INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL
CS 250P International Enforcement
Resources
10/00
Revised 09/01/25 Training Completed 09/15/25 Last Reviewed 09/30/25
42 U.S. Code 659a; 45 CFR 301.1; Utah Code 81-8-102
Statutory
Authority
42 U.S. Code 659a(a) provides:
(1) Declaration
The Secretary of State, with the concurrence of the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, is authorized to declare any foreign
country (or a political subdivision thereof) to be a foreign reciprocating
country if the foreign country has established, or undertakes to establish,
procedures for the establishment and enforcement of duties of support owed to obligees who are residents of the United States, and such
procedures are substantially in conformity with the standards prescribed under
subsection (b).
International
reciprocal enforcement is based on similar independent policy declarations or
determinations to avoid violating the prohibition of the United States
Constitution with regard to compacts by the States of the United States with
foreign powers.
Utah Code 81-8-102 states:
(8) Foreign
country means a country, including a political subdivision thereof, other than
the United States, that authorizes the issuance of support orders and:
(a)
which has been declared under the law of the United States to be a foreign
reciprocating country;
(b)
which has established a reciprocal arrangement for child support with this
state as provided in Section 81-8-308;
(c)
which has enacted a law or established procedures for the issuance and
enforcement of support orders which are substantially similar
to the procedures under this chapter; or
(d) in
which the convention is in force with respect to the United States.
(30) (a)
State means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
(b) State
includes an Indian nation or tribe.
Generally,
reciprocity is determined by the states based on the following standards:
1.
The country
will enforce the child support obligation, collect the money and send it to the
requesting state;
2.
The order
will be enforced if recognizable under the laws and procedures of the country,
and if it is not recognized or no order exists, an order or its equivalent will
be obtained;
3.
The system will
deal with both in and out of wedlock children, and a determination of paternity
will be made if possible in the circumstances;
4.
Each country
will use its own laws and procedures; and,
5.
There will
be no means test for legal services, and no charge for legal assistance or the
service of government offices or personnel.
Definitions
1.
Central Authority Pursuant to 45
. . . the agency
designated by a government to facilitate support enforcement with a foreign
reciprocating county (
2.
Central Registry Pursuant to 45
. . . a
single unit or office within the State IV-D agency which receives, disseminates
and has oversight responsibility for processing incoming interstate IV-D cases,
including UIFSA petitions and requests for wage withholding in IV-D cases and,
at the option of the State, intrastate IV-D cases.
3.
Country - Pursuant to 45
. . . a foreign country (or a political subdivision thereof)
declared to be an FRC under section 459A of the Act and any foreign country (or
political subdivision thereof) with which the State has entered into a
reciprocal arrangement for the establishment and enforcement of support
obligations to the extent consistent with Federal law pursuant to section
459A(d) of the Act.
4.
Foreign Reciprocating Country (
5.
Form Pursuant to 45
.
. . a federally-approved document used for the
establishment and enforcement of support obligations whether compiled or
transmitted in written or electronic format, including but not limited to the
Income Withholding for Support form, and the National Medical Support
Notice. In interstate IV-D cases, such
forms include those used for child support enforcement proceeding under
UIFSA. Form also includes any federally-mandated IV-D program reporting form, where
appropriate.
6.
Intergovernmental IV-D Case - Pursuant to 45
. . . a IVD case in which the
noncustodial parent lives and/or works in a different jurisdiction than the
custodial parent and child(ren) that has been referred by an initiating agency
to a responding agency for services. An
intergovernmental IVD case may include any combination of referrals between
States, Tribes, and countries. An
intergovernmental IVD case also may include cases in which a State agency is seeking only to collect support arrearages,
whether owed to the family or assigned to the State.
Resource Bureau of Consular
Affairs
The Bureau of Consular Affairs (BCA) is responsible
for administering laws, formulating regulations and implementing policies
relating to services provided to American citizens abroad. The BCA is also responsible for providing
step-by-step guidance and general information about new developments and
reference resources for parents, attorneys, and child support professionals
regarding international child support enforcement. For additional information
on the BCA, refer to subsection Procedures Accessing the Bureau of Consular
Affairs Home Page, below.
Some of the information the BCA provides is:
1.
General
information relating to the legal requirements of a specific foreign country
including reciprocal agreements;
2.
Procedures
for obtaining evidence abroad;
3.
Procedures
for obtaining service abroad; and,
4.
Enforcement
of judgments.
Procedures
Accessing Bureau of Consular Affairs Home Page
To
access the BCA Home, follow the procedures below.
1.
Access the
BCA Home page at: http://travel.state.gov/.
2.
The BCA Home
Page is divided into three sections.
a.
About
Consular Affairs This section provides specific information about the BCA;
i.e., telephone numbers, U.S Embassy and Consulate Websites, etc.
b.
Services
This section provides information on the services provided by the BCA. For example, Visa Services, Vital Records
Services, Judicial Assistance, etc.
Under Judicial assistance, you will find some information and/or
procedures on international child support enforcement.
c.
Additional
Resources This section provides information on other resources available to
U.S. citizens through the BCA.
Services
Judicial Assistance
The judicial
assistance section provides general information relating to the legal
requirements of specific foreign countries regarding ten different topics. The topics are as follows:
1.
Country-Specific
Information This section provides general information on a specific
country. Not all countries are
listed.
2.
Service of
Process Abroad This section provides information general information on
service of legal documents abroad; i.e., methods of service available;
3.
Obtaining
Evidence Abroad This section provides general information and/or procedures
on obtaining evidence abroad;
4.
Enforcement
of Judgments This section provides general information and/or procedures for
enforcing a judgment in a foreign country or enforcing a foreign judgment in
the United States;
5.
Travel
Abroad for Judicial Assistance Purposes This section provides information on
travel procedures and protocol, travel warnings, and public announcements;
6.
Notarial and
Authentication Services This section provides information and/or procedures
for getting a document notarized and/or authenticated overseas;
7.
Criminal
Matters This section provides information on legal assistance in criminal
matters;
8.
Family Law and
Child Protection Issues This section provides information and/or procedures
on marriage, divorce, child(ren)s issues, and child support enforcement.
9.
Foreign
Attorneys This section provides information and/or procedures for retaining a
foreign attorney, complaints against a foreign attorney, and a attorneys
available in the countries listed; and,
10.
Other Links
This section provides information and/or links to:
a.
Diplomatic
and Consular specific treaties;
b.
Treaty
databases;
c.
U.S.
Department of State;
d.
U.S. House
and Senate;
e.
International
Organizations;
f.
U.S.
Department of Justice;
g.
Private
Organizations;
h.
Foreign law
links; and,
i.
U.S.
Department of Notarial and Authentications links.
Procedures
Accessing Judicial Assistance
To access
the Judicial Assistance section, follow the procedures, below.
1.
Access the
BCA Home page at: http://travel.state.gov/.
2.
On the BCA
Home page, under Services, click on Judicial Assistance.
NOTE: This takes you to the
International Judicial Assistance, Notarial Services and Authentication of
Documents page.
3.
On the
International Judicial Assistance, Notarial Services and Authentication of
Documents page, you must select the appropriate topic and click on it.
Resource
Child Support Enforcement Abroad
The Child
Support Enforcement Abroad document is produced by the BCA. It also provides step-by-step guidance and general
information relating to legal requirements of specific foreign countries. The document is intended to be a reference
and resource for parents, attorney, and child support professionals.
Additional
Resources
The Office
of American Citizens Services has general information on international judicial
assistance topics, which includes country-specific information about service of
process and obtaining evidence abroad, etc.
Most of this information is available through the Internet Consular
Affairs Home page.
OCSS
International Caseworker Guides
The Office
of Child Support Services (OCSS) publishes periodic Information Memorandums
(IMs) that provide state IV-D agencies with information to assist in working
child support cases. IM 03-07 obtains
information on processing cases with Foreign Reciprocating Countries (
The guide
includes:
1.
General
instructions on handling international cases;
2.
Best
practice tips; and,
3.
An appendix
for each
a.
Country
specific information and forms that IV-D agencies may use to send to the
b.
Bilingual
international forms (similar to the federal Uniform Interstate Family Support
Act [UIFSA] forms) and procedures to use when working with non-English speaking
countries; and,
c.
A synopsis
of the most relevant child support policy for the