support terms in a separation agreement once that agreement has been filed with the court. An informal arrangement between two parents, however sincere, typically falls outside what the FRO can act on.
2. 2
   Check your statement of arrearsAsk the FRO for a current statement showing what has been credited and what is outstanding, then compare it against your own records. Gaps happen, and it is far easier to raise a discrepancy early than a year later.
3. 3
   Tell the FRO what it cannot seeThe FRO acts on the information it holds. A new employer, a change of address, or a property purchase may be invisible to it. Recipients who supply this information often see enforcement move sooner.
4. 4
   Consider whether the order still fitsIf the payor's income has risen substantially, enforcing the old amount may not be the whole answer. Our guide to how child support is calculated sets out when a change may be worth pursuing.

If You Received a First Notice: The 30-Day Window

A refraining order is a court order directing the FRO not to proceed with a licence suspension, on terms that the court considers just. Those terms often include a payment schedule.

The point most people miss is that the refraining order route requires two motions, not one. Section 35 of the Act provides that a payor who receives a First Notice and makes a motion to change the support order may also, on notice to the Director, move for an order that the Director refrain from directing the suspension. A motion to change is a court process asking a judge to vary an existing order, and it is what makes the refraining motion available.

Two further points matter. A court is not obliged to grant a refraining order. A payor who has made little effort to pay may be refused. The request also carries disclosure obligations, typically including a sworn financial statement and supporting income documents.

The mechanics of the change motion itself are covered in our article on bringing a motion to change a child support order.

Why Arrears Keep Growing After You File

This is the most costly misunderstanding in support enforcement, and it applies to both sides.

A payor who files a motion and waits for a hearing date is often surprised to see the balance has increased throughout. A recipient who informally agrees to accept less may find the paperwork says something different from what both parents thought they had agreed on. Where an agreement is reached, putting it in a form that the court and the FRO can act on is what makes it legally effective.

When a Court May Pause Enforcement

Ontario courts can sometimes temporarily pause enforcement while a motion to change is outstanding. In Mitchell v. Mitchell, 2026 ONSC 4291, the moving party obtained a temporary stay of enforcement of the accumulated arrears, with the existing support order otherwise left intact.

Courts approach these requests using a framework drawn from earlier decisions, asking whether there is a real issue to be decided, whether the moving party may suffer serious harm without a pause, and where the balance of convenience falls. The threshold is high and closely tied to the facts of each file. A stay in one case says little about another.

Common Mistakes on Both Sides

• ▪Doing nothing after a job loss or pay cut. Arrears typically keep accruing, and the delay itself may count against a payor later.
• ▪Paying the other parent directly while the FRO is enforcing. Those payments may not appear in the FRO’s records, which can result in disputed arrears.
• ▪Assuming a separation agreement is enough. Support terms typically need to be filed with the court before the FRO can enforce them.
• ▪Missing the 30-day deadline on a First Notice. The refraining route may no longer be available once that window closes.
• ▪Filing only a refraining motion. Under the Act, the motion to change is what makes the refraining motion available.
• ▪Withholding parenting time over unpaid support. Support and parenting time are separate legal matters, and doing this may harm the withholding parent's own position.
• ▪Overlooking spousal support. The same enforcement machinery applies, and our guide to how spousal support is calculated under the SSAG explains how those amounts are set.

Questions Ontario Families Ask About Support Enforcement

Getting Help With Support Enforcement in Ontario

The most useful thing to hold onto is the distinction between collecting and deciding. The Family Responsibility Office carries real enforcement power, and it applies that power to the order as written. Changing what is owed belongs to the court. On the payor side, the two-motion requirement and the 30-day window are the factors that most often decide whether a route stays open.

Whichever side you are on, you are not the first person to face it, and there is usually a next step available. Qasim Ali, Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law, and the family law team at Nihang Law work with parents across Toronto, Scarborough, and the wider GTA on support enforcement and changes to support orders. If you would like to talk through your situation, you are welcome to get in touch.

About the author

Qasim Ali

Principal Lawyer · Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Toronto & Scarborough, Ontario · Law Society of Ontario

Qasim Ali is the Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law Professional Corporation, serving clients across Toronto, Scarborough, and the broader Greater Toronto Area. He provides full-service legal representation across immigration, real estate, family law, criminal law, civil litigation, employment law, wills and estates, and business law.

Nihang Law is particularly recognized for its depth in immigration and real estate law — a combination that serves newcomers and growing families navigating both legal systems simultaneously.

Learn more about Qasim Ali →

Sources and References

• Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996, S.O. 1996, c. 31 — https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/so-1996-c-31/latest/so-1996-c-31.html
  Sections 34, 35 and 37: first notice, 30-day window, refraining order, and direction to suspend.
• Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Amendment Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, c. 16 — https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/astat/so-2005-c-16/latest/so-2005-c-16.html
  Enacting text substituting section 35, including that payment terms in a refraining order do not affect the accruing of arrears.
• Government of Ontario, Enforcing child and spousal support payments — https://www.ontario.ca/page/enforcing-child-and-spousal-support-payments
  FRO enforcement measures, refraining order process, and federal licence consequences.
• Mitchell v. Mitchell, 2026 ONSC 4291 (CanLII) — https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2026/2026onsc4291/2026onsc4291.html
  Temporary stay of enforcement of accumulated arrears pending a motion to change.
• Interjurisdictional Support Orders Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 13 — https://www.ontario.ca/page/enforcing-child-and-spousal-support-payments
  Enforcement where a payor lives outside Ontario in a reciprocating jurisdiction.
• Steps to Justice (CLEO), Avoid a default hearing or driver's licence suspension — https://stepstojustice.ca/steps/family-law/avoid-default-hearing-or-drivers-licence-suspension-0/
  Plain-language confirmation of the First Notice response options.