Child support arrears in Ontario

Child support arrears in Ontario are unpaid amounts that build up when a payor falls behind on a court order or a filed separation agreement. Arrears do not disappear with time, and the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) has strong enforcement tools — driver's licence suspension, federal-passport hold, bank-account garnishment, federal tax-refund interception, credit reporting. If you are falling behind, the worst response is to go quiet. The right response is to act early, document the change, and use the legal process to vary the order — because until a court changes the amount, the original order stands and arrears keep accumulating.

Section 39 of the Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act gives the FRO its enforcement authority. Section 17 of the Divorce Act (or section 37 of the Family Law Act for non-divorce orders) governs how support amounts can be changed.

When this does apply

Arrears apply whenever there is a support order — or a separation agreement filed with the court — and payments fall behind. The FRO does not wait long: missed payments trigger automatic enforcement steps within weeks. The first escalation is usually payroll deduction (if not already in place); the second is a Support Deduction Notice to the payor's bank. After that come the heavier tools — driver's licence suspension under the Highway Traffic Act, passport hold under federal regulations, federal-tax garnishment. Arrears compound: interest accrues at the rate set by the Courts of Justice Act, currently 3% per year on Ontario family-law arrears. A $500/month shortfall builds to $6,000 in arrears in a year, plus interest, plus enforcement consequences.

When this doesn't apply

Arrears do not apply if the order amount was changed by a court before payments fell behind — the new amount applies retroactively to the date the change was effective. They also do not apply if both spouses formally agreed in writing to a different amount, registered the change, and the agreement was modified through proper channels. Informal "we agreed I'd pay less" arrangements do not work — the FRO enforces what the court ordered, not what the spouses said over coffee. If you want to pay a different amount, you must change the order. Arrears can sometimes be cancelled or reduced retroactively by a court if you can show you brought the variation application promptly when circumstances changed, you could not have paid the full amount, and the recipient was on notice — but courts are reluctant to cancel arrears that built up while you stayed silent.

What to do

The instant your circumstances change — job loss, a real income drop, a serious health issue — three steps in order. First, write to the FRO explaining the change. The FRO cannot reduce the order, but informing them slows the enforcement escalation and creates a documented timeline. Second, write to the other parent (the support recipient) the same day. Propose an interim arrangement in writing. Third, file a Motion to Change (Form 15) or apply to the Ontario Child Support Service for an administrative recalculation if your case qualifies. Run the free child support calculator before you file so you know the correct Federal Child Support Tables amount to ask for. The Child Support Service is faster than court and handles routine income-based updates for Federal Child Support Tables amounts.

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