Job & Family Services - Office of Child Support
Office of Child Support
OCS - Parents - Payment Information

Overview

Child Support payments are handled by Ohio's Child Support Payment Central (CSPC). CSPC collects, processes, and disburses all payments centrally.

All payments are sent to a centralized lockbox (Post Office Box). The CSPC lockbox operation uses state-of-the-art equipment to batch, image and process payments. All payments with valid posting information are processed on the same day they are received. Although some payments with invalid posting information are able to be researched and processed the same day, others are transitioned to the exception handling section. For more information about CSPC operations, please see Collections and Disbursements.

Acceptable Methods of Payment

  • Payments by Mail

    Your payment may be in the form of a personal check, money order, traveler's check, or cashier's check. Make checks payable to: Ohio CSPC.

    If a support payment is made by a personal check and the bank does not honor your check, your case/order will be flagged and no additional personal checks will be accepted. All subsequent payments will have to be made by a secured payment, such as a certified check, money order, or cashier's check.

  • Payments On-Line

      Pay by Checking/Savings Account Debit

      To make a payment by checking/savings account debit, visit www.ExpertPay.com. Using the ExpertPay.com website, you can make a payment on-line. To initiate this process, access the website and register as a user. To remit a payment, enter a payment amount and an effective date for the withdrawal. On the effective date, the payment will be debited from your bank account and then five business days later, the payment is sent to Ohio CSPC.

      There is no charge for payments made to Ohio CSPC, however, you may pay a nominal fee for payments remitted to other states. The ExpertPay website has additional details about fees.

      To visit the ExpertPay website, click on www.expertpay.com

      Pay by Credit Card

      To make a payment using your credit card, visit www.e-ChildsPay.com. Note: There is a fee charged by the processor to make a credit card payment. To initiate this process, access the website and, if you wish, register as a user. To remit a payment, read over the Terms of Service and if you accept the Terms, click "I Agree." Continue entering all required information to complete the payment submittal process. For all payments, please allow seven (7) days for the payment to be received by Ohio CSPC.

      Currently, e-ChildsPay.com only accepts MasterCard. There is a charge of $11.75 for all payments made on this site. Please visit the e.childsPay website for complete details about fees and the general use of this site.

      To visit the e-childsPay website, click on www.e-ChildsPay.com.

Where to Send Payments by Mail

Please send all child support payments via standard U.S. Mail to:

Ohio CSPC
P.O. Box 182372
Columbus, OH 43218-2372

Do not send checks via overnight delivery.

The Ohio Revised Code does provide the county Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA) the option to accept walk-in payments from obligors who visit the agency in person. Please call your county CSEA to see if they allow this payment method. If it is not allowed, please submit payments according to the procedures outlined above. Do not mail checks to your county CSEA.

Information That Must be Included With Payments

To ensure prompt and accurate posting to your child support case, please be sure to include the following with your payment:

  • Your Name
  • Your Social Security Number (optional)
  • SETS Case Number (10-digit number that begins with a 7)
  • Court Order Number
  • Amount that should be applied to each case (if you have more than one case)

Where to call if you have questions about your case and/or payment

If you have any questions, please contact your county child support enforcement agency.

How Payments are Allocated to a Monthly Obligation

The allocation of collections to a monthly support obligation is established by federal and state laws and policies. There are four types of allocation hierarchies.

  1. Collections received for the month will first be applied to the monthly obligation in the following sequence:
    1. Current child support
    2. Current spousal support
    3. Current medical support
    4. Ordered payment on arrears (child support arrearage, spousal support arrearage, then medical support arrearage)
    5. Support obligations assigned to other states
    6. Collections received for the month in excess of the monthly obligation, have a specific allocation sequence depending if it is a public assistance case or non-public assistance case. See CSPM section 4200.
  2. When the source of the payment is the offsetting of a federal income tax refund, the payment is allocated to arrearages only, in the order as described in CSPM section 4200, and then lastly refunded to the obligor.
  3. When the source of a payment is the offsetting of unemployment benefits or state income tax, the payment will be allocated to current child support and spousal support, and child and spousal arrearages. This includes medical support and medical support arrearages.
  4. For payment collected through a lump sum or a Financial Institution Data Match (FIDM), it is much like the standard allocation hierarchy described in (A), except if there are excess dollars once all the obligations are met, the excess funds are returned to the obligor.

View a copy of an Ohio CSPC child support check here.