UNIFORM INTERSTATE FAMILY SUPPORT ACT (UIFSA)
CS 156P Direct Income Withholding
10/96
Revised 09/02/25 Training Completed 09/16/25 Last Reviewed 09/30/25
45 CFR 303.7; Utah Code 81-8-307, 319, 501
Statutory
Authority
Pursuant to
Utah Code 81-8-501:
“An income-withholding order issued in another
state may be sent by or on behalf of the obligee, or
by the child support services agency, to the person defined as the obligor's
employer under Title 26B, Chapter 9, Part 3, Income Withholding in IV-D Cases,
and Title 26B, Chapter 9, Part 4, Income Withholding in Non IV-D Cases, without
first filing a petition or comparable pleading or registering the order with a
tribunal of this state.”
If the
noncustodial parent (NCP) resides and works outside the state of Utah and
his/her employment is known, it may be appropriate to send a “Notice to
Withhold (NTW) Income for Child Support” before referring the case to another
state (two-state action, see Definitions below). At times it may not be
possible to send direct income withholding to the “payor of income” in the
other state. For example, not all “payors of income” are subject to a
withholding order; e.g., Unemployment Compensation,
Workers Compensation, etc. If the NCP’s payor of income is not employment
related, check the laws of the other state before you initiate direct
withholding. For more information, refer to the online Intergovernmental
Reference Guide (IRG).
NOTE: Automated
income withholding will not take place on outgoing interstate cases that have
an open Interstate case.
Definitions
1.
EIN (Employer Identification
Number) – For
purposes of adding employer information to ORSIS, the EIN is a federal employer
identification number, or, if a federal number is not available, it is the
employer’s social security number (SSN). The EIN is required when adding
employer information to ORSIS and to allow the generation of a Notice to
Withhold to the employer. It is also sometimes referred to as the FEIN (Federal
Employer Identification Number).
2.
Two-state Action – For purposes of working intergovernmental cases, an intergovernmental transmittal has
been sent to the NCP’s state with a request to work the case.
3.
X – Number (Temporary EIN) – For purposes of adding
employer information to ORSIS: The X number is a temporary number only used by
the Central Registry Unit (CRU) when the EIN cannot be obtained.
Noncustodial Parent Not Residing in Utah,
Employed in Utah
If the NCP and child(ren)
live in another state and the NCP works in Utah, or the NCP’s payor is in Utah,
the NCP’s state should send the NTW directly to the Utah employer. If direct
withholding to the Utah employer is not successful, the other state may ask
Utah for assistance. If the NCP terminates employment after income withholding
is implemented, notify the other state of the termination and provide the name
and address of the new employer or payor of income, if known. If the new
employer or payor of income is in Utah, ORSIS will automatically send a new
Withholding Notice within two days of identifying the payor and address.
Redirect
Payments
In
accordance with Utah Code 81-8-319(1) and (2), if none of the individual
parties or child(ren) resides in the controlling order state, a support
enforcement agency may request that support payments be redirected to the
support enforcement agency where the custodial parent (CP) is currently
receiving services. Utah Code 81-8-319 states:
“(1) (a) A child support services agency or tribunal of this state
shall disburse promptly any amounts received pursuant to a support order, as
directed by the order.
(b) The agency or tribunal shall furnish to a requesting party or
tribunal of another state or a foreign country a certified statement by the
custodian of the record of the amounts and dates of all payments received.
(2) If neither the obligor, nor the obligee
who is an individual, nor the child resides in this state, upon request from
the child support services agency of this state or another state, the Office of
Recovery Services or a tribunal of this state shall:
(a) direct that the support payment be made to the child support
services agency in the state in which the obligee is
receiving services; and
(b) issue and send to the obligor's employer a conforming
income-withholding order or an administrative notice of change of payee, reflecting the redirected payments.”
Utah Code 81-8-319 states:
“(3) The child support services agency of this state
receiving redirected payments from another state pursuant to a law similar to
Subsection (2) shall furnish to a requesting party or tribunal of the other
state a certified statement by the custodian of the record of the amount and
dates of all payments received.”
If/when you
receive a request from another state for a certified statement of all payments
received based on a Utah order, request and send the QMF Case Payment History
(CPPH) if payments were made to CSS prior to September 1995, to the requesting
party. For more information on these reports, refer to subsection Certified
Payment History below.
Utah Code
81-8-307 states:
“(5) A child support services agency of this state shall
issue or request a tribunal of this state to issue a child support order and an
income-withholding order that redirects payment of current support, arrears,
and interest if requested to do so by a child support services agency of
another state in accordance with Section 81-8-319.”
Certified
Payment History
There are
two types of payment histories that may be sent to the requesting party when
you respond to a request for a certified statement of all payments received
based on a Utah order. There is the Pre-ORSIS Case Payment History (CPPH) and
the QMF Case Payment History. To determine if you need to send one or both
reports, refer to the sections below.
1.
Pre-ORSIS Case Payment History
form – Use this
form to report all payments received by
2.
QMF Case Payment History – Create this form to report all
payments made to CSS since ORSIS.
NOTE: Each
payment history option contains a notary block certification that must be
completed before mailing the forms to the requesting party.
No Direct
Withholding
Do not send
an NTW for current support and arrears when:
1.
The NCP’s arrearage is in dispute. In this instance send the NTW for
current support only until it is clear that past-due support is owed;
2.
There are
multiple overlapping support orders and a formal
determination of controlling order has not been made.
3.
There is an
open active intergovernmental case with another state. Federal regulations, 45
“Instruct the responding agency to close its interstate case and
to stop any withholding order or notice the responding agency has sent to an
employer before the initiating State
transmits a withholding order or notice, with respect to the same case, to the
same or another employer unless the two states reach an alternative
agreement on how to proceed. . . .” (Emphasis added.)
4.
The NCP has
multiple family obligations from more than one state and another state already
has an NTW in place; and/or,
5.
The statute
of limitations for enforcing child support has expired.
If direct
income withholding is not appropriate for any of the reasons above, or if you
need the NCP’s work state to assist with income withholding, initiate a
two-state action by sending an intergovernmental referral to the CRU in the
NCP’s work state, and request income withholding.
Alternatives to Direct Income Withholding
If direct
withholding is inappropriate or ineffective, attempt one of the methods below
as a means to initiate income withholding in another state.
1.
Send an
interstate request for income withholding only to the responding state to ask
the other state to do the withholding.
2.
Register the
“Manual Notice to Withhold Income for Child Support” in the responding state.