Rule 290-7-1-.05. Fees and Collection Procedures

1. (1) Application Fees.

   All persons applying for services from the Department are required to pay a $25 application fee, or other amount as federally required, unless the applicant is currently receiving TANF or some other form of public assistance that does not require an application fee.

2. (2) Family Support Registry (FSR) Fees.

   Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 19-6-33.1, the Department oversees the FSR, a central registry which operates on behalf of the Department to receive, process, disburse, and maintain a record of all child support payments paid to the Department or paid pursuant to an income withholding order (IWO).

   1. (a) The Department shall collect a fee of up to $30.00 for processing insufficient funds checks.

   2. (b) The Department shall collect an administrative fee, whichever is the lesser of the following:

      1. 1. up to $2.00 per payment, or
      2. 2. 5 percent of each payment, or
      3. 3. the actual cost of processing and distributing the payment.

3. (3) Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) Fees.

   The Department is required by the federal DRA and state law to collect an annual fee from obligors. Such fee shall only apply to the obligor when no individual in the case has received assistance under a State TANF program, former State AFDC program and Tribal TANF program of the federal Social Security Act. The annual fee is $35.00 for each case. The Department shall retain and collect this fee through income withholding or any other enforcement remedy available to the Department.

4. (4) Other Fees.

   1. (a) For any person not currently receiving TANF or Parent/Caretaker Medicaid assistance, or whose gross monthly income is not less than an amount determined by the Department and set by policy based upon the current minimum wage, a non-refundable fee of up to $100.00 is required for review and modification pursuant to code section 19-11-12, payable upon completion of the review process, except in cases proceeding under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA).
   2. (b) A maximum fee of $25.00 shall be retained and deducted from any intercept of federal tax refunds, as required by federal law.
   3. (c) A fee of $12.00 shall be retained and deducted from any intercept of state tax refunds.
   4. (d) Genetic testing will often be utilized as required by law to establish an alleged father's biological relationship to a child. The genetic testing fee will be based on the contracted rate at the time the test is administered. If the alleged father is confirmed as a biological parent and paternity is established, the obligor is responsible for paying the genetic testing fee at the time the court or administrative tribunal enters an order. If the alleged father is excluded as a possible parent, then the person who named the alleged father shall be liable to the Department for reimbursement of the paternity testing fee. However, if the parent determined to be responsible for paying the testing fee is receiving public assistance at the time the paternity is established, that individual shall not bear the cost for reimbursement.
   5. (e) The Department of Vital Records shall charge a fee of up to $10.00 for each certification regarding entries on the Putative Father Registry (see O.C.G.A. § 19-11-9(f)). The Department of Vital Records may waive the fee provided for in this subsection upon presentation of an affidavit of the petitioner's indigency.
5. (5) The Department is not permitted to close an applicant's case if any fees required by this Rule remain unpaid.
6. (6) The applicant must reimburse the Department for any court costs or service fees the Department was legally required to pay, if an applicant closes a case after the Department initiates a civil action.
7. (7) In any enforcement proceeding brought by the Department, should it prevail, the court may award the Department, upon application, its reasonable attorney's fees and actual court costs.
8. (8) In the collection of overdue fees, the Department may utilize any collection mechanism existing within Title 19 of the Georgia Code, from either the obligee or the obligor. The Department is authorized to add an amount to any order for income withholding as needed to offset the total amount of fees owed under this Rule.
9. (9) In compliance with O.C.G.A. § 50-16-18, the Department has limited authority to "write off" any fees otherwise due under this Rule and zero out a fee account if, upon review by accounting personnel or by counsel, and subsequent certification by the Commissioner, the Department concludes that the account receivable is no more than $100 and that the account is uncollectible or that the cost of collecting on the fee account would likely equal or exceed the fee amount owed. Amounts over $100 deemed to be uncollectible by State Accounting Office (SAO) policies may be written off at the discretion of the Department.
10. (10) Any person aggrieved by an effort of the Department to collect a fee under this Rule shall be entitled to an administrative hearing. An administrative hearing and any appeal therefrom under this Rule shall be in accordance with the procedures set forth at Rule 290-7-1-.19 and O.C.G.A. §§ 50-13-40 et seq.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 19-6-33.1, 19-7-43, 19-11-6, 19-11-9.3, 19-11-12, 50-13-40, 50-16-18 et seq.

History. Original Rule entitled "Redetermination at the Request of AP" adopted. F. Oct. 17, 1991; eff. Nov. 6, 1991.

Repealed: New Rule entitled "Fees and Collection Procedures" adopted. F. June 15, 2011; eff. July 5, 2011.

Amended: F. Dec. 17, 2015; eff. Jan. 6, 2016.

Amended: F. Feb. 23, 2018; eff. Mar. 15, 2018.

Amended: F. May 25, 2018; eff. June 14, 2018.

Amended: F. Sep. 11, 2018; eff. Oct. 1, 2018.

Amended: F. Apr. 15, 2026; eff. May 5, 2026.