Rule 290-7-1-.14. Collection and Disbursement of Child Support Payments

1. (1) The payment of public assistance to or on behalf of a child creates a debt due and owing to the State of Georgia by the parent(s) responsible for the support of the child. By law, accepting such assistance on behalf of a child, the recipient assigns the right to receive any child support owed the child to the Department. In accordance with the laws of Georgia, the Department's assignment shall be subrogated to the right of the child(ren), or the person having custody to initiate any support action and to recover any payments ordered by the courts of this or any other state.
2. (2) In the absence of any such public assistance, the submission of an application to the Department for child support services shall constitute an assignment of the right to the Department to receive any and all child support payments owed.
3. (3) Any collections received by the Department under the Child Support Recovery Act (CSRA) shall be distributed and deposited by the Department in conformity with state and federal law.
4. (4) Distribution of any child support being held by the Department shall be paid to the obligee within two days from receipt of same unless the obligor is entitled to an appeal under these rules or state law and has exercised his or her right to appeal. In such instances, the Department is required to retain the collected amount until all appeals have been resolved.

5. (5) The Department is authorized to seek statutory interest:

   1. (a) only upon child support orders it was a party to, whether through establishment or modification, or
   2. (b) in intergovernmental cases, as permitted by the laws of a referring state or foreign jurisdiction, as calculated by the referring state or foreign jurisdiction.
   3. (c) The Department may collect interest charges awarded by a court and reduced to a judgment by any means permitted by law.
6. (6) Any child support collection received directly by an obligee who has received public assistance or applied for services from the Department must be turned over to the Department and be disbursed through the Family Support Registry. Any payments made directly to the obligee through means other than the Family Support Registry after the Department has mailed notice of the assignment of rights of support may not be credited, unless transactional evidence is approved by the Department or the Court. Any obligor wishing to receive credit for such payments is required to submit transactional evidence including money order receipts, cancelled checks or other verifiable evidence of having made such payments directly to the obligee; otherwise, the Department will proceed as if the support amount went unpaid.
7. (7) Payments made pursuant to the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA), when collected on behalf of a foreign jurisdiction, shall be forwarded to the appropriate collection agent in the foreign jurisdiction.
8. (8) The Department has the responsibility to collect all erroneous payments, including erroneous payments due to agency error. Collection methods which may be utilized to recover the payments are through voluntary repayment plans, income tax offset, recoupment from future support payments, referral to a collection agency and/or through legal action. Repayment may be accepted in a lump sum or in negotiated payments. These payments may be in the form of cash, personal check, income tax intercepts, or money orders. The use of tax intercept for cases involving agency error will be done in accordance with these rules for collection of debts owed to the Department.
9. (9) The date of collection for support is the date of receipt by the Family Support Registry.
10. (10) Disbursement may be made to a private collection agency acting on behalf of the obligee only if the private collection agency is duly registered with the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs and authorized under Georgia law to operate within this state. Additionally, no disbursements shall be made to a private collection agency of any funds collected solely through the Department's efforts.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 19-6-33.1, 19-11-4 through 19-11-8, 19-11-18, 19-11-21, 19-11-30.1, 19-11-30.10, 19-11-32, 19-11-100, 50-13-1 et seq.

History. Original Rule entitled "Hearing Decision" adopted. F. Oct. 17, 1991; eff. Nov. 6, 1991.

Repealed: New Rule entitled "Collection and Disbursement of Child Support Payments" adopted. F. June 15, 2011; eff. July 5, 2011.

Amended: F. Dec. 9, 2016; eff. Dec. 29, 2016.

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