Stop Paying Child Support in Ontario? What Happens Next
- In Ontario, a child support obligation does not change on its own when a payor’s income drops or a child turns 18.
- The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) collects support and has no authority to change what an order says.
- Arrears, meaning unpaid support that builds up when payments are missed, typically continue to accrue at the full ordered amount until the order itself is changed, either by a court on a motion to change or, where the case qualifies, by a Notice of Recalculation from Ontario’s online Child Support Service.
- A payor who receives a First Notice of Driver’s Licence Suspension has 30 days under section 34 of the Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996 to pay the arrears owing, reach an arrangement satisfactory to the Director, or obtain a refraining order and file it.
- Under section 35(1), that refraining order may only be sought once a motion to change the support order has been started.
When the Child Support Payments Stop
Two parents usually arrive here.
One had their hours cut or lost a contract. They looked at a support figure built from their income and reasonably assumed it would move when that income moved. It did not.
The other watched a child turn 18, finish high school, or start working full time. The word “child” made a birthday feel like an ending. It was not.
Both assumptions are common and understandable, and nothing corrects either one before it becomes expensive. Both lead to the same place: a balance that keeps growing at the old amount.
There is a route through this, and it opens earlier than most people realise.
Start Here: Which Situation Are You In?
Three paths lead here. Find yours and read that section first.
- Write down when your income changed and gather your recent pay records.
- Read the section on changing an order you cannot afford.
- Keep paying what you can meanwhile.
- Note when the child left school or began working full time.
- Check how the amount was set in our guide to how child support is calculated.
- Support typically continues while a child is still dependent, not just until a birthday.
- Find the date printed on the notice.
- Go straight to the section on the 30-day window.
- Gather your income documents before responding.
Holding a First Notice? Start there — it is the most time-sensitive part.
What Arrears Are, and Why They Keep Growing
A support order sets a fixed amount and does not adjust itself. Each period that passes without full payment adds the shortfall to a running balance, and that balance does not shrink because circumstances changed.
This catches people who assume a payment calculated from income moves with income. The figure was worked out from income at a point in time, then written into an order. Changing the income does not change the order.
Enforcement measures exist, and the agency may use them. Those measures, and what a parent who is owed support can do, are covered in our guide to what the FRO does when support goes unpaid.
Who Can Change a Support Amount, and Who Cannot
The distinction that matters most is between collecting and deciding. The FRO collects, and it applies the order exactly as written, however sympathetic the reason for non-payment.
A payor who calls to ask for a lower payment because their income dropped is typically told the agency cannot grant it. It has no power to do otherwise.
Two routes lead to a changed amount. A motion to change is a court process asking a judge to vary an existing order. Ontario also runs an online Child Support Service that can recalculate an amount out of court where the payor’s income has changed and the case meets its conditions, issuing a Notice of Recalculation that is followed as though it were a court order.
Our guide to child support in Ontario covers how amounts are set in the first place.
| Family Responsibility Office | A court on a motion to change | Ontario's online Child Support Service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Can change the ordered amount | No | Yes | Yes, where the case qualifies |
| Can cancel or reduce arrears | No | May vary or rescind, on the facts | No |
| Requires a court appearance | No | Yes | No |
| Produces a document the FRO enforces | No | Yes, a court order | Yes, a Notice of Recalculation |
The First Notice and Your 30-Day Window
The three responses set out in section 34 are to pay all arrears owing under the support order, to make an arrangement satisfactory to the Director for complying with the order and paying the arrears, or to obtain an order to refrain under section 35(1) and file it in the Director’s office. The Director heads the Family Responsibility Office.
Paying everything at once is rarely realistic for someone already behind, so the other two responses are where the work happens.
Before responding, it helps to have the paperwork ready: recent pay records, your last few notices of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency, a copy of the support order, and the First Notice with its date.
The window matters. Once the 30 days have passed, the refraining route is typically no longer available, and the agency may direct the suspension under section 37(1). Doing nothing is the one response that closes options instead of opening them.
The Refraining Order Route: Two Motions, Not One
This is the point most people miss, and it is why the route closes on them. Section 35(1) provides that a payor who is served with 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. The change motion is what makes the refraining motion possible.
The mechanics of the change motion are covered in our article on bringing a motion to change a child support order.
Two further points are worth knowing. A court is not obliged to grant a refraining order, and the request carries disclosure obligations that typically include a sworn financial statement and supporting income documents. Payment terms in a refraining order do not stop arrears from accruing.
How to Change an Order You Cannot Afford
The sequence below keeps as many routes open as possible.
- 1
Gather your income records
Start with recent pay records, your most recent notices of assessment, and anything showing when your income changed. Both routes run on documents rather than explanations.
- 2
Check whether the online service fits your situation
Ontario’s Child Support Service can recalculate an amount out of court where the payor’s income has changed and the case meets its conditions. It does not fit every file, but it is worth checking on the Government of Ontario website.
- 3
Start the motion to change
This is the court process asking a judge to vary the order, and it is the precondition for a refraining order. Our guide to filing family court documents online in Ontario covers filing.
- 4
Keep paying what you can
Partial payment does not stop arrears from accruing, but a record of what was paid and when typically forms part of the material before a court.
- 5
Respond to any First Notice within its window
If a First Notice arrives while a motion is already pending, the 30 days still run from the notice. Deal with it promptly.
- 6
File the changed order with the Family Responsibility Office
A new order does not reach the agency on its own. Filing it is what allows the office to enforce the new amount.
Common Mistakes That Make Arrears Worse
- Stopping payments before the order is changed. The shortfall becomes arrears from the first missed payment.
- Assuming an income drop adjusts the payment automatically. The order holds the old figure until it is changed.
- Treating a child’s 18th birthday as an automatic end date. What typically matters is whether the child is still dependent, not their age.
- Relying on a private arrangement with the other parent. Where an order is filed with the agency, the difference typically accrues as arrears anyway.
- Waiting for a hearing date before addressing the balance. Arrears keep accruing while a motion is pending.
- Bringing a refraining motion without first starting a motion to change. Under section 35(1), the change motion is what makes the refraining motion available.
Questions Ontario Parents Ask About Unpaid Child Support
What happens if I just stop paying child support in Ontario?
Can the FRO lower my payments if I lost my job?
My child turned 18. Do I still have to pay child support?
Can my ex and I just agree that I pay less?
Do my arrears stop growing once I file a motion to change?
I got a letter about my driver’s licence. What do I do?
Do child support arrears ever go away?
Getting Help With Child Support Arrears in Ontario
The most useful thing to hold onto is the difference between collecting and deciding. The Family Responsibility Office applies the order as written. Changing what is owed belongs to a court or, in qualifying cases, to Ontario’s Child Support Service. The 30-day window and the two-motion requirement are what most often decide whether a route stays open.
If you have fallen behind, you are not the first parent 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, Brampton, and the wider Greater Toronto Area. If you would like to talk through your situation, you are welcome to get in touch.
Behind on child support?
A conversation early is worth more than a motion late. Nihang Law works with parents across Toronto, Scarborough, Brampton, and the wider Greater Toronto Area on support arrears and changes to support orders.
Contact Nihang Law
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, ss. 34, 35(1), 37(1) — https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/96f31
- Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996 (CanLII consolidation) — https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/stat/so-1996-c-31/latest/so-1996-c-31.html
- 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
- Government of Ontario — Enforcing child and spousal support payments — https://www.ontario.ca/page/enforcing-child-and-spousal-support-payments
- Government of Ontario — Set up or update child support online — https://www.ontario.ca/page/set-up-or-update-child-support-online
- Government of Ontario — Arranging child support — https://www.ontario.ca/page/arranging-child-support
- Federal Child Support Guidelines, SOR/97-175, s. 14 — https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-97-175/
- Divorce Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.), s. 17 — https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/D-3.4/
- Ontario Court Forms — Form 15: Motion to Change — https://ontariocourtforms.on.ca/en/family-law-rules-forms/
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