In addition to losing your driver’s license, facing the threat of time behind bars and sustaining major damage to your reputation, you could lose your passport privileges if you fail to stay current on child support. Whether you struggle to make payments because you lost your job or you are facing financial problems for some other reason, you need to understand what is at stake if you cannot pay the support you owe.
Passport denial could pose a threat to various facets of your life, from your ability to attend important events in other countries (such as a family member’s wedding) to preventing you from traveling for business purposes.
Missing child support payments and passport denial
The Administration for Children and Families reports that parents who owe more than $2,500 in back child support lose the ability to successfully apply for a U.S. passport. The government will deny passport applications from parents in this position, and if you want to regain the ability to obtain a passport you will need to make arrangements with the child support agency in your state. Some states allow partial payments or payment plans in order to remove a delinquent parent’s name from this list, but some states necessitate payment in full.
Passport revocation due to back child support
In addition to passport denial, the government also revokes passports due to back child support. For example, if you owe more than $2,500 in back child support, the government could revoke your passport if you hand it over to add pages, update your picture, change your name or repair the passport. Make sure you examine your options if you have fallen behind on child support.
